Racism and injustice must end

By – Shamim Masih

ISLAMABAD: We had just finished our routine meeting in our office and were sitting in reporting room. My colleague Nasir Kazmi told me that Chief Justice Supreme Court Justice Nasirul Mulk will be hearing the Kot Radha Kishan case today. During our discussion I received a text message from BBC producer Wietske, she said that our planned visit is postponed due to the incident in Peshawar therefore we cannot move to Lahore. The assault, which was still in progress at mid-day….. Was it a reaction of Operation Zarb-e-Azb or what else?

According to the reports, Taliban commandos stormed Army Public school in Peshawar. The fatal attack has resulted in at least137 deaths, and many were injured. The attackers were said to have been dressed like military soldiers in an attempt to subvert security protocols. They went after the unarmed and helpless. Every bully is a coward underneath it all. Victims were killed either in class rooms or corridors. Some survivors’ spoke of how they played dead to avoid being shot, terrified that they would never see the light of the day again. Education isn’t just the best antidote to poverty; it is one of the best anti-terrorism tactics – helps kids get out of hopelessness and into opportunity. But a band of men walked into a school in Peshawar and massacred over 130 children. What kind of person does something like this?

Although we do not expect many Christians to have been affected by this attack, but we show our solidarity with our Muslim brothers, we remember the impact of the twin bomb attack on a church in Peshawar last year, which killed a similar number of victims. The pain families went through required counseling and moral support and we stand with these latest victims. We need to stand united against this wave of terrorism. If we have taken stand against the brutality in All Saints Church, Peshawar, and had taken stringent measures to kill this mind set. It sounds good, when apex court has ordered to arrest the police officers, who were present while extremist mob burnt the Christian couple alive on November 4. CJ also ordered to take action against Molvi Noor Hassan and Arshad Baloch for provoking the crowd on the day.   

These Taliban are killing children and fighting for their superior belief system which they want to spread around the globe and recreate the grand days of the Caliphate. As most of them can’t read or write how could they do that. This Fazlullah character is nothing but another Stalin or Hitler in making, corrupting all before him. The educated Muslim community needs to very publicly disavow these preverters of their faith. Call them what they are, misogynistic, megalomaniacs with serious psychological problems.

It’s time that PM Nawaz Sharif learns that you can’t make a deal with the devil. Find out where the villages that shelter these animals are and carpet bombs them. Those “civilians” that provide refuge are supporters. Pakistani law enforcement agencies should be aware of them where these mutts are.