Pakistan’s democratically elected government has deployed its army to the South Waziristan region to carry out yet another hopefully conclusive round of military operation against extremist elements generally identified as ‘Pakistan Tehreek-e-Taliban’. Even before the military operation started there have been terrorist attacks in major cities of the country and highly protected locations have been targeted. Civilian death toll is increasing everyday both as a result of terrorist attacks and ‘collateral damage’ being caused by the armed forces. 
Yet there is an unfinished debate in the country about the ownership of the war against terrorist elements in Pakistan, the quasi right wingers are arguing that this is a US war that Musharraf imported to Pakistan to gain international legitimacy as a leader and Pakistan should distance itself from the US and negotiate with the militants. Then we always hear a story which involves the USSR, Pakistan, Warm Waters, Communism, Mujahideen, ISI, CIA, abandonment; it continues to the creation of Taliban, and mentions Bin Laden. The parts which lead on to 9/11 and its aftermath are often excluded.
The story has been told so many times that it is almost politically incorrect to challenge its facts because a whole generation has been brought up on it, but it is about time that we set our records straight and snap out of a national generic delusion. I am not a religious scholar and I will not pretend to be one, I do not know what the definition of ‘Jihad’ is to a lot of people and I will not attempt to define it, however, we need to be clear on whatever happened in Afghanistan during the 80’s was not a ‘Jihad’ and irrespective of commonly stated beliefs of those involved with the Afghan war, the war did not have a religious premise. Religion was only used initially as a regional marketing gimmick which later on became an effective recruitment tool.
It is agreed by all stakeholders to the region that mistakes were made by both US and Pakistan in the post-war phase. The mercenaries should have been properly disposed of and Afghanistan should have been provided appropriate support to establish a stable government and investment should have been made in human development. To be honest all of these are foregone conclusions and plenty of books have been written on the subject.
We skip a few chapters forward and we hear about a famous phone call that was received by General (Retired) Pervez Musharraf. This part of the story involves references to terms like stone age, with us or against us and bending over backwards. Then the Afghan war again.
While it is perfectly fine to have political and ideological differences, Pakistan’s current situation requires unanimity of public opinion and at this point in our national history the majority understands the sequence of events which led us to the war. We can agree that we may not have been responsible for initiating the war and that this situation could have been averted if some horrific foreign policy mistakes were not made by the Gen. (Retired) Musharraf’s dictatorial administration.
However, we have to agree on the fact that now it is Pakistan’s war because despite the instigators it is the people of Pakistan who are suffering, it is the prosperity of our children which is at stake. Those who believe otherwise should review the incidents of the past couple of months and analyze for themselves who has been hurt the most? Innocent civilians, security personnel, college students, forcing the administration to shut down schools. Hundreds of Pakistanis who were injured during these terrorist attacks are currently suffering in hospitals across the country, men, women and children who may live to tell their stories but their lives will never be the same again. Numerous families have lost their bread earners placing further burden on an already weak economy. Under these circumstances what choices do we have? Suggesting that somehow the ‘extremists‘ are unhappy citizens and we should negotiate with them is ludicrous at this stage. It was sad and painful to watch a little girl from the Swat Valley talking about bombings and explosions, children who should be protected and provided for are forced to climb overcrowded vehicles to flee to safe camps and stand in line for hours to obtain food supplies.
While it is important to understand the motives of the militants to effectively counter them, there is no doubt that they are attacking Pakistan and Pakistanis indiscriminately which leaves no option for the State but to use available force against them. As Pakistanis we need to support the Democratic Government and own this war; we must not allow our enemies to use this opportunity to weaken our country further.
There have been talks about comprehensive solutions to deal with the issue of militancy to provide sustainable economic growth and development opportunities to the regions affected the most in order to to terminate recruitment mechanisms. However, it is unfortunate to see that there has not been any progress in that direction and heavy reliance is being placed on the military. I am hoping that the Government would be working on this aspect as well since this is going to be a long process.
It is crucial that the nation supports the Democratic Government’s initiative against the militants, although there are plenty of distractions like always including the Kerry – Lugar fiasco and the National Reconciliation Ordinance (and apparently the Minus-One Formula fourth edition). Appropriate attention also needs to be paid to the foreign elements blatantly making the job for the Pakistani Government very difficult. These foreign elements should be named, confronted and exposed.
We need to give up the ‘Silent Majority’ mentality and be clear that even though we did not start this war, it is 'our' war now. The extremists have killed thousands of innocent Pakistanis and they need to be stopped by all means possible. We must also be clear that although we may or may not like some or all of the individuals running the current administration we must not allow anyone to use the current situation to derail democracy in Pakistan. If Pakistan is to gain strength and make progress, the will of the people must prevail and only a Democratic Government can ensure that.
I have always believed that Pakistan with all its difficulties is fundamentally strong as a country, because of its people, some 175 million hard working nationalistic Pakistanis. For instance, the recent debate over a foreign policy matter has shown that it is not going to be easy for anyone to not be held accountable for their wrongdoings and the increasing awareness in the people of Pakistan is the actual hope for democracy. The fact that Pakistan’s top judiciary and media are now seen as strong and independent shows that the country is moving in the right direction.
The situation may not be easy but we must continue to be optimistic and passionate about Pakistan.
