Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'World should unite and end terrorism' that was published in Newsband

World should unite and end terrorism

A day after the Taliban massacre of schoolchildren in Peshawar, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said his government would not rest until the last terrorist was eliminated from Pakistan. He further promised there would be no distinction made between “good” Taliban and “bad” Taliban.  Does he mean that previously Pakistan considered the Taliban who were involved in Mumbai attack as good Taliban and that those who massacred the Pakistani students are bad Taliban?

When Mumbai attack took place, Pakistan did not feel India's pain. It did not have the heart to feel. It could not understand how India grieves, cries, sheds blood from its eyes when its innocent countrymen are butchered by its agents of terror. But India showed that its heart goes out to the parents whose innocent children have been grounded in the mill of gun battles. That’s the difference between the two neighbours.

The bail has been granted by an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan to Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi who was the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks and “a commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba”. Indian investigators have said he was among those directing the Mumbai terrorists on the phone from Pakistan.

The courts in Pakistan can't be blamed totally for release of Lakhvi. Judges there live in fear...if terrorists can do this much harm in retaliation to an army operation then think what they can do if a judge convicts one of them. The life of that judge is finished after that. The right blame is to be put on the political class who has persistently failed to protect those who fight against the terrorism and help them in pruning out the terrorism. Also to be blamed are the ISI and Pakistan army who decide the 'Taliban policy'.

Jihadi terrorism cannot be eliminated so long as certain religions teach their followers that "their religion alone is right and all non believers should be either converted or killed". That has to be done by way of correct interpretation and teaching of holy scriptures, correct practice of each one's religion and love. Various kinds of wars on terrorism are futile and self destructive. All religions are different flowers in the God's garden.

What India can do at this point of time is ensure that all gaps in our internal security system are filled instead of simply hoping that our neighbours will take strict actions against terrorists. Diplomatic efforts need to continue and we must pursue policies emphasising on common interests (protecting the common people from terror attacks).

A peaceful attempt by Prime Minister Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party government is the dire necessity of the hour. We all want peace. Whosoever lost their lives, whether civil or terrorists, were humans and their relatives still miss them. We all want to mark a full-stop to all those inhumane incidents that had been taken place in the past. As Lakhvi hails from Pakistan similarly, Malala represents the peaceful Pakistan. We should not forget a coin has both sides.

Terror breeds terror. Those who have blind faith in the path they have chosen as the only right path find it as a convenient tool to force others to accept their path and vision. There is an overwhelming need to convey the hollowness of this doctrine through relentless communication to educate the people on the virtues of love and compassion. It's high time all the nations put up a united front sharing information, and fight the demon.