Timely declaration against curse of terrorism

By Afzal Hussain Bokhari

In a timely action against the intensifying wave of terrorism, progressive parties like the Pakistan People’s Party, Awami National Party, Pukhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party and representatives of civil society met in a two-day peace conference in City in the second week of December and issued what later came to be known as ‘Peshawar Declaration’.

Regardless of the political clout that they wielded, the delegates unanimously agreed that the main and real factor behind the present chaos and instability in the region was the policy of the political establishment in Islamabad to gain, what it so lovingly called, the ‘strategic depth’ in Afghanistan. They said that it was the root cause of terrorism in the area.

The forum strongly demanded of the government to abolish the policy and ensure accountability of all architects of the policy because it caused far more financial damage to the country than the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) and the debts waive-off put together. They alleged that the policy was also responsible for the killing and maiming of millions of innocent people in NWFP and other parts of the country.

The conference also demanded of the federal government in the strongest possible words that it stop her policy of interference in Afghanistan and accept that neighbourly country as a sovereign, independent state in the region. The conference believed that this was in the interest of millions of people of both Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The delegates said that several political parties and groups in the country hesitated in opposing terrorism unequivocally and added that these were directly or indirectly involved in supporting terrorists in the region. The peace conference described such pro-terrorist parties as the enemies of the Pukhtuns and humanity at large.

The conference demanded that a targeted and immediate operation against all centers and networks of terrorism should be initiated and the blunders of the past should not be repeated.

The conference also demanded the elimination of all foreign, non-local and local terrorists in the Federally Administrative Tribal Area (FATA). It said that damages should be paid as compensation and a comprehensive development package should be announced according to the wishes and aspirations of the people of FATA.

Before the government could respond to the demands of the peace conference, anti-social elements on the night between Saturday and Sunday detonated an improvised explosive device in a privately-run school in village Mathra on Warsak Road. The chowkidar (watchman) of the school Gul Zaman told media persons that around midnight he went to his house located in close proximity to the targeted educational institution.

Hardly had he settled down to a late-night cup of tea when he heard a blast in the school. He rushed back to the place of his duty and discovered to his utter astonishment that two of the classrooms had been dynamited by the suspected militants. From the Saint Mary’s High School located near the ‘chungi’ (octroi post) up to Mathra and farther north, a number of schools, colleges and religious institutions have emerged on both sides that the dual carriageway is jokingly called the ‘School Road’.

In the span of just a few days, the militants struck in Landikotal and Bara tehsils of the violence-hit Khyber Agency and blew up at least half a dozen of schools at both the places. Such subversive activities in Swat and other districts of Malakand division have so far destroyed about 410 schools meant for girls. Parents, teachers and the students of the affected schools feel so frightened and insecure that they feel hesitant in going back to the repaired or reconstructed schools again. Attendance in other schools in the area has understandably been very thin.

NWFP already lags behind other provinces in education and the literacy rate in the area has been shamefully low. Still some obscurantist forces want to keep the girls in the region as illiterate and ignorant. With meagre resources at its disposal, the NWFP government finds itself in financial straits in sanctioning new schools in the rural hinterland of the Frontier province.

With the start of Moharram-ul-Haram, the ‘majalis-i-aza’ have started in various ‘imambargahs’ of the City. The centrally-located Imambargah Agha Mustafa Shah and those belonging to Jan Sahib, Adil Shah and Gul Badshah Jee are drawing by far the biggest crowds of devotees in the Ander Shehr area.

Due to security reasons, some residents from suburban areas have acquired temporary accommodation for special days of Moharram near one imambargah or the other. Local ‘noha khwans’ like Zulfikar Ali, Malik Sakhawat Ali and Haider Abbas are having a busy time attending one majlis-i-aza after the other. Hindko-speaking noha khwans have their specially selected pieces to offer. They have the special touch in terms of fluency, directness and spontaneity in their noha items.

Religious scholars from other cities like Rawalpindi, Lahore and Karachi address big crowds in the central Imambargah Hussainia Hall in Saddar as well as in Jangi Mohalla, Koochi Bazaar and Hussainabad. The speakers elaborate on various aspects of the message of Karbala and the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain (AS) and his companions.

Zakireen-i-Hussain focus on the inspiring aspects of the martyrdom of the Syedushohada especially the lesson to uphold the values of truth and uprightness. The District Coordination Officer, Sahibzada Mohammad Anees, told media persons on Sunday that a command post had been set up in the busy and sensitive Kohati Gate area, where the personnel of the law enforcing agencies, duly equipped with arms and the latest communication gadgets, would be available round the clock.

In the context of Moharram, one feels like winding up this piece with lines from the poetry of late Pir Mohammad Naseer of Golra Sharif: “Is khijalat main ke Shabbir ko pani na mila, sari dunya main leaye phirta hai darya pani”. If you prefer late Ghulam Mohammad Qasir, here is what he has written about the sacred month: “Kuch aisi baat Moharram ka chand kehta hai, ke saal bhar mera dil Karbala main rehta hai”.