A moment of truth

In the barbaric killing of 45 members of the Shia Ismaili community in Karachi on Wednesday, there clearly were some reverberations of the massacre of the Army Public School students in Peshawar on December 16, 2014. Again, the nation is traumatised, unable to come to terms with a tragedy of this magnitude.
But in some ways, these two dastardly acts of infamy also stand apart. In the first place, the massacre of our schoolchildren was unimaginable in its extent. It came out of nowhere and the agony had unbearably stretched to long hours. The wound it left was deeper. However, so much has changed since December 16. We are now in the midst of a war against terrorism and extremism. An extensive National Action Plan has been launched. Military courts are in place.
In fact, some major successes have been recorded in the ongoing campaign. A number of militants of banned outfits and target killers have been arrested. Karachi has specifically been a field of action, with some dramatic developments such as the raid on the MQM secretariat. The overall security environment was seen to have improved. It was reassuring that the Chief of the Army Staff was visibly there, at the helm.
Against this backdrop, something as gruesome as the attack on the Ismaili commuters has taken place. Eighteen women were among those who were shot at point-blank range by gunmen who boarded the bus in a somewhat desolate place near Safoora Goth. The entire action was obviously meticulously planned with the involvement of a number of individuals. And it carries a message that we need to decipher.
Most significantly, the fact that this is the first such massive attack on the Ismaili community in Pakistan’s otherwise very bloody history of sectarian terrorism also raises fearful questions. Not only that the Ismaili Muslims are a peaceful community, they are in many respects the pride of our society. I cannot think of another community in the Muslim world that has the same credentials. In a metaphorical sense, the most inspiring constituents in our national existence are confronted with the most deadly elements that have been allowed to fester in our midst by the guardians of our destiny.
Since I do not have space in this column to go into details, I may only refer to two remarkable projects of the Aga Khan Development Network: the hospital in Karachi and the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme in faraway Gilgit-Baltistan that serves as the global model of a participatory, sustainable development.
So, where has this attack come from and what sinister game plan is it a part of? Reports said that a pamphlet of the Islamic State was left by the gunmen. In any case, one should not come to any conclusion until the investigators are able to find definite clues. There has been a lot of talk about the involvement of a ‘foreign hand’ in this and some other recent events. What is certain is that this attack would not be possible if we had heeded the warnings that have been there in plenty – and for a long time. Is there a ‘foreign hand’ that keeps us from thinking?
Naturally, the Safoora Goth massacre has shaken the entire establishment. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif were both in Karachi on Wednesday and extended meetings were held to review the law and order situation. They spoke to the Aga Khan who said in a statement that the attack might be “political or sectarian in nature”. Expressing his shock and sadness, the spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslims called it a “senseless act of violence against a peaceful community”.
Now, one can almost hear alarm bells ringing in the corridors of power. They are reviewing the status of the present operation and its future direction. Gen Raheel Sharif presided over the meeting of the Sindh Apex Committee held at the Corps Headquarters in Karachi on Thursday. A decision was taken to intensify the operation. Meanwhile, Sindh Rangers claimed to have rounded up 145 suspects in various raids in the city. In short, a lot of action on many different fronts is in evidence.
What is not in evidence is an intellectually valid appraisal of the state of the Pakistani society and its proclivity for raising a whirlwind of extremism and fanaticism. If the ruling ideas have promoted this trend, the time has come to change them. Sectarian terrorism has claimed thousands of victims during the past decade, mostly Shias. Quetta’s Hazara community has suffered the most and it seems unbelievable that the rulers would not undertake any drastic action to effectively deal with this crisis. Yet, the signs are very confusing.
It would be instructive to study the drift of the ongoing operation against terrorists and extremists and measure the changes that may have taken place in the wake of the launching of the National Action Plan. It was expected that a concerted action would be taken against madressahs and leaders that stoke sectarian hatred and incite violence. But the vast right-wing religious lobby is continuing to raise its slogans to create an environment in which the liberal voice is effectually stifled.
Every act of terror against an individual or a group endorses the existence of a clandestine network. It surely needs to be hunted down and destroyed. But little attention is paid to the linkages that obviously exist between terrorists and the organisations that operate in the open, sometimes in collaboration with our official agencies.
Wednesday’s attack on the Ismaili community is a moment of truth for the establishment. It has certified the dark reality of our society in the context of the unchecked growth of extremism and prejudice. If the breeding grounds for militancy are not carefully disinfected, any number of arrests or encounters will remain a temporary measure. We do hear our leaders forcefully declaring that facilitators and supporters of terrorism will also be apprehended. But perhaps they need to investigate the consequences of their own policies and action.
A forbidden territory it may be but our rulers should find the courage to assess what religious extremism has done to our polity. One aspect of how we invoke religion in all our endeavours is too glaring to ignore – though we still shy away from looking at it. The Pakistani society is very religious. The Pakistani society is rotten in terms of its character and morality.
That Pakistan needs a new beginning is a mantra we have chanted for too long. Where will this new beginning come from if we remain averse to rational thinking and to new ideas?
The writer is a staff member. Email: ghazi_salahuddin@hotmail.com