Monday 15 March 2010

Terrorists do not have favourites, they have targets.

After the spate of bomb explosions in Lahore the Iron Man Chief Minister of Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif is apparently found making a plea to Taliban to spare Punjab as they go about choosing targets to kill and maim. His argument is that since the Pakistan Muslim League the ruling political party in the Province stood in opposition to General Musharraf's regime which was taking dictation from foreign governments [read USA], and that since Taliban are also fighting against foreign oppression they should treat Punjab with some favour.

Mian Shahbaz Sharif is credited to be the real brain in the Sharif family and an astute politician. It is hard to comprehend that he has lost sight that the political game in South Asia is growing every more complex by every passing day. Taliban fighting the foreign occupation in Afghanistan are a different beast compared to Pakistani Taliban fighting their own state. Not all Taliban are terrorists and not all terrorists are Taliban. I wonder which particular group has Mian Shahbaz Sharif acknowledged to have a common ground with.

To be fair, Mian Shahbaz Sharif has made an attempt at some sort of retraction by claiming that his comments have been taken out of context. I wait for him to put his comments in context to help the suffering souls in Pakistan to understand that how can those who are being killed and maimed on almost daily basis can have some common ground with the killers are murderers. At the altar of terrorism there is no difference between a Punjabi, Pushtoon, Sindhi, Baluchi or a Muhajir. Terrorists do not have favourites, they have targets.

A calculated, studied revolution is needed to change things and save Pakistan


Pakistan is now at a critical make-or-break stage, and if the system does not undergo a major overhaul, I am afraid that the country may even break up. Given the current conditions, it will take nothing short of a calculated, studied revolution to change things and save Pakistan.
These are words of Abdul Sattar Edhi, the face of charity in Pakistan. Is anyone listening?