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The terrorist tree
Dr Farrukh Saleem
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Capital suggestion
Leaves: A leaf is a ‘blade-like flattened structure attached to a stem’. Leaves are typically above the ground and can be seen. Over the past 13 years, Pakistan has seen terrorist leaves detonating 5,095 bomb blasts between Karachi and Peshawar. Over the past 13 years, Pakistan has seen terrorist leaves in 410 suicide attacks. Over the past 13 years, Pakistan has seen terrorist leaves killing 55,878 Pakistanis.
Stem: A stem is the ‘body or stalk of a tree that typically rises above ground’. The terrorist stem is about five safe-havens: a physical safe-haven, an ideological safe-haven, a financial safe-haven, a political safe-haven and a manpower safe-haven.
Physical safe-haven: In 2004, Pakistan ceded territory under the Shakai agreement. In 2005, Pakistan ceded territory under the Sararogha peace deal. In 2006, Pakistan ceded territory under the Miranshah peace accord. In 2008, Pakistan ceded territory under the Khyber Agency pact. As things stand, Pakistan has ceded some 20,000 square kilometres of its 796,095 square kilometres to various terrorist-insurgent conglomerates.
Ideological safe-haven: Since 1979, state and society have been providing ideological space for extremists to operate. The culprits here include the mosque-madressah twins, the media and the primary school curriculum.
Financial safe-haven: Money being raised locally finds its way into the terrorist infrastructure plus money coming in from Saudi Arabia, other Arab countries, India and Iran.
Political safe-haven: Since 1979, some mainstream political parties have been co-opting parties with extremist ideologies. This in effect has been providing political safe-havens to terrorist-insurgent conglomerates.
Manpower safe-haven: In 1947, there were 189 madressahs in Pakistan. The number now stands at 28,982 with more than two million students. Not all madressahs but a minority acts as the provider and protector of terrorist manpower. And then there are some 20,000 ‘foreign fighters’ residents of territories ceded; 5,000 Saudis, 4,000 Uzbeks and Chechen, 3,000 Yemenis, 2,000 Egyptian, 2,800 Algerians, 400 Tunisians, 300 Iraqis, 200 Libyans and 200 Jordanians.
Roots: This is the part of the tree which ‘attaches it to the ground and is typically underground...conveying water and nourishment to the rest of the plant via numerous branches and fibres’. Religious extremism is the root cause of terrorism. The state has long been using religious extremism as an instrument of Pakistan’s foreign policy (providing incentives and protection to the mosque-madressah infrastructure) and then society has long supported and tolerated the unregulated mosque-madressah infrastructure.
On top of that, Pakistan’s 260,903 educational institutions with 41 million students have long been ‘preaching’ instead of ‘teaching’ whereby at the primary school level we have ‘curricula of hate’, not much different from what is being taught at the madressahs.
What we recently saw at the Army Public School were the leaves. What we see in terms of bomb blasts and suicide attacks are also leaves. Operations Rah-e-Haq, Zalzala, Sherdil, Black Thunderstorm, Rah-e-Nijat, Rah-e-Shahadat and Zarb-e-Azb are doing two things: cutting down the leaves and trying to bring an end to physical safe-havens.
To be certain, merely cutting down the leaves will not get us very far – the stem and the roots would have to be taken care of as well. General Sharif is bent upon burning down the leaves. PM Sharif’s plans also revolve around the leaves. Military courts are all about the leaves. Who will then take care of the roots?
The writer is a columnist based in Islamabad. Email: farrukh15@hotmail.com
Twitter: @saleemfarrukh
Dr Farrukh Saleem
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Capital suggestion
Leaves: A leaf is a ‘blade-like flattened structure attached to a stem’. Leaves are typically above the ground and can be seen. Over the past 13 years, Pakistan has seen terrorist leaves detonating 5,095 bomb blasts between Karachi and Peshawar. Over the past 13 years, Pakistan has seen terrorist leaves in 410 suicide attacks. Over the past 13 years, Pakistan has seen terrorist leaves killing 55,878 Pakistanis.
Stem: A stem is the ‘body or stalk of a tree that typically rises above ground’. The terrorist stem is about five safe-havens: a physical safe-haven, an ideological safe-haven, a financial safe-haven, a political safe-haven and a manpower safe-haven.
Physical safe-haven: In 2004, Pakistan ceded territory under the Shakai agreement. In 2005, Pakistan ceded territory under the Sararogha peace deal. In 2006, Pakistan ceded territory under the Miranshah peace accord. In 2008, Pakistan ceded territory under the Khyber Agency pact. As things stand, Pakistan has ceded some 20,000 square kilometres of its 796,095 square kilometres to various terrorist-insurgent conglomerates.
Ideological safe-haven: Since 1979, state and society have been providing ideological space for extremists to operate. The culprits here include the mosque-madressah twins, the media and the primary school curriculum.
Financial safe-haven: Money being raised locally finds its way into the terrorist infrastructure plus money coming in from Saudi Arabia, other Arab countries, India and Iran.
Political safe-haven: Since 1979, some mainstream political parties have been co-opting parties with extremist ideologies. This in effect has been providing political safe-havens to terrorist-insurgent conglomerates.
Manpower safe-haven: In 1947, there were 189 madressahs in Pakistan. The number now stands at 28,982 with more than two million students. Not all madressahs but a minority acts as the provider and protector of terrorist manpower. And then there are some 20,000 ‘foreign fighters’ residents of territories ceded; 5,000 Saudis, 4,000 Uzbeks and Chechen, 3,000 Yemenis, 2,000 Egyptian, 2,800 Algerians, 400 Tunisians, 300 Iraqis, 200 Libyans and 200 Jordanians.
Roots: This is the part of the tree which ‘attaches it to the ground and is typically underground...conveying water and nourishment to the rest of the plant via numerous branches and fibres’. Religious extremism is the root cause of terrorism. The state has long been using religious extremism as an instrument of Pakistan’s foreign policy (providing incentives and protection to the mosque-madressah infrastructure) and then society has long supported and tolerated the unregulated mosque-madressah infrastructure.
On top of that, Pakistan’s 260,903 educational institutions with 41 million students have long been ‘preaching’ instead of ‘teaching’ whereby at the primary school level we have ‘curricula of hate’, not much different from what is being taught at the madressahs.
What we recently saw at the Army Public School were the leaves. What we see in terms of bomb blasts and suicide attacks are also leaves. Operations Rah-e-Haq, Zalzala, Sherdil, Black Thunderstorm, Rah-e-Nijat, Rah-e-Shahadat and Zarb-e-Azb are doing two things: cutting down the leaves and trying to bring an end to physical safe-havens.
To be certain, merely cutting down the leaves will not get us very far – the stem and the roots would have to be taken care of as well. General Sharif is bent upon burning down the leaves. PM Sharif’s plans also revolve around the leaves. Military courts are all about the leaves. Who will then take care of the roots?
The writer is a columnist based in Islamabad. Email: farrukh15@hotmail.com
Twitter: @saleemfarrukh
