The Wasted Vigil.

Collateral damage. Militancy, terrorism. Religious justifications of honor crimes. Torture, beheading, imprisonment, bombings, and disappearances. It is impossible to figure out the aftermath of conflict through the lives of ordinary people who become victims of an ugly war that uproots their happiness. What strange times are these when Muslims fear other Muslims. The clash between extremist Islam and liberal narratives is apparent in Pakistan today.

It is said “History is the third parent”. We haven’t learnt the history lesson that previous conflicts might have taught us. If it isn’t for the news or deep research, novels and movies will guide you through the situations. Hundreds of people in the tribal areas have become the character we see interrogated in a secret prison in Zero Dark Thirty. The understanding of territory and ordinary emotion , and with ability to numb the senses is something difficult. Those victims when tortured are made to think of “being worthless, for not being able to help the loved ones, for Pakistan and its poverty.. for the nation where taps don’t have water, and the shops don’t have sugar.. the disgusting, repulsive country where everyone it seems is engaged in killing everyone else… a land of revenge attacks.”

Not only should we, but the worldwide media should try to understand what the clash is about. It is not the Pakistani’s that are terrorists. It is not the helpless people in the villages or tribal areas. It is the extremists who view killing as the best solution. Perhaps it is the similarity to the French revolution in which all sorts of aristocrats were killed. Not a single one was left behind. This was marked as the star of ‘liberty, equality and fraternity.’ But is that what the Islamic extremists are fighting for? Think for yourself. They are not fighting for liberty, nor freedom, nor equality. They are fighting for an extreme land with men in traditional clothes, women in burqa’s, no co-education (or education, simply) and hatred against the non-Islamic states. The life of the Holy Prophet (SAW) and the Holy Quran itself guides us through how special the rights of non-Muslims should be. If Jihad is what they’re working upon, it shouldn’t be against fellow Muslims. It should be against the ones who are trying to harm the peace Islam tells us to keep.

I strongly recommend that people be influenced by the lesson history provides. It is us who shall raise our voice. It is us who will, undoubtedly strive for the peace of our Muslim state. Peace is for all. Not just for Muslims. Always keep in mind. those people who are frustrated accepting their ‘fate’ and that of their country as it changes course, how can you call it fate when it’s the human beings who start it all?

(Note: Credits of inspiration go to Nadeem Aslam’s book “The Blind Man’s Garden.”)