It’s time to stand with the Army and government as Pakistan enters a new phase in its fight against extremism

The army and the wise men in government would have to fight on two fronts: physically eliminating terrorists and leashing their sympathizers

Last Thursday Pope Francis washed and kissed the feet of Muslim, Hindu and Christian migrants followed by an emotional appeal to the West not to abandon the trauma-torn refugees. And the terrorists thanked him by massacring innocent women and children mostly gathered outside a park to celebrate Easter.

It was a slap on the face of the government of Pakistan and every entity who would try to bring people together by countering the communal hatred that the extremists were spreading all over the world. Sunday’s suicide blast in Iqbal Park Lahore was also aimed at tarnishing government’s unprecedented efforts to sincerely adopt the white of our flag by announcing holidays on the festivals of non-Muslim Pakistanis.

Dwelling between dismay and disheartenment, many victims of Lahore incident are still waiting for the remedy that can make them forget that they were in a chaos caused by a bunch of radicals.

One can clearly see how mad the devil went that he preferred to slaughter innocent humans. How cautiously some fundamentalists have orchestrated the Pakistani society and let the tyranny prevail…

It’s the same devil which has been sucking the blood out of the veins of this talented nation for decades by instilling fear through xenophobia and false promises of paradise.

The coldblooded murders were also a statement by the terrorists to the people that we (terrorists) own you (Pakistanis) and you are not supposed to live away from fear when the army of Pakistan was ripping us (terrorists) apart bit by bit.

Punjab government has put 1,600 clerics under police surveillance, executed Qadri and declared holiday on the minority’s religious festivals.

These are enough reasons to offend such extremist forces that are raging against the spirit of humanity.

Clearly the terrorists have panicked on the face of defeat and destruction, and now want to stage a comeback through viler means than ever. They have tried to convince the world that Pakistanis don’t want any olive branch from anybody and all we demonstrate is to imprecate loudly.

But they have failed badly and these Draculas are left ever more exposed by the rattling response of Lahoris and the nation that not only stood united against the barbaric act but swiftly rushed to rescue the victims in the hospitals through blood donations and every possible means. They also took to the streets to denounce the terror upfront.

The terrorists have done their malicious deed and now they should prepare for the wrath of Pakistanis who stand behind their army and the law enforcers to burn every remaining root of this cancer, which has been draining all positive energies of this nation.

All those who plan to kill our children and innocent people, here is a clear message from Pakistanis: we know your game now and we will not let you exploit us and our coming generations in the name of your inhumane and narcissistic Shangri-la.

We also want to tell you that we are sick and tired of your false notions of being superior to other human beings. We have decided to live with the world in harmony and also that we won’t be fighting to enthrone any Tom, Dick or Harry anymore and serving as mercenaries for the so-called kingdoms and caliphates that you wanted to impose on us.

We have decided that it’s the steal and blood of this nation, which has brought us to the level where our existence matters to the world and the Ummah. We have decided that if it indeed is needed for an Ummah to get a leader then this time it is not necessarily going to be a Turk or an Arab.

If we have to do something, we will do it with grace and dignity and if we must play this game we will be calling the shots. We will choose who our leaders are and will choose that on merit – those who are capable to move the world through love and wits, not through gunpowder and gores.

And we promise that our brave people will lead you to the same fate, which the draconian mites like you have been facing throughout history. Now our soldiers will pay you back in the same currency that you have picked for us.

Whenever Pakistan steps forward to combat conservatism a spiral of violence strikes. It is an open secret that Pakistani society has received many setbacks from religious fanatics that impede the progress and put the process of integration among the masses in jeopardy.

General Raheel Shareef’s orders to launch a cleansing operation in Punjab is already a great omen for the country, which is looking forward to join the ranks of global powers both in terms of economic and human development.

However, supporters of these bigots would remain the biggest hurdle in the way of this noble mission while most dangerous of these snakes would be those hiding in the rows of public representatives and sitting in the corridors of power.

Both the government and the army will have to beware of the kind which would try to delay their missions by hollow claims, like there is no need for such operation in Punjab because the extremists have no permanent locations to be targeted and that no seminaries or schools were radicalizing the naïve youths.

The army and the wise men in government would have to fight on two fronts: i) by physically eliminating the terrorists and ii) by leashing their sympathizers among their own ranks.

We know it won’t be an easy task, but let’s just keep in mind that this young nation has been globally famous for taking on incomprehensible challenges and colliding with pharaohs of the time.

Khadija Khan is a journalist and commentator based in Germany. You can follow her on Twitter @khadijakhanlodh

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