Comment
Damage control must be priority

Qudsia Kadri
14-07-07

As the unfortunate showdown of Lal Masjid comes to an end, the loss of lives on both sides casts a shadow of great sorrow over the nation. As we lament and grief over the innocent deaths and casualties incurred by innocent students of the Lal Masjid who had been trained and conditioned to accept the heinous crime of suicide deaths and killings, and to believe that it is justified in Islam, is a very serious molding of young minds. It is imperative that the government must take immediate steps to implement education policies by opening schools in the areas where the children and teenagers mostly came from. To provide incentives like in the Punjab, to attract the boys and girls into a regular schooling system, and their families by providing at least one free meal - lunch or dinner along with a glass of milk for the morning and afternoon shifts of classes, school uniforms, books, stationary etc. The process might seem long and tedious but is the only way to facilitate families who have gone through the trauma of Lal Masjid and in particular the youngsters who desperately need guidance and emotional help in the form of medical facilities and psychologists. These children desperately need to talk and unfortunately the home environment and families in many cases are telling the teenagers that they should have sacrificed themselves in the Lal Masjid fiasco and attained martyrdom.
It is the State's responsibility to provide an alternate system to such persons, and such families who because of poverty, unemployment, and severe psychological stress have usually no option left but to pack off their children to Madarssas all over the country.
It is quite obvious then, that in most of the cases, it is not extreme religious compulsions which makes them send their children away, but severe economic constraints which make them unable to maintain their large families.
The fact, that most of these youngsters belong to the province of NWFP and up-north, should not hamper the government to take cover under the prelude of an opposition government controlling the province. The writ of government extends to all of Pakistan and the implementation of economic policies for the welfare of all its people has to be the top priority of the federation.
The damage control cannot be exercised by means of further threats, arrests, interrogation and high-handedness. The volatility is ingrained in the minds of the students, and many female students have already come out with statements that the movement for enforcement of Islamic order is still on and they have openly talked about an Islamic revolution.
The Lal Masjid operation should have opened the eyes of Islamabad to the mind-set of religious cult-like followings. It has given them an opening to reach out to those areas, and their tribal heads to start immediately a dialogue process, which by itself is of no consequence, unless backed and supported by concrete, immediate economic and financial impetus in several down-trodden neglected sectors of the economy. The President and Prime Minister must personally ensure the immediate implementation of the social sector developmental programs and start projects in areas where economic instability is used by religious extremists to play with the minds of people and use them for their devious and vicious plans to commit heinous crimes.
The President must not depend on the bureaucratic set-up in Islamabad for pushing forward the reconstruction plans of vulnerable areas, and fragile and conditioned mind-sets. He must contain the situation from further gaining momentum which God forbid could be manifested in the form of horrific suicide bombings.
Funds are allocated to PSDP and this year too the budget saw a considerable amount to be utilized in the social sector development. All such funding should be divided equally amongst the most needy and economically deprived areas of this country.
He must think on democratic lines and take the nation back to democracy by holding fair and free elections and handing over power to the representatives of the people. Right now the fragile blend of a so-called democracy intermingled with authoritarian leadership is dividing the country into fragments and a 'open for all' policy to impose and make do with self-made policies and beliefs off a peculiar nature, be it fundamentalism or political mud-slinging and stand off.