This is in response to Khalid Rashid’s letter “There is always hope” (April 5). I agree with Khalid that by electing good leaders we can drive out these few thousand monsters, who have made this country a hostage. But question is whether can we be united on a common resolve? When it comes to religion, we are a totally confused nation. Anyone can fool us in the name of religion.
Most of the religious-political parties are ideologically aligned with Taleban. This is the reason why the military is unable to carry out any decisive action against them.
When Taleban attack innocent people, bomb military installations, kidnap and slaughter army soldiers, our religious-political parties go on defensive saying no Muslim can ever do this. They blame outside forces, like the CIA, Mossad and the RAW.
When the army plans to take action in tribal agencies (especially in North Waziristan), these same religious-political parties go on offensive saying that such operation will alienate the local population and Taleban actions are in response to drone attacks.
But the issue is now beyond tribal areas and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Country’s commercial capital, Karachim is also under siege by Taleban who have encircled the city by occupying all its entrances and exits. With the active support of religious-political parties, they are attacking paramilitary forces in broad daylight, are targeting polio vaccination providers, organizing their own courts and executing judgments on local Pashtun population.
They are involved in bank robberies, kidnappings for ransom, levying tax on Pashtun businesses in form of extortion.
For sure, Pakistan can’t ever win this war on terror until we get united. For that we have to take a decisive action against those institutions that have been churning out ideological and suicidal, religious zombies. — Masood Khan, Jubail
Taleban threat
