Pakistan Post 11/26

One year has passed since 11/26, the biggest terror attack India ever witnessed. There is still a feeling of sadness and anger among the people of India. The country can’t forget how the ten terrorists, sponsored and supported by Pakistan, entered and attacked the commercial capital of the country, Mumbai.

Last year, on the evening of November 26, 4 important places in Mumbai were targeted and 183 people were killed by these cruel terrorists, and over 400 people were injured. Besides civilians, many security force officers lost their lives. This fiasco ended after 60 hours when 9 of the 10 terrorists were killed and the 10th terrorist, Ajmal Aamir Kasab was caught alive. Kasab is still under trial for that inhuman incident and the entire country is eagerly waiting his execution.

Undoubtedly, the most affected people are those who lost their near and dear ones on 11/26. Nobody can feel more pain than them. But the people of the country want to know that after one year since 11/26, what we learned from that incident. And what steps have been taken to avoid repetition of this terror attack? Besides, the country also wants to know whether Pakistan has learned from 11/26. Has Pakistan now decided not to let the terrorists operate from its soil to attack India? And what is the position of the Pak sponsored terrorism, in Pakistan? Is the demon of terrorism under the control of Pakistan army and Pakistan administration or not?

Firstly, if we see the social and political situation in the country a year after 11/26, we can see that cooperation between the Centre and the States, to fight terror, has increased. For a quick response to any terror attack, many steps are being taken to increase the commando strength. Anti-terror teams of commandos and special zones are being set up. Modern ways are adopted to keep a watch on the coastal borders of the country and the strength of the Coast Guard has also been increased. Other such steps related to security are in progress.

26 11 Mumbai terrorist attack accused ajmal amir qassab

All political parties are one on the issue of fighting terror. Security arrangements are ensured in sensitive places in the country. The government of India is trying to shield the country from terror attacks on the lines of post 9/11, America.

As far as the social situation is concerned, after 11/26, the country has also become more united across communities and regions. The entire world saw that the Muslim Council Trust of Mumbai declined to bury the bodies of 9 terrorists in Muslim cemeteries. The Muslim Ulemas also supported this decision of the trust by saying that the attack of 11/26 was entirely anti-Islam and inhuman.

Therefore, the terrorists involved in the attack don’t deserve to be called Muslims, so there is no question of providing a burial place to them in a Muslim cemetery. While this attack united all castes and communities in the country, the people of the Muslim community organized peace marches as well as demonstrations against Pakistan in many big cities throughout India. On the whole, we can say that after 11/26, the country has become united in the same way, as it was during the Kargil war.

As far as post 11/26 Pakistan is concerned, the entire world is seeing its deteriorating situation. As a neighbouring country, India wants a peaceful and prosperous Pakistan. India is aware of the fact that if there is a fire in the neighbour’s home, the heat is felt by the neighbours also. But the condition of Pakistan has reached such a level, where one can’t hope easily for a return of peace and prosperity in that country. The demon of terrorism, that was created and nurtured for attacking the neighbours, is now bent on destroying Pakistan itself.

The headquarters of the ISI and the Pakistani army are the major targets of these jihadi forces. Daily there is more than one terror incident in Pakistan. Most of these attacks involve suicide bombers. These suicide bombers are not sent by India to carry out attacks in Pakistan rather these are the offspring of Pakistani parents. There socialization and education is in Pakistan. And as a result of the wrong policies of the Pak rulers, these are today challenging Pakistan itself. No country should ever pass from such a phase, as Pakistan is today. Even the Indian people are disturbed by the regular attacks in Pakistan, particularly Peshawar, but in such a situation, we Indians can’t do anything more than mourn.

We are more concerned that notwithstanding all these facts and the grounded image of Pakistan in the world, the responsible people of Pakistan are still giving childish and irresponsible statements. Such irresponsible people sometimes decline to accept Kasab as a Pakistani, sometimes some Pakistani intellectuals start calling Kasab a terrorist related with Hindu community because there was a red thread tied on his right wrist during the attack.

Whereas the former Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif didn’t hesitate in accepting Kasab as a Pakistani citizen. Instead of learning lessons from 11/26 and committing itself to non-repetition of such incidents, Pakistani rulers are busy finding the possible ‘hand’ of India behind the disturbance & terror attacks in Pakistan, even though a Pak based terror group took the responsibility for the attacks.

Here again, I want to talk about the testimony of the defence minister of Pakistan, Ahmed Mukhtar after 11/26 in which he publicly accepted that had the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the parent organization of the LeT, not been banned, Pakistan would have been declared a terrorist state.

As a result of such wrong decisions of nurturing terrorism, today the current and former Pakistani rulers are saying that Pakistan needs sympathy, not accusations and criticism. No doubt, India has full sympathy with Pakistan but first Pakistan will have to liberate itself from the jihadist fracas so that peace can prevail in Pakistan and India can be saved from a repetition of 11/26.

Tanveer Jafri is an award-winning journalist and peace activist, based in India, covering communal harmony and social activities.