Dawn.com invites its readers to debate current affairs in this forum.
On Monday, terrorists used machine guns and grenades to launch a savage attack on a police training academy in Manawan, leaving 15 policemen dead and 150 injured. Eyewitness accounts estimate some 20 militants carried out the attack and that at least 11 explosions were heard through the course of the morning.
This attack comes on the heels of the militant attack against the Sri Lankan cricket team, which occured on March 3, 2009. Before that, the penultimate day of the World Performing Arts Festival was marred by three explosions on November 22, 2008.
Why is Lahore increasingly the target of terrorist attacks? Does the ongoing political tussle in the Punjab have any relation to the security situation? Who is responsible for ensuring the safety of Lahore’s residents? How can the Walled City be secured against terrorist attacks?
Are you in Lahore? Are you or anyone you know close to the police academy? If yes, please share eyewitness accounts from Manawan with Dawn.com.
Hi, i am an Indian. and this was the first time i visited any pakistani website. What took me by surprise was the similarity of people’s reaction in both side of the border. After the recent Mumbai attacks, blogger came out with a furor in India.. some blamed our security forces, many blamed Pakistani military outfits and a few blamed Hindu religious extremism and religious Zionism here in our own country behind instigating such attacks. Today when Lahore is burning, its the same kind of response in Pakistan that has left me baffled. The blame game carries on.
What concerns me is that, fortunately or unfortunately we are neighbors and nothing can change that fact. If there is a fight going on at my next door I won’t be able to sleep in peace. What I sincerely hope is that pakistan as well as India will give peace that chance.
We need to understand conspricy is hatched againts Pakistan, they all preparing grounds for attacking Pakistan. Please be united… let their dream to be a dream only..
Peace in Afganistan is related to peace in Pakistan. Peace in Pakistan is related to peace in India and so forth. Peace or hatred can not be stopped by barbed wires , political boundaries. Intelligensia of Pakistan been busy making medicines from poison of hatred.
Nub hatred in root. Stop paying lip service to love and peace. Do something for it on individual level. Love is infectious. Spread love and peace.
Eeman, Pakistan is facing present condition with last 8 years only, but foundation is very old.
the problem with Pakistani intelligence is that they consider kashmiri fighters, Taliban and Al-qaida, completly different.
they may be little different in their short term goal, but long term goal is same.
that’s why they have been mixed up now, as time is going on. it has been very difficult to discriminate terrorists and extremists in Pakistan now.
it can be seen by the sympathy of some Pakistanis towards Taliban. but Taliban has not done anything for betterment of Pakistan in any modern field.
We(Pakistan) don´t need foreign powers to meddle into our countrys affairs. We(Pakistan) need a government being competent enough to take independent decisions and a government being bold enough to be accountable for its failures.
Neither the sitting government or the opposition are our country´s true representants. All of them sets their personal agenda above the agenda of Pakistan. Expecting anything from them is naive if not stupid to think of.
1. Stop blaming the Indians
2. Start to look at yourselves to find solutions
3. Stop playing the victim and blame the whole world but yourselves.
4. Stop the ISI covert support to extremists.
If you are really really serious about it- and only if you are really really serious
THEN
1) remove the loud speakers from the minarettes
2)muffle your Tak Tak ‘s on the roads
3) Kill the crows that spread garbage all over.
Then perhaps your minds will work again and find a solution free of dictation from petro-dollar America.
Dear World,
United we win/ divided we fall.
The Taliban are uneducated – they cannot interpret even small Surah’s of the Qu’ran.
And foreigners who are hiding cannot go back to Yemen or Egypt because they will
Get defeated. We need religious leaders to give true fatwa’s that means suicide equals
Hell. The Taliban are an organized gang that deals in drugs and cannot read or write
Except have memorized the Qu’ran without the meaning- sad but true.
I think there is no accountability in Pakistans Police, ISI, Army or even government. These kind of shamefull attacks occure on weekly basis and these people are busy condemning them. I think police chief of Lahore should be fired and so should be Rehman Malik. They have to take responsibility for their incompetance. The chief minister and home minister of Maharashtra and Home Minister of India all resigned/fired after the mumbai attacks and police commissioners are under investigation.
Two steps to end terrorism.
– Kick US and its agent rulers out of this region. Truly, terrorism was rare before US entered this region
– Replace this pro elite, anti poor and unjust system called democracy and replace it with a just system like the caliphate.
Its a tragedy.I wish Pakistan had realised is much earlier the implications by siding with USA.
Now, it appears to be rather late but still requires attention but with a risk.
Govt to negotiate with the redicals and find out what they want.If their condition is for Pakistan to withdraw from supporting USA in Afganistan,Pakistan should immidiately decide accordingly,but if they have other motives eg talibanisation,then it will be difficult for the entire country to accept this.Too complex.In this case war is the only solution till victory
Dear friends
The events in Pakistan make us very nervous. The events ara taking place very close to India.
Pakistan must do the followings
1) Change the curriculam of your madrassas
2) Develop family values so that people like Mohd Ajmal Kasab are not bain washed
3) Have faith in democracy
4) Do not allow Military / ISI to dictate your country’s future. Let them take care of country’s defence
5) Please don’t be in denial. Seeing some of the debates on Pakistan TV channels makes you laugh. Terrorism is a serious issue which emanates from Pakistan. Please take a look at all the terrorists activities around the world and Pakistani nationals would be involved in at least 60 to 70% of them
6) Please develop equal and friendly relationship with India. Kashmir will never be solved through the export of terror as a state policy
7) Please have actual estimate of your strengths and weaknesses and work on reducing your weaknesses.
I wish Pakistan well
The first step has to be an acknowledgement of the problem. Many people still seem to believe in conspiracy theories blaming the Americans, Israelis, Indians etc. for the problem. They seem to have this idea in their mind that everything wrong in pakistan is down to everyone other than them.
Get rid of the soft spot in their hearts for religious extremists, even if they are fighting causes they support. Terrorising and killing innocents are wrong. Full stop – no ifs and buts.
There are NO good terrorist.. If the zealots are encouraged, whatever be the cause, at some point of time they’ll come and bite you.
I just read that some of the leader have already blamed India RAW for this incident too. What happened to Lahore report on the player event? Is it settling somewhere in the dust already. Let me give you simple solution
1. Give good education so that people can find job and work for a better life.
2. Remove all the stupid politician in your country as much as I wish for India.
3. Make everyone accountable.
Eeman (March 30th, 2009 at 3:46 pm) sums it all up perfectly:” …… situation Pakistan is experiencing today is just 8 years old since the 9/11 and Bush’s ‘War on Terror’. We were living in Lahore and rest of the Pakistan peacefully despite having Jehadis and all relgious schools around.”
U.S.A., please leave our region, so we could get our lives back!
I believe and would request people of Pakistan and especially in Punjab to help institutions tracing out the signs of terrorists and extremists in the suburbs and within the congested areas tofacilitate
public institutions take action accordingly.
We all are in danger and let us awaken our masses to stand as firm rock against these terrorists.
Dear my country fellows,
We are the biggest enemy of our country, do not blame anybody such as Indians and Israelis etc etc the blame game should be stopped, we are greedy for money, we are ready to do everything and anything do not bring in religion it is a separate subject. Religion does not fill the hunger in people’s stomachs.
We all should be honest with our motherland and so we should not discriminate between us (Punjabi – Pathan – Baluchi – Sindhi etc etc) we should all be true nationalists (Pakistani).
Why blame the Indians everytime? I am an Englishman, watching this unfortunate series of events from far. It seems that the Pakistani people are themselves responsible for this situation.
Why don’t you join the world community in Afghanistan to increase your influence by way of creative/developmental works? Are you not capable enough for that? The only way you know to influence someone else is by terrorism or supporting/ joining hands with terrorists?
I am in serious shock and i believe we are the victims of the so called jihadees in the 80s. Hence as one reader wrote, have the army and paramailitary forces always on the check inside the country. Also have a masive cleanup of the tribal areas (use force to the maximum) to get rid of the anti Pakistan elements at all. Even use heavy bombings and clean Pakistan.
Religious extremism has deeply rooted in our society. For the last three decdades, these religious constituencies worked intelligently and reached to the grqass roots. Their outreach programs deeply entered in our homes through women darses and academies. The time has come to work on the media and change public thought process, please ignore religious maulvis on tv media, avoid them if you want to save your generations. Revisit islam and fiqah and work to be compatible with other religions of the world. please try to see these madrassas and their mushroom growth. Please have legislators pass legislation to review the policy on madrassahs, bring them at par with other institutions.
Please dosto, time has come, it is dangerous for your generations. Eliminate these extremistws, believe it, it is your war. Let Punjabi Feudals leave their old political feudal war. The new world is their, if they donot change, they will also be eliminated.
Letus bring harmoney and let u educate our masses that this religious extremism is dangerous. Our institutions must be strengthened, and if today police is weakened, then the next attack will be on armed forces an there are many people within the army who are also very religiously believe what the terrorists are upto. Let our army think about it, clean their house a well. Send these religious institutions and those who do accept todays challenges to Siberia for 30 years. Let us clean our house.
An appeal to media, let us work for our country,let us devote ourselves to say something openly against this extremists agenda. Country cannot be run and people of Pakistan would not accept imposed fiqah……all others inclding mushaikhs are scared now and some of them have been hijacked by top brass leaders outside the rings of these institutions. Pleae try to understand anti-west policy would kill you all the whole country will be devastated.
Media people…Please avoid bringing these so called religious scholars on TV. Please ignore them for some time. Ban on loudspeakers, clean the madrasses, have look at these madrassahs in Punjab and Sind. These are nurseries and sancturies where the dangerous mosquitoes are breeding. You wil all die with malaria of relgion extremisim. Let us help and support our institutions to grow Let us all work together to strengthen our institutions. If our legislators do not work, let us have another long March…Long March against extremism, long march against rigidity longmarch against those who do not want change to become coexistant tolerant society.
Let us all, students excluding rigid groups,
intelligentia, scholars, socialists, poets and all those who want to make this country their own country, who wanted to be paatriots. Let all other provinces sit together and Have Long March Against Extremisim.
Mr. Aitzaz Ahsan,,,,,,you are the future leader of this country,,,let you organize the groups to have a Long March against Terroriz and Socializm. Let us have a strong Long March against all those who wnted status guo.
This is a very sad situation in Pakistan. It is turning into another Iraq now. Every week terrorists attacks are taking place if not everyday. My deepest condolences to the family members of those innocents who have died in today’s attack on Loahore. Its high time for Pakistan to mend its ways now and act tough against terrorism. In my opinion they must do the following to curb terrorism in their own country and the world:
1. Shut down all Madarsas.
2. Stop ISI and army from supporting terrorism of any nature.
3. Shut down all terrorists training camps running in Pakistan.
4. Cooperate with other countries in eliminating terrorists from Pakistan.
5. Utilize funds received from US and other countries on welfare schemes and employment generation.
I hope and pray to God from across the border that some day terrorism will be eliminated from Pakistan and the entire world will live with peace of mind.
The Pakistan government and citizens should focus on core issues of education and social economic development rather than wasting tiime and trillions in waging war.
This is ground the reality that our law enforcing agencies are ill trained, under qualified,under paid and less equipped. Expecting miracles from them is not fair. Being Pakistanis we should come out of dreams and accept this reality that we are being protected by those who themselves are not safe.
Our poilce is trained to serve the VIPs only and they are not trained professionally to keep themselves well prepared to face more sophisticated and trained enemy.
Lets hope that our present government take positive and concrete steps to save our country.
it indeed sad to see whats happening in pak but the onus lies on them that inspite of all this so many terrorist camps are still florishing in pak and defaming the beautiful religion islam in name of jihad. The pak govt should realise you need to act fast by actually shutting down these terrrorists shops
It is a pity some Pakistanis feel that intereference from Indians or people from abroad is the root cause of their troubles. What they( those few) fail to understand is that the ENEMY is within. Most Indians are as much concerned as Pakistanis are, that the monster of terrorism will devour all around us Pakistanis, Indians, Bangladeshis, Afghans. Terrorists are only interested in making their power base stronger and enrich themselves. Terrorists will in the end destroy themselves also.
Unless Pakistan as a nation does not wake up and put emphasis on self education (key to progress)and help themselves, surely they will come to a bitter end and so will people around them. After all this, whether Kashmir is a part of Pakistan or India or an Independent entity, will not matter.