How many people remember or even know about the following events in Pakistan?
- On January 1, 2010, a suicide bomber driving a Pajero laden with explosives rammed his vehicle into a crowd watching a volleyball match in the district of Lakki Marwat, KPK. The spectators were mostly teenage boys, and as the explosion took place, the bodies of the volleyball players and the spectators were thrown miles high into the sky. 105 were killed and 100 injured
- On 28 May, 2010, terrorists entered 2 ahmadiyya mosques simultaneously in Lahore during Friday prayers, killing 94 by firing indiscriminately and lobbing grenades at those praying in the mosques. The funerals of the slain ahmadis were not attended by any prominent government official nor given any media coverage. In the words of a politician, “to call a dead ahmadi a martyr is enough to get you behind bars for 3 years under the laws of the land.”
- On September 20, 2011, a bus travelling between Quetta and Taftan was stopped by armed men carrying rocket launchers and assault rifles. The bus contained 45 passengers, who were asked to show their NIC’s. The Shias were identified by their names and taken outside the bus, lined up and shot execution style, till 28 bodies lay outside the bus.
- On January 10, 2013, the Alamdar Road area in Quetta, which is predominantly a Hazara Shia area was targeted by 2 suicide bombs. As people rushed forward to help the injured of the first blast, the second occurred, killing 94 people including prominent humanitarian worker Irfan Ali Khudi. After this incident, the Hazara community refused to bury its dead and sat on Alamdar Road with the coffins of their dead in the freezing cold and rain of Quetta asking for justice and protection. This silent protest lasted 4 days.
- On 22 September 2013, two suicide bombs ripped apart the All Saints Church in Peshawar during Sunday service, killing 127 and injuring 250. The image of the terrified girl with blood and mud on her face is a lasting image of this incident.
- On 21 January, 2014, a bus carrying Shia pilgrims on the Quetta –Taftan highway was again attacked near Mastung by a bomb. The attack left 30 dead. You may remember Ibtihaj from this incident who lost his sister, mother and grandmother in the attack, and later became a symbol of courage and resilience.
My hands are trembling even as I write this timeline. The oldest incident is just 4 years ago but most of these are forgotten, dried up statistics. The APS Peshawar massacre did indeed shake our foundations but I’m just wondering why these foundations were still standing after all that had already taken place? In a few months it would be a year since this incident took place. Why has it taken the murder of 132 children to awaken our collective conscience and has it awoken even now? Will this incident be forgotten 3 or 4 years from now as just another “unfortunate incident”, that we will blame India for, light candles, and then get back to our parties and Instagram photos? Will the Government just hang a few terrorists, and leave the terrorist dens in the main cities to operate with impunity?
Will the TV anchors and journalists continue to confuse the public and obfuscate the issue with their conspiracy theories? Will the apologists continue to apologise for, defend and support terrorists? Will our politicians continue to cite *corruption* as our No 1 problem and ignore existential threats? I’m afraid we don’t have time now for ignorance and apathy. We cant sink any lower, there is no point any lower than where we are now. The band of brave souls protesting in front of Lal Masjid was a sight for sore eyes, I wish the crowd had been as big as it was during the dharnas. Because it is this “dharna” that will make a difference. From here ,its either rise or self destruct. But where are the dharnas now? Why is the man allowed to proclaim his noxious hate and love and support for the most extremest of cold blooded terror outfits, the ISIL.
It seems, that in spite of the APS massacre wake up call…. We have learnt nothing!
