Abdul Rashid Khan
The recent Peshwar killings put the whole world in a pall of gloom. The brutal killings of 141 innocent people including 132 budding school children was condemned by one and all. In Kashmir Nimaz-i-Jinaza Gaibana was offered in the mosques after Friday prayers. These innocent children belonged to all. We all share grief with the families of these children in this hour of agony.
The tragedy of such magnitude has never taken place any where in the world in the recent history of human being. Islam is for peace. Our prophet Mohammad (SAW) has always stressed upon for humanity and peaceful co existence of all human beings irrespective of caste, creed and colour. These children who were getting a quality education in this premier army school could have contributed not only to the growth of their country but to the wellbeing of the world also, had this un-Islamic act not done away with them. They were the dreams of their parents and the future of the world.
The acts of terrorism have done no good to any one except giving pain and agony to the people of the world. Every one in the terror torn area is directly or indirectly adversely affected and has been living in a state of horror. The people of a Kashmir know better as to how they have experienced and lived in the situation of terror and conflict since 1990. Thousand of families in Kashmir were put to unending tragedies and the Kashmiri Pandits were uprooted and forced to migrate to other places of the country to save their lives. This was the blackest chapter in the history of Kashmir and this migration has led to an era of mistrust between the people of the two communities who had lived together with love and affection for centuries. It will not be an exaggeration to say that after this period of upheaval, some of the members of both communities do not leave any chance to spit venom against each other. This is the fallout of the unfortunate situation created by the horror of terrorism.
During eighties of the 20th century, the Punjab, the most prosperous state became the first target of the terrorism which consumed thousands of innocent lives and put the growth of state to a grinding halt and in total disarray. The people faced and suffered badly for about one decade due to the acts of terrorists.
And with the beginning of the last decade of the last century, the people of the state of Jammu and Kashmir also started witnessing the horror of terror. The valley of Kashmir as a whole and in Jammu province, the district Doda, Poonch and Rajouri and some parts of Udhampur and Khauta districts were adversely affected by the militancy. The harmful effects which the militancy left on the people of these areas are known to everybody. Even the people who were not directly affected are also going through the state of trauma and many ailments like heart, diabetes, hypertension and mental diseases.
Even in Sri Lanka the people have also tasted the bitter pill of the terrorism. The terrorism there brought nothing but total devastation in some parts of that country.
Some countries in the middle east, like Iraq, Syria and Leabnon are presently going through the worst kind of terrorism which has caused unending miseries to their people beside having shaken the economy of these countries.
Whether it is incident of 9/11 in U.S,A , attack on Indian Parliament or 26/11 attack in Bombay, all these acts of terrorism which have left indelible imprints on the history of humanity are unequivocally condemnable. The acts of terrorism what ever shape it take, causes nothing but destruction and devastation, need to be forcibly defeated and vociferously deplored. The authorities of the country where the gruesome killings of innocent children have taken place should awaken and gear up their intelligence agencies to gather information in advance so that such tragedies do not occur in future. They should also take all measures to fight and counter terrorism with full determination so that it is rooted out to the pulp allowing the people of their and neighboring countries to live in peace. These acts of madness must stop now.
(The author is former Inspector General of Police)
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