POLIO WORKERS KILLED.............. Vaccinating children against against polio, that too voluntarily in an atmosphere as volatile as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) distinguishes polio health workers as people of character and courage, while their malevolent killers, failing to fathom the piety of their mission, stand out as enemies of humanity. In what has been a consistent pattern of eradicating polio health workers, another two people, one of them a police officer, were killed in Peshawar on Monday when a bomb detonated in a bus outside a polio clinic. The year 2013 descended with the news of seven community development workers killed by the Taliban for their efforts to save children from being deformed through polio. The majority of the victims have been women. Pakistan reported 24 confirmed polio cases so far this year, compared to 29 in 2012. In their maniacal desire to stop what they call a western-driven immunization program aimed at sterilizing Muslims, the militants are not even deterred by the presence of police officers. One reason for this continuing murderous spree is the non-serious attitude of the government to take any stern action against the militants. Jandullah has taken responsibility for the attack. This is the same group that was involved in the All Saints Church attack from which the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (T.T.P) has dissociated itself, something that unnecessarily pleased Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the basis that at least the main body of the militants was not involved, notwithstanding the T.T.P’s assertion that bombing the church was absolutely in line with Islamic values, thereby endorsing Jandullah’s heinous act. So much for the talks. Four months in office and despite a desire to engage the terrorists, neither the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa nor the federal government have been able to cut any ice with the terrorists. It is business as usual with the Taliban and perhaps business as usual for the government. The latter keep condemning acts of terrorism in the strongest possible words while the former is busy cocking a snook in our faces and continuing with their bloody carnage, killing indiscriminately. In the process, the helplessness and vulnerability of the government’s security apparatus and its law enforcers to pre-empt the attacks or grab the offenders is being badly exposed. Since the All Parties Conference the word terrorist has been replaced by stakeholders. Such is the goodwill our politicians harbour for the monster eating into the fibre of our society. Before, however, the ‘stakeholders’ take complete hold of our lives, property and honour, all in the name of Islam, it is time for the government to wake up, shrug off its dialogue complacency, and strike a hammer blow where it is most needed. Talks might of course have been a better option than the bullet. But when the aggressors do not want to renounce violence, should we keep insisting on a non-existent dialogue? There might be elements within the terrorists who could be persuaded to embrace peace, but there are also those who can only be dealt with through a battering. How many lives should this country sacrifice before the government reaches the conclusion that enough is enough? What is more pitiable is that the government has not been able to strengthen its intelligence and law enforcing system, either through new legislation or capacity building. We are in dire need of a collaborative and coordinated intelligence system whereby all the law enforcement and intelligence agencies operating in the country pool their information and share it for a systematic and successful strike against the criminals. What is keeping the government from taking all these pending but important decisions, is a million dollar question which, unless answered, will only add more strength to the rumour mills already working overtime, creating more confusion and doubts about the new setup.
Posted on: Tue, 08 Oct 2013 23:19:27 +0000
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