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It's hard to pull myself up after a tragedy like the Bacha Khan University attack.
It's that much harder when public responses to such tragedies are so misguided and insensitive.
While I understand that people will respond to such horror in different ways, perhaps it is time we critically examined some of our knee-jerk reactions for what they actually imply, and especially how they would sound to those directly affected by such tragedy.
“Boys in boots did a great job. Managed to prevent a lot of damage.”
I heard Kamran Khan say this on Dunya News after the Bacha Khan University attack. Similar sentiments were expressed at the time of the Army Public School (APS) attack — how it could have been worse and how the army's quick clearance operation hindered terrorists from wreaking further mayhem.
This 'damage could have been more' rhetoric needs to change — even one life lost is one too many.
“No Muslim can do such acts”
This is how we shrug off responsibility. By living in denial and saying, "there is no extremism or terrorism in Pakistan." This is somehow 'the other'.
We engineered terrorism in Pakistan in the form of 'jihad' against the Soviets back in the 80s. We embarked on a journey to fight that war with a terribly misplaced strategy.
We kept snakes, our progeny, in our backyard and were under the false impression that they would never bite us. They have, and they are our own.
“Where is the vigil brigade?" “Where are the black display pictures on Facebook?”
It's highly unfortunate that we have started comparing tragedies. Not only have we started to compare responses to tragedies, but as a nation, we have also begun 'otherising' people, based on their reactions to different atrocities across the world.
While many of us were still reeling from the Bacha Khan tragedy, there were people lamenting on Facebook as to why the social media giant did not come up with an option for people to change their display pictures in solidarity with the attack.
As long as people are united against terrorism and condemning it unequivocally, it doesn't matter how one chooses to record his/her protest and in what capacity. Everyone mourns differently.
Explore: Beirut, Baghdad, Paris — Are some tragedies more tragic than others?
“India, or a foreign hand is behind this”
“It is India, because they threatened us after the Pathankot attack, I am 100% sure, they are our enemies.”
And yet another speculates, “Uzbeks. Yes, its the Uzbeks, because I know.”
This guesswork is always without any material evidence at hand. I'm not discounting the likelihood of a foreign hand in terrorist attacks, but I strongly feel that the more appropriate question to ask is:
“Who were the aiders and abettors at home?”
Before going after foreign elements we suspect of orchestrating attacks, let us start with exterminating the extremists within us.
Examine: The liberal fascist Hindu feudal foreign hand did it!
“Ye un ka sooba hai, un se puchain na.” “It is the PTI’s province, ask them.”
One would think that a deadly terrorist attack would galvanise political parties to end their petty differences. But no — there is almost always enough point scoring to go around, more so after national tragedies.
Political parties will leave no stone unturned to blame their counterparts. The provincial government will say, “it is the federal government's duty” and vice versa; same is the case with civil-military dynamics.
“These courageous people have given their life to save the nation"
We said this about the APS children and, in a similar vein, we are saying this for the Charsadda victims. By hailing children and teachers killed in attacks as 'martyrs', by saying that they died for a cause, we are trivialising their deaths.
Let's be clear - labelling these lives lost as sacrifice is just plain false.
This is our failure. We couldn't protect them.
Danish Zaidi is the CEO at Cheekh - Speak up. He is an engineer from NUST and a tech enthusiast, with a keen interest in political dynamics and public policy.
He tweets@syedmdz
The views expressed by this writer and commenters below do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.
Comments (31) Closed
Very nice and timely article. These really are the typical comments you see from majority public after such attacks. Rather than owning up and seeing the real issue, people give illogical comments and do not take the blame that it is us who supported Taliban's menace which is a real danger to the country. Stop shifting the blame to outside world and devise a conspiracy theory every time.
Absolutely right. If you really want a change , accept your failure and cause of failure. Why not people ask about the failure of intelligence agencies, Establishment and government. Responsibility must fixed not only for success but also for failure.
Hats off to the author for such a critical analysis. Only an engineer can do that. This should be an eye opener for the pakistan policy makers and the military establishment as they are responsible for the terrible suffering of pakistani commoners. Misleading common people into believing that the cause and source of such attack is outside the nation, is not helping. This is the time to bring in large scale reforms to stop the birth of the next generation of extremists.
At the bottom of it all, is the INCREDIBLE WASTE of human life and limitless human misery.
Pakistan has a long way to go before it can clean up the mess it created for itself.
What about ThankyouRaheelsharif brigade?
Spot on.
above is a nice article, pure and dot on spot.
as to why our anchors portray them as equals to a normal person in our society. why they put their 'statements' on Air ?.
no Muslim can do this .... is used as a traditional statement just to satisfy ourselves that we are good Muslims, whereas by not taking this matter to hilt we are worse Muslims than those who committed OR are committing such activities.
well done, writer.
The issue is that we like to blame everybody and don't take responsibility.
That is called 'management'.
However, Pakistan doesn't need 'management' - it needs 'leadership'.
Love them or hate them, political parties in Pakistan NEVER provide leadership - they just provide rhetoric, innuendo and speculation - in addition to corruption, nepotism and bribery.
Only the military is able to provide 'leadership' in Pakistan. However, this quickly moves into dictatorship and we get back to the politicians false promises again.
sad :(
From one engineer to another, We all have to emancipate for the future of our generation.
So true...but on the positive side, Taliban apologists have shut up...at least in public.
very precise analysis. I'm fully agree with you although I'm Indian. This person has guts to speak what he feels. He really has poured his heart in each line of this article. I salute you.
Pakistan do not need good politicians or military dictators, first of all pakistan needs good people because only good people can create a better and better politicians you just cannot ask the army to handle everything.
Very good points. Everything to absolve ourselves from any responsibility.
"labeling these lives lost as sacrifice is just plain false. This is our failure. We couldn't protect them."
Very well said.
@ROHIT PANDEY True. A limitless waste of life.
Further, the loss of current intellectuals (the teacher) and future intellectuals (students) of Pakistan is an irreplaceable loss of hopes for a better Pakistan.
The best way to keep the sundry in constant obscurantism is either to hail their misdeed or glorify their sacrifices against a misdeed being done with them. Here a question arises: why the pm, cm and other minister dont want their children to be martyred in the same manner as a martyr has no match in islam with regard to the high status assigned to him? It means either they are not muslims or their is something wrong with such type of enforced martyrdom.
Probably one of the best assessment i have read in a long long time, Brilliant penned together with great critical analysis and finesse.
You nailed it.
"By hailing children and teachers killed in attacks as 'martyrs', by saying that they died for a cause, we are trivialising their deaths." Those who say that the brave souls who laid their lives are martyrs are not belittling their deaths in any way. This is out belief as a Muslim. And majority of us don't choose to ignore these small teachings. It is the highest rank in the after life. How can possibly one 'trivialise' their death by calling them martyrs.
Its a cancer and can not cure anymore.
All comments made by your enlightened readers hit the nail on the head and the author of this article has correctly interpreted the situation leading to this and various previous terrorists attacks in Pakistan.Pakistan Government is in a quandary as to how to deal with such situations.The military action in the northern part of the FATA are successful to some extent but it has given rise to tit for tat actions by the terrorists whenever and wherever they find the locations vulnerable,mostly in the Pakhtunkhwa province of the country .Another point worth mentioning here is the porousness of the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan where these terrorists take refuge after committing such crimes.They are demolishing schools in the areas and therefore taking initiative in educating them will not cut ice with them.The situation, as it exists now, seems irreparable.God alone knows the answer.
Very well written article. Pity people at the helm do not have such enlightened views.
Exactly. Mr. Danish. Thank you writing it so plainly. I hope our countrymen and countrywomen will start to act.
Extremely well written , making complete sense. Only Pakistan can introspect its faults, unfortunately the policies it has pursued for decades are now biting it hard.
All great points. I especially agree with the last one. The victims died because we failed to protect them. Kids in schools should not be asked to fight the terrorists.
completely agree with the author.
I agree very much with this author. However, the sad thing is, that many people in the west for 20-40 years have been saying this to places in the East like Pakistan. And other countries... That this is not our fault....But your own fault. And it went off deaf ears. So at the same time I am angry that people in Pakistan will lesion to Pakistani that says this...But not a westerner that says the exact same thing. If so, such violence could have been prevented many years before.... And I might have had more hope that peace from West to East and East to West could have been established..... It is because that I and many others here feel because of this lack of trust between countries and nations....That we have been robed from that peace.
I wonder who are those 74 people who disagreed in the poll?. :O
Spot on piece!
Excellent but our people have got severe psychological problems, only people like you can wake us up.
Graceful writing! Kudos!