For quite some time, we have been reading stories and tales about the Muslim leaders loudly professing their love and compassion for minorities. Such news can be read and seen not only in newspapers but also in electronic media. But no one has ever questioned these tales by asking their aficionados as to what propelled the Muslim leaders from being minority-lovers to minority-killers ? Pose this question to any intellectual and he will certainly say, with full conviction, that it is merely a conspiracy against Islam and Pakistan hatched by the enemies. After a few days, he will have a change of heart and will form a new opinion about it thinking that such incidents occur as a reaction. Afterwards, the debate will be postponed to the next possible mishap and people, as usual, will engage with their daily business.

In Peshawar, some humane and spiritually-inclined Christians were burnt alive by those longing for virgin houris in paradise. After a few days, the eternal husbands of the heavenly houris will be shown in videos creating sparks in the bodies of the new generation of the youth. Maulana Masood Azhar, president of the Jaish-e-Muhammad, writes in his weekly newspaper ‘Al Qalam’ with his pen name “Sadi” : “when a Muslim youth gets ready to become a suicide bomber, the angels of mercy embrace him with full warmth and take him to the circle of light by God’s order. Houris of the heaven, on the other hand, compete with each other in an effort to grab the young martyr”.

It is worth mentioning that the Maulana has written around 40 books, all with a conclusion explaining how to slaughter Kuffar (infidels) and their like-minded people and discussing ways to find the related verses in the Quran and Hadith that they believe the Muslim Ummah has forgotten today.

The Tahreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its extremist allies have issued written statements, in recent decade, for more than 300 times, threatening that they will eliminate Kuffar (infidels) along with their well wishers from the land of Islam, Pakistan. It should be clear that the word “Kuffar” in their dictionary includes Shiites, Ahmadis, Qadyanis as well as other Muslim sects who they believe indulge in shirk (associating someone with God) and bida’t (innovation) and therefore must be killed. That is why Imam Bargahs (Shiites ‘congregation halls) Ahmadi Mosques, Sufi shrines and mosques, schools and other religious centres in Pakistan have been destroyed on a large scale. This is how Jihadis treat with the non-government organizations, while the government educational and health centres have been subjected to stern Fatwas issued by them. Given this story of hatred and heresy, if the Pakistani political leaders, sell-out media persons and activists of other fields consider holding a peaceful dialogue with the terrorists and sectarian murderers to change their religious doctrines, it will be simply absurd. Either these people themselves are supporters of the terrorists or they have lost their mind. No good can be expected from them at all.

Political leaders of Pakistan, whatever party they may belong to, are so crazy and mentally starved that they bring the same topic to the discussion every day. We see no hope for any rethinking or change of ideas in them. They do not even know that the state is reeling under the crisis in their presence and the time will soon come when they will be deprived of their own identity and position. Ironically, we see that they are ready to become part of any Lashkar (Jihadist group) as most of the terrorist groups are surviving and relying only on their backing.

However, the mentor of Taliban and the rector of Jamia Akora Khatak Maulana Sami ul Haq had an important word to say. He took a stand that is clearer than that of all the shameless intellectuals of Pakistan. He says that Pakistan has no option except holding a dialogue with the Taliban. Maulana Sami ul Haq is known as the most important and undisputed leader of Taliban, because his late father Maulana Abdul Haq was the founder of Madrasa Dar ul Uloom Jamia Haqqania, a religious seminary in which almost all the Taliban leaders and masterminds have studied. All the members of Taliban who use the word “Haqqani” with their names belong to the same Madrasa Haqqania, the greatest example of whom is Maulana Jalaluddin Haqqani.

Since our intellectuals and researchers do not have an inquisitive mind to search for the truths, they often enjoy listening to the statements issued by the Taliban and other extremists and sectarians. They confidently say the things that they do not know of. For example, if we turn the pages of the magazine “Al-Haq”, which started in 1965 as an organ of the Dar ul Uloom Haqqania, we will easily get to know the facts about the present-day Taliban as well as the Afghan fighters of the past. We will discover who backed up whom and where and when. We will know how the history of unceasing violence, strife and killing began in the region and what roles were played by the different countries of the world including our own country in boosting up the terrorist outfits and using them for their vested interests. People who are eager to know what were the constituent elements of the Taliban movement in the mid of the 1990s can optimally benefit from the 2-3 pages of every issue of the monthly “Al-Haq” titled as “Dar ul Uloom Ke Shab o Roz” (Days and Nights of the Dar ul Uloom).

There is no denying the fact that fighting this monster is not an easy task for the armies, whatever weapons they may possess. What is most needed in this anti-terrorism war is the collective mind-making that is miserably lacking in us. The gravest example of this is Pakistan where only a group of high ranking officials had a clear stand but those responsible for executing the procedures had conflicting views. As a result, an unceasing state of confusion is prevailing in Pakistan with no clear or unanimous stand against terrorism. Today’s Pakistan witnesses a larger number of the people who consider the former and the present rulers more atrocious and dangerous than the Taliban and other radical groups. Even some of them go to the extent of backing up these terror outfits to topple the government. This is a terrible consensus that has been established by the educated religious groups alienated from the Pakistani regime. Jamaat-e-Islami is an alive example in this case, which, being satisfied with this situation, advocates the strategies of Taliban and Al-Qaida to advance its internal and external motives, though the Jamaat itself is on the target of these terrorists. In fact, the Jamaat wants to see such a radicalised Pakistani society that can be used in future to put its concept of revolution into practice. For the Jamaat does not see any hope for its rule by any sort of the elections.

The point that Maulana Sami ul Haq has hinted at may be hard to fathom for many of the intellectuals and politicians as well as the army officials. Maulana has clearly pointed out that the Pakistani government has no guts to fight the Taliban and its outfits, and even if it tries to do, it will not be able to sustain itself any longer.

For our confused intellectuals and political and religious leaders, the most shocking and shameful time will be the day when the NATO and the U.S troops will be leaving Afghanistan. Many of us would want to beat their heads against the wall, but it would be too late to feel sorry about it. Many would feel like hanging their heads in shame, but afraid of being included in the hit list they would not be able to do even this. Punjab is supposed to play a prime role at that time, while Lahore will easily turn into the Qandahar of Pakistan. Today, all the financial and political support given to the extremists of Punjab comes from the city of Lahore. After the proposed “dialogue”, governors of Punjab will successfully take away their remaining assets and will easily return to their age-old profession. The real problem will be with the army that will have to continue its war for the sake of its own survival, though the situation may go under control for some time due to dialogues and agreements. In fact, the issue is so complicated that this write-up is not sufficient enough to discuss it in detail. We need a complete book to delve into the implications of this matter.

Mujahid Hussain