10 Growing Terrorism In Pakistan

Emporium Current Essays 43 Terrorism is generally considered as the deliberate, unjustifiable and random use of violence for political ends against protected persons. The quest for a definition terrorism has, however, bedevilled diplomats and international lawyers and there is no internationally accepted definition of this term. . It is pertinent to mention here thav acts of violence, carried out within the borders of a state, art more problematic to characterise, since illegal acts of violence might be legitimate specially when the state authorities harshly repress dissent and when the illegal acts do not target protected persons. To argue that an act of political violence is unlawful (a factual statement) is not the same as arguing that it is illegitimate (a normative conclusion). It is important to distinguish between those political systems where the citizens car*, effectively voice their demands and those where freedom of expression is xotalh choked. In this second category, where the state is deaf to its citizens and residents, violence might be justified and legitimate even though it is deemed illegal and illegitimate by the authorities. Jn this context, in the first category of states, political violence is both illegal and illegitimate because the enfranchised citizens need «o< resort to violence to be heard or to enjoy the protection i»f tbv. slate. It goes without saying thai the cost of terrorism is most severe for its immediate victims. Nevertheless, there are heavy costs for the perpetrators' society as well. The ase of terrorism stereotypes a community, thereby reducing rather than enhancing international support, for its claims. The heavy jnoral baggage of past outrages, can be a burden. Many acts of terrorism are patently counterproductive. Rather than weakening the resolve of the target population, terrorist - whether agents of a state or acting independently supply the argument and all too often the means for their own eradication. Nearer home, it is sad to observe that terrorist activities have increased manifold during the past few years. People are greatly concerned 44 Emporium Current Essays It is our considered view that to combat this menace of terrorism, the whole nation will have to maintain a common front. AH sections of society must make concerted efforts to politically isolate the terrorists. These miscreants should be denied any form of legitimacy, and people should make sure that the terrorists are starved of the oxygen of publicity. A great damage has already been done, so we must take a firm stand against these terrorist elements. If we show any slackness at this point of time, the responsibility of the whole nation to condemn every terrorist's outrage as and wnen it take s place. By so doing, we will ultimately get rid of this scourge of terrorism. Besides other problems that Pakistan is facing today, the one important cause of this violence is the uncertain and unstable political situation in Afghanistan. We must make

all-out efforts to ensure that peace and stability is quickly resorted in Afghanistan. It is rather unfortunate that from Afghanistan, Pakistan has inherited the drugs and the Kalashnikov culture. Looking jback, we see that around 1978-79 there were no drugs in Pakistan. But today there are more than three million drug addicts in our midst. Why a pity' To worsen matters, foreign agencies especially RAW are also fanning the flames of discontentment in Pakistan, with the result that the political situation in Pakistan is going from bad to worse with each day that passes. RAW's notorious activities are a grave challenge to our government, the law-enforciiyj agencies and the intelligence agencies. They have to match the wits of foreign enemy and her planted agents in Pakistan. Authorities, concerned must arrange to plug the holes and consider raising and antiterrorism and anti-subversion cell to thwart the enemy's designs. We must never forget their offence is the best defence. Our next move should be to pre-empt the enemy's offensive action before it is allowed to materialise. Towards that end exception a measures must be taken to ensure that the terrorists are not allowed to succeed in their plans. There should be extra security checks better patrolling and vigilance, etc. Another menace in this regard is the spread of illegal weapons in Pakistan. In this regard, we must say that the illegal protection of weapons must stop without any loss of time. While nobody wants to deprive arms manufacturers in Dara of a living. Pakistan government could use their expertise for manufacture of weapons under contract for the armed forces and other lawenforcing agencies. All this should be carried out under strict supervision to make sure that these weapons are not sold elsewhere. A cleanup of weapons needs a strong political will and an efficient administration To facilitate matters, the political and religious parties must arrive at a consensus whereby debate rather than weapous will decide the course of events. Our law-enforcing agencies Emporium Current Essays 45 must remove corrupt elements from their midst to ensure impartially and fair play. A better pay package must be offered to the police force to ensure that they do not resort to extortion as is often the case now. We must always remember that to spread malignancy is easy but to cure it is a difficult task. We have reached a stage where thousands of weapons are easily available and have been extensively used. If a stand against the proliferation of weapons is not taken now along with accompanying steps to bring peace to the land, the situation will further deteriorate. Here the question arises as to where millions of jobless youth would go by the turn of the century as a the result of uncontrolled population growth. Such a situation in a country with gross inequalities and a high level of illiteracy is a sure recipe for the

disaster and the proliferation of weapons may well be the spark that could cause an explosion. While combating this growing menace, we must never fight terrorism with terrorism because this will aggravate the situation all the more. Instead, we should keep in mind that establishment of just, reliable and trustworthy social order is a thing of prime importance and of far more intrinsic value in itself. Even it we are sincere in countering terrorism with equal terrorism in retaliation, such a success will be like that of peace reigning in a graveyard. It will be devoid of all the blessed and sweet fruit that justice can bring in its wake. Viewed in this context, our first priority should be the elimination of injustice from our polity. This done, forces of terrorism will meet their logical end. When justice is administered to people, naturally they will feel secure. Then on their own, they will offer themselves to frustrate the menacing designs of terrorists. A "correspondence with the public" cell should be opened in the Ministry of Human Rights. It should be staffed by qualified psychologists. These intellectuals will suggest constructive steps. Given where Pakistan stands today it is quite in the fitness of things that thundering battle cries against terrorism are abandoned. For us, it is important to put our house in order and not get drawn into the battle cries of those wild in time will realise the weakness of their own position. The approaches to deal with terrorism on equal footing also require to be reconsidered. All forms of terrorism cannot be approached by war strategy. Fist of all, distinction must be made between various types of terrorism: State terrorism against other states or against its own subjects in some countries cannot but be condemned and world conscience must be awakened.at their rapid growth. This phenomenon especially increase in dramatic prnpoi tion.tiuring the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the subsequent battles for power in that country.