Handling a menace.

Pakistan is faced with a menace popularly called religious eXtremism (represented by TTP [TEHREEK E TALIBAN PAKISTAN], JIP [JAMAAT-E-ISLAMI PAKISTAN], JUI [JAMIAT-E-ULLAMA-E-ISLAM], LASHKAR-E-JHANGVI, LASHKAR-E-TAIBA, SUNNI TEHREEK, ITTEHAD BAIN-UL-MUSLIMEEN, SIPAH-E-SAHABBAH, JAISH MOHAMMAD and a multitude of other parties and thousands of madrassas run by these parties). Although, it is the best attempt of main stream media to date this menace back a few years only, but in fact this problem has a lot longer history.

The history of attempts to impose, a militarized religious rule, in Pakistan is as old as the birth of the state. In different times and under different regimens this problem was tackled in different ways. During the sixties, the state of Pakistan handled this problem by screening government officials and not letting hard line clerics and their sympathizers get into places of control. In the late seventies, short sighted planners devised a plan to incorporate the hard line philosophy into the ideology of the state, thinking that they could make use of hard liners, to play a broader game. But short-sightedness took its toll, and the removal or dysfunctioning of the militant element, from within the state apparatus, became a problem.

The factual inability to roll back temporary policies is evident from the fact that Pakistani government and other state bodies are still infested by hard liners, like Nawaz Sharif, who were supposed to leave the stage after the completion of operation "fight the communists into oblivion". I just mentioned Nawaz Sharif, but there were people like General Hameed Gul (who luckily died this year) and lots of others, who were supposed to run that operation and then bring things back to normal (Pakistan’s greatest mistake was to step into the Soviet-American conflict in Afghanistan. This single wrong decision caused Pakistan a prosperous future, by eliminating national resources and crippling future generations through radical ideology).

Anyway, it is too late to redo things, but it is still not late to do better things. Pakistan has a strong military, which is equipped with latest arms and very up to date strategic planning skills. Currently this military is being challenged by a few thousand militants, who although are well trained and equipped, but still are far from being good as per military standards.

Although, the implementation of a well-planned policy the end of 2013 and through 2014, did help Pakistan get rid of American and Saudi assets (international terrorists), who had a cart blanch in the north-western tribal areas of Pakistan. This policy boiled down to the fact of exporting US-Saudi assets out of Pakistan to Iraq and Levant. The Saudi government paid for it and the Pakistani military handlers shifted the terrorists from our land to the desired destination. This was the manpower booster, which ISIS (ISIL) received in 2014, when it went on a rampage across Iraq and Northern Syria.

The amount paid by the Saudis, for the transfer, was 1.5 billion US dollars. It was paid in the shape of `Undesignated aid package`. This money helped Pakistan get rid of the US-Saudi terrorist assets, who were dug in deep into Pakistani land, ever since they were brought in as part of the CIA designed anti-communist plan of terror.

But unlike Turkey, the Pakistani establishment knows, how to play the covert game covertly. So, when they decided to partially eject this menace from the country, it took them no time. Soon after leaving Pakistan, those US-Saudi terrorist assets appeared in Iraq, mainly, and started implementing the all very famous scenario of demolishing historical sites. This template was designed during the Taliban era terrorist rule in Afghanistan. I hope you do remember the destruction of Buddha of Bamiyan. The terrorists have no interest in these historical sites or centers of culture like the museums. But they do know that such acts bring a lot of media attention and help them make their mark. So, to validate my point here, please check the videos and images of ISIS terrorists destroying artefacts in Mosul’s museum in Iraq in 2014. They also blew-up a couple of mausoleums of acclaimed prophets of Islam, like Younus (Jonnah).

Long story short, in 2014 a huge number of trained and battle hardened terrorists, travelled from the North-Western areas of Pakistan to Iraq and Syria, and the ISIS movement initiated the grand assault.

Back in Pakistan, the military and political government, started an armed campaign against the remnants of these US-Saudi cultivation grounds. The Zarb-e-Azb operation was nothing more than a clean-up operation, designed to eliminate, those, who had fallen prey to the decades of internationally funded radicalization campaign. But more than one and a half year down the line the results are very murky.

For many years now, we have witnessed that the state of Pakistan had been trying to tame these forces of evil, disguised as religious flag carriers, but with no success. The reason being the infestation of law enforcement bodies, including the military, with sympathizers of these enemies of humanity.

Just to refresh some memories, Pakistanis, or the vast majority of them, were practicing Muslims and everybody exercised their Muslim rights and rites freely. Citizens of Pakistan did go to mosques and prayed and they celebrated religious festivals. The only difference was that people did these things of their own free will. People were not forced into being Muslims, and when they went out of their homes they knew that they would return safe and sound. And now, when the same citizen of Pakistan goes to a mosque, he/she cannot be sure that the prayer will end peacefully, because you never know when the evil of hard line "flag carriers of Islam" would blow the mosque to pieces, to impose their own will, which they try to exhibit as the will of God.

Pakistanis before radicalization

The other difference was that citizens of Pakistan, who followed religions other than Islam, also felt themselves safe in practicing their beliefs. There was a clear difference, which amounted to being a Muslim and a Pakistani or being a non-Muslim and a Pakistani. But for the evil imposers of personal will, like TTP and other hard line militant (pseudo political) groups, which are numerous in Pakistan, it is not about the will of God, it is about their own rule. And that rule boils down to "my way or the highway".

In recent years, sometimes, the state of Pakistan has tried to use force, to curb down this religiously disguised anti-state movement, and then decided to quit using force. This indecisiveness was beneficial only to the hard liners and very detrimental for the military and civilians alike.

The real problem has never been the wiping-out of TTP type terrorists (as aforementioned they can be disposed of very swiftly, under covert international agreements), but to eradicate the thought pattern, which leads to criminal activity, coated as attempts to impose Islam. They cannot impose Islam, when it is already imposed in the country under the applicable constitution. People belonging to militant groups, just want to rule the country and legitimize their rule by declaring it religious.

The militant groups succeed in recruiting men into their ranks, because the state has long been overlooking a very fundamental and crucial problem. That problem is the economic problem. In a country, which has ultra-high levels of unemployment, where a vast majority of citizens are under-employed and population growth is incredible, recruitment into ranks and files of militant groups is easier than growing potatoes.

The state of Pakistan has been trying to devise a plan to eradicate militants, but the state of Pakistan, has yet been negligent in looking into the future. The best and only way to tackle this menace is to use the old "carrot and stick" technique. The stick, which Pakistan has, is very effective and is capable of administering lethal blows to this evil body. Yes, I am talking about military and law enforcement, in general.

But the question is about the carrot. What carrot can a state offer, which, as said above, is plagued by unemployment, devastating shortage of power, mind boggling population growth figures, lowest standards of education, huge under-employment, lack of local or foreign investments and inability to plan?

Let's also keep in mind that we are talking about engaging a large number of people, who probably have done nothing all their lives, except for holding and firing a gun, in useful trade. The rank and file of TTP and other militant groups are composed of uneducated populace, which has no skills other than the skill to kill.

It is time for the state of Pakistan to come clean and honestly eliminate the effects and residues of Pakistan’s faulty Afghan policy during the 1970s and 1980s (you can include the 1990s and 2000s as well if you like). To eradicate the menace you have to eradicate the ideology of radicalization. You have to close madrassas, ban extremist groups in the country, punish and expose some key figures. Implement a dictatorship of law in the country and impose law indiscriminately. 

And after destroying the terrorist (radical) infrastructure, I think the best option would be to announce amnesty for members of these groups if they lay down arms, and subsequently provide them with regular employment. These people, who have some combat training, can be successfully inducted into police and army, where they will be doing the same work, but for the benefit of the state and citizens, instead of harming the state and killing innocent citizens.

I know that Pakistani mentality does not allow the practice of new ideas, so for the comfort of copycat brains, I can inform you that such a policy was adopted by another state to counter terrorism and the results were astounding. I can also tell you that the same state, which I just mentioned, used its army units comprised of ex-extremists, to successfully fight against foreign aggression.

Islamic radicals in Islamabad

We can also see the example of Sri Lanka, which ended a 30 year civil war and successfully incorporated elements of the anti-state movement into state duty.

I am proposing this carrot for the soldiers of these groups and not for the leaders. The leaders have to be eradicated, to establish the writ of the state and to tell everyone else that we can tackle serious problems and we do not negotiate with criminals. Yes, criminals. Because leaders and members of TTP and other extremist groups (mentioned in the beginning) are nothing more than criminals and should be dealt with as criminals. What these people are trying to impose is not Islam, but a criminal code of conduct, which lets them kill and rape, without let or hindrance.

Shocking:Lal Mashid (Jamia Hafsa) Girls Support... από

But unfortunately, one and a half year since the start of a full-fledged military operation in the tribal areas, I can still see no record of any radical leader being prosecuted. All radical criminals in Pakistani jails have been provided fool proof legal cover. People like Maulvi Abdul Aziz is still building-up his terrorist army in Islamabad. The girls from his wife’s Jamia Hafsa have repeatedly issued anti-state and even treasonous video statements. Adbul Aziz has numerously denounced Pakistan and its statehood. But I have not come across any raid on Jamia Hafsa and Lal Masjid and I have not come across any treason proceedings against this radical schwein. 

When flying a plane, if you miss the point of no return, there never is any return and pilots, who think that they can perform miracles, always end up in a coffin, after flying for a few hours. Laws of physics and laws of nature are very absolute, so instead of trying to ascend from beyond the point of no return, the state of Pakistan should act positively and eradicate this virus of extremism, before it infiltrates any further into the weakened organism of a problem ridden society.