By Dr.Mohammad Ghitreef (shahbaz Nadwi) *
Recently Qazi Husain Ahmad,former emir(chief) Jamate Islami Pakistan’s convoy, bound to Mahmand agency was attacked by allegedly militant TTP(Tahreek Taliban Pakistan).Luckily the Qazi survived the attack but his personal shadow Shuaib and his driver Sher Zaman were injured. Top brace of Pak politicians including the president of the country Asif Ali Zardari, have expressed their concern over the attack and conveyed their solidarity, good wishes and sympathy towards Qazi. This criminal act was a shocking one and it could be an eye opener too for the Islamists in general and for the Qazi and the likes in particular, if he took a stock of the situation and be ready to have a relook in the matter and do retrospect. But alas! This hope was shattered totally when the Qazi issued an statement that the attack was a handiwork of Americans who were up to create a rift and cleavage between Islamic forces. Interestingly a section of Pak media has seen a RAW hand in the assault.
In fact this was not the first time when they blamed a foreign hand in the murdering attempt. We Muslims be in Pakistan or elsewhere, are accustomed to balm others for our every plight and each malady. Though it is not contingent with us only, for, India and Pakistan are always blaming each other for every terror incident taking palace here in India or in Pakistan.
Now if one has a spine and spunk to retrospect the past events and looking back in to the history of terrorism in Pakistan one can easily concludes without any difficulty that this terror monster is of their own making, it is a home grown reality. They themselves have created this monster and sent it to Kashmir, India and Afghanistan and now it turned hostile to them as it is always the case with violence because by nature it has been a counterproductive and self destructive tool.
Though Pak history has been very tumultuous one since its establishment, and was almost always marked by political bickring, sectarian split, Shea Sunni conflict and ethnic, linguistic and regional clashes, but in Zia period when Pakistan plunged into Afghan war and ISI fully backed non state actors, and Jihadi elements to go to Afghanistan and fight atheist Russians, who had attacked and occupied that country this pathetic state of affairs further worsened. And no doubt Americans were also, keeping in mind their own vicious agenda and to save their vested interests in the region, whole heartedly supported these Jihadi volunteers in terms of arms supply, fighting training, provision of logistic facilities and economic aid etc. The fact of the matter was that the Afghan Jihad, supported by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan and fought by several factions of Afghan Mujahedeen, and armed volunteers from different Arab countries as well as of Pakistan itself, was a by proxy war of America against Communist Russia. That was fought unknowingly, by others. In the after math of Afghan jihad amidst acrimony and a continue war between several Mujahedeen factions, all of a sudden come the Taliban, a madras graduates turned militia, in to the Afghan scene and soon they defeated other rivals battling each other , and captured Kabul. Their guest the Saudi billionaire Osama bin Laden was behind them. They came to on the stage, again with full support of CIA and ISI as well. Then come 9/11 tragic event and the Taliban and Osama became American eyesores. The rest is history now. Along with this front there was Kashmir’s separation movement, a pet topic and aria of concern to all Pak governments, Pak army, Islamists of all hues and colors. What ensued of all that was the net result of mess, mayhem, and intolerance, violence and militancy in which Pakistan is engulfed nowadays. Add to this the political interpretation of Islam, rendered by Islamists, an uncertain and ambiguous and weaken Muslim League, the actual ideological heir of Iqbal and M.A Jinnah but ironically having lost its relevance in the changed times sidelined by Islamists. With sloganeering of Sufi Mohammad and the likes to puritan Sharia implementation. Moreover destructive and constant American drone attacks with clandestine endorsement of Pak army and the establishment and a weak nascent democracy all this was the responsible of the ongoing lawlessness, intolerance, and ideological radicalism which is turning the whole country into a hub of terrorism.
To cure all this, one has at once, to stop once and for all the blame game, to retrospect and take the stock of the situations keeping in mind all the above said facts and take into account the fact that the problem is within and not without.
If a man of Qazi’s stature could put things in right perspective then it could be hopped to a change for better but alas! Among us there is no dearth of people who seemingly are up to live in fool’s paradise.
*Dr.Mohammd Ghitreef is the director of Foundation for Islamic Studies ,New Delhi, he can be contacted on: mohammad.ghitreef@gmail.com
ghitreef1@yahoo.com