A boy in school uniform in the morning was in a casket in the afternoon. A boy in school uniform having a life to its fullest in the morning was among 132 coffins kept one after another in the evening. A boy in school uniform a day before was laid to eternal rest the following day.
Officially Pakistan observes three-day national mourning, but the entire world feels the pain. People from Dhaka to Dakar and Sydney to Sao Paolo mourn the school massacre not only with prayers, but also with heart-felt solidarity. The world in a torn-heart stands by Pakistan in its time of grief.
But, it’s Pakistan’s own Frankenstein that started eating its own kids. It’s nothing but `made-in Pakistan products’ sparing neither its own people nor even the innocent children. It’s not an Indian espionage like the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI had its hands in Mumbai attacks and many other terrorist acts by Pakistani militants on Indian soil.
Rather it’s all about the wrong philosophy based on which Pakistan was artificially born partitioning India in 1947, it’s all about the so-called ideology Pakistan continued to own for last 67 years and it’s all about Pakistan army’s “religion game” it has been playing with the “Islam card” only for its lust for power with burial of democracy.
Pakistan became one of the dirtiest names for this religion veil and its army exploited all the avenues to make the Pakistanis one of the most fanatic, uncultured, uneducated and uncivilized nations in the present world. It is among the few states where the state mechanism itself gave birth to extremist organizations, trained the extremists, provided them with arms and money and continued patronizing the militants years after years.
Who does not know even when Pakistan was a so-called partner of war against terror and a manhunt continued for al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden, its intelligence agency ISI itself sheltered bin Laden inside Pakistan. Its apparent war against the militants overtly is actually aimed at procuring billions of dollars from USA. That’s why covertly Pakistan army’s patronization for militants continued till now. An ideological mindset of a faction of the army is also responsible for the patronization.
Military-sponsored practice of everything from the religious aspects not only fuelled extremism and rise of more and more Pakistan-based cross-border extremist organizations, the mindset of Pakistani middle-class has also been shrouded by religion first spirit and they, too, want to judge everything by religion at first.
Naturally the death of 135 children of an army-run public school made them painstaking and heartbroken. But, had not the attack been carried out at a school and had it been in any other public places, they would have been concerned very little. Thousands of people have been killed in Pakistan in suicide attacks in last one decade, but surprisingly a section of civil society and politicians still have some points in their favor.
Some Pakistanis are so happy to compare Pakistan's school massacre with some school shooting incidents in the USA. Who can make them understand the difference between a killing by an individual maniac and by a jihadist group in the name of Allah!
Even after the Peshawar carnage, a section of Pakistani middle-class has been saying they are shocked and grieved, but it was only a retaliation of army’s offensive against Pakistani Talebans. Many of them may not support the extreme ways the militants’ outfits have been exercising, but they have moral support to their main demand of a Sharia-based country and society.
In fact, Pakistan still failed to realize that a gun or a suicide bomb used by an extremist is not the main problem. The problem is the wrong spirit they own that takes them to killing innocent kids with the slogan “Allah Akbar”.
Imagine what the children were thinking when they were shot at point blank one after another with the “Allah Akbar” slogan. Pakistan has to read the untold words of the kids, Pakistan’s civil society and political parties have to understand the language.
Bangladesh could have experienced a similar setback. The state mechanism during the BNP-Jamaat regime had been following the path of Pakistan to sponsor the extremism. The militancy however could be checked before it became the Frankenstein.
Still Bangladesh is not out of the risk. The Pakistan-based cross-border militant groups are also active in Bangladesh. The ISI had its own mission and agenda, too. Moreover, Jamaati politics imported from Pakistan has a stake in Bangladesh politics.
So, if you feel Bangladesh is out of danger, you’ll be in fool’s paradise. Remember that Pakistani Frankenstein will continue to extend its blazing tongue towards Bangladesh and India.
The school carnage in Pakistan gave a wake up call for the entire region and beyond.
Zahid Newaz Khan: News Editor, Channel i.
BDST: 1415 HRS, DEC 18, 2014
