An Act of
Prudence
By Siddique Malik
Louisville, KY.
smalik94@hotmail.com
Regardless
of how one may feel about the Musharraf regime,
one thing is clear that it has handled the Lal
Masjid affair with prudence. Some people are castigating
this regime for delaying action against the fanatics
who had taken control of Islamabad’s Lal
Masjid (Urdu for Red Mosque), but this delay was
wise. Had action been taken soon after these fanatics
started their nefarious activities, the sight
of soldiers attacking a mosque and an attached
girls’ seminary being overrun by men would
have angered many Pakistanis. The politico-religious
elements would have exploited it to the hilt,
destabilizing the country.
The delay caused the fanatics to be inundated
by the illusion they had created themselves. They
started to believe that they ruled Pakistan and
the nation was behind them in their obnoxious
activities. When they started to take law in their
own hand (not even sparing nationals of China
with whom Pakistan has friendly relations), people
turned against them, naturally. So when soldiers
finally stormed the mosque, people were only concerned
about the safety of the soldiers and those individuals
whom the fanatics were holding involuntarily.
Of course, certain political and religious individuals
and groups did not want the military action to
materialize and are, therefore, now vocal against
it. But we know who these are. They are either
the misguided individuals who see nothing wrong
with imposing their wrong perceptions of Islam
on society, or the vested interests whose perverted
politicking depends upon exploitation of religion
and consequent anarchy.
A lot is being said about the way the operation
was conducted. There is talk of how loss of innocent
life could have been kept to a minimum. But this
is all just empty talk. Loss of every innocent
life is tragic, but there is no perfect way of
conducting a law-enforcement operation in the
kind of situation that the Lal Masjid fanatics
had fomented.
As a matter of fact, the soldiers delayed action
so as to give maximum opportunity to the brainwashed
people inside the mosque to change their minds
and leave the campus and to the hostages to find
a way to escape from the captivity of the fanatics.
Many people took advantage of the lull before
the storm and left the mosque. Had this not happened,
the loss of life would have been in thousands.
At the same time, this delay caused the element
of surprise to dissipate, giving the fanatics
enough time to organize their defense strategy
and making the eventual operation taxing for the
defenders of the nation’s honor. Therefore,
those who are saying that the soldiers did not
worry about minimizing the loss of innocent lives
are unaware of the reality.
I am especially proud of the soldiers who treated
the surrendering women with respect and had the
keen eye to spot a fleeing burqa-clad male fanatic
among a group of many similarly attired women
emerging from the edifice. Had this man who was
one of the gang leaders, succeeded in escaping,
he would have become a source of further extremism.
Thankfully, he was seized.
This man must be tried for his anti-state activities,
and if found guilty, given an exemplary punishment.
He should get no leniency or slack for the fact
that he is under the illusion of being a pious
person. Moreover, all others who have been arrested
for being accomplices in causing a place of worship
turn into a “deathly hallow” (I borrowed
this phrase from the title of a recently released
book by the British fiction writer JK Rowling)
should also be dealt with as severely as possible
under the law.
It is unfortunate that Pakistan’s “brokers
of religion” are condemning this military
action. I am sure that the majority of Pakistanis
sees through the hypocrisy of these exploiters
of religion. Shame on these self-declared puritans.
They are shedding tears at the death of criminals
but are aloof to the martyrdom of soldiers who
offered the ultimate sacrifice in their efforts
to restore the dignity of a mosque, bring peace
to a community and project Pakistan’s image
as a country that does not tolerate extremism.
The MMA leadership and other such politic-religious
entities seem to have no concept of the rule of
law. Their obsessions with their wrong perceptions
of Islam are more important to them than the well-being
of the country. They are all inept people whose
only claim to prominence is their abject ignorance
and their ability to exploit Islam.
However, I must admire Benazir Bhutto for rising
above petty politics and endorsing the operation.
As a part of the post-operation healing process,
families of those innocent students and civilians
who died in the operation should be helped in
coping with their losses. Most of these individuals
were young and came from poor families from various
parts of the country. Monetary compensation would
go a long way in helping them cope with their
losses.
The soldiers who lost lives in the operation are
true national heroes. I was impressed by the fact
that President Musharraf and many civilian and
military bigwigs participated in the funeral prayers
for these martyrs. They should all be awarded
medals, posthumously, and their families protected
and compensated generously. Also, those soldiers
who survived the operation must be recognized
as heroes. Pakistan owes them all a debt of gratitude.
.
Let there be no tolerance of or nonchalance toward
extremism and fanaticism, as President Musharraf
promised in his address to the nation on July
12, 2007 in the wake of the Lal Masjid operation.
Let this operation be a clear message to all and
sundry that the iron-hand of law would fall heavily
on those who take law in their own hands and brainwash
innocent young minds with hatred of diversity
and humanity. Let us not allow the sacrifices
of the martyred soldiers go in vain. Long live
Pakistan, and down with extremism.
