Operation Radd ul Fassad
By Syed Kamran Hashmi
Westfield, IN
Lahore shudders with terror again. Completing the whole circle across Pakistan, the blast struck a plaza in the upscale market of Defense Housing Authority (DHA) last week, tearing down the whole building, killing eight people, injuring dozens, and setting off ripples of fear coursing through the provincial capital - one more time.
Just a day before this tragedy, people’s spirits were uplifted by the renewed commitment of the armed forces who announced to launch the more powerful version of Zarb e Azab, Operation Radd ul Fassad, to uproot terrorism once and for all.
The question that emerged after that was if Zarb e Azab had done so well as it was claimed, then why its name needed to be changed. Or is it going to be an entirely different project altogether? Not getting a good explanation from the top, I came up with my own: I think of the latest assault as the iPhone 7 version of the Apple mobile phone introduced one year after the success of iPhone 6s which came one year after the iPhone 6, all of them looking similar but the latest one is more advanced and is equipped with a stronger hardware than the older versions! Here, I must apologize for my example from a private business firm, however, the association between Pakistani Military and business is so close that I could not resist the temptation.
Anyway, the officials proclaimed that now, what to talk about the planners and executioners, even the supporters and abetters would not be spared. Everyone in the network, no matter how peripheral their role may have been, would have to face justice. Peace has to prevail at every cost. Furthermore, they would extend the area of operation to include Punjab as well, the largest province that notoriously has been safeguarded from military actions unlike the rest of the three smaller provinces who have faced one army operation after another for decades.
So when the news of the blast appeared on the television screens on day two of Radd ul Fassad, Lahoris felt their hearts sinking, their spirits plunging. More than the law enforcing agencies to them it seemed the jihadis were prepared to take the offensive and win the war. No sooner had the children watched the images, then they too refused to go to school asking their parents if they would return home alive. Don’t get me wrong, parents felt unsettled and unsafe sending them as well. Tears rolling down their eyes, they did not know if they should risk their kids’ lives or education, a choice that I hope we never have to make again.
Even in these circumstances, if asked about the level of commitment of the establishment to eliminate terrorism, with some cautious optimism, I would say they are fully committed. The caution I observe is because I still do not see any action against the sectarian, banned outfits. For one reason or another, no one mentions their name, no one discusses their involvement in sowing the seed of intolerance, no one recalls their hatred towards minority sects. If long lasting peace stays the main objective of the administration then it has to severe all alleged ties with such organizations up to the last thread, not as a matter of choice but as a matter of necessity. In the presence of even a remote association between the two, we can achieve anything but peace. This has to be kept in mind. Why? Because, we cannot attempt to put out fire and add fuel to the fire at the same time. It does not make sense. We as a nation will have to decide whether we want to make someone else’s faith our own problem, the state’s problem, the problem of the society or we want to leave the matter of religious persuasions up to the individual to choose whichever God he or she wishes to prostrate before, and decide wherever he or she wants to offer prayers at a mosque, church or a temple. If we choose the former option, we will see more of what we have seen in the last thirty days no matter how firmly we perform operation clean up. However, if we go for the latter choice we still can try our good fortune to come out from the current situation. Sadly, I have not seen our society moving even an inch towards that objective.
Then how can I call myself as optimistic? Simple: I base my judgment on the basic principle of economics: first, I find where the financial incentive is, and second, I search for the association of the ‘deep state’ with that incentive. I believe they have realized that economic growth and prosperity depend upon keeping peace especially in the absence of any hope of the influx of US dollars to export jihadism. Then they have got the additional responsibility of protecting Chinese investments as well. But more importantly, over the last three years, with the combination of two Sharifs- one focused on economic recovery while the other peering at restoring peace-they have seen the glimpse of our potential: the booming real estate sector, the soaring stock exchange and the expanding industrial growth. It means if Pakistan wants to keep the same pace of recovery, law and order has to be guaranteed, the only way through which all the components of their ‘economic empire’ can run smoothly.
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