Shark jump captured on camera

By Zahid Karim It is true that terrorism remains one of the most serious national security challenges of Pakistan. It has blighted the plant of peace, progress and prosperity. Although, time and again efforts have been made to eradicate this cancerous evil, it has deeply embedded ideological, political, and socio-economic roots in the society. It has not only weakened the socio-economic fabric of the society but also tarnished the image of the country across the globe.  At the moment, Pakistan is experiencing a resurgence of terrorism, particularly in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan. There is no place or aspect of life where terrorism and extremis has not shown its ugly face. No one is safe either in office or home from militants, extremists and terrorist. It is evident from the recent deadly attack on rangers installation in Karachi. Before it, a suicide car bomb targeted a passenger train transporting military personnel and their families at Chaman Phatak station in Quetta, killing at least 24 people and injuring over 50 others. Besides, the suicide bomb attack at the Khadija Tul Kubra mosque in the Tarlai Kalan area of Islamabad killed at least 31 people and injured 169 others. In fact, the widespread, coordinated terrorist atrocities across the province of Baluchistan including Quetta, Gwadar, Mastung, and Nushki, resulting in significant casualties. Sadly, the car bombing at Mir Ali Area of North Waziristan which led to the loss of some 13 soldiers and 3 civilians added further fuel to the fire. Similarly, the bold daylight attack of Sorab, Baluchistan, Khuzdar school bus suicide and fatal hijacking of Jafar Express reveal the helplessness and haplessness of the security agencies of the country. Interestingly, many security operations have been carried out but their gains are not so encouraging. Indeed, the lasting peace requires more than military might. It needs social justice, education, economic development, and strong institutions.  As a matter of fact, without paving the way for political stability, economic prosperity, social justice and religious harmony, sustainable peace remains only a daydream. It requires social healing, reconciliation, and national unity. It is not just military operations, airstrikes, and crackdowns that can resolve the daunting issue. Of course, the root causes are deeply entrenched in social, economic, ideological, and political structures, not merely in armed insurgency. These may include poverty and unemployment, illiteracy and radical education, social injustice and political exclusion and Religious intolerance and sectarianism. Thus, Pakistan needs social reforms—not just military solutions—to effectively eliminate terrorism.  More importantly, military solutions are not alone sustainable and viable. Military action may abolish imminent threats, but it cannot address the root causes. Besides, force is necessary only to dismantle militant networks but long-term stability requires deep social reforms to address the root causes of radicalization. Military operations like Zarb-e-Azb, Rah-e-Rast etc have only degraded militant groups but failed to eradicate them completely.  Education is the foremost remedy to discourage radicalization in the society. Promotion of education infuses tolerance, peace and critical thinking.  It has capacity to augment intellect, widens vision and produces a refined and cultured human being. It equips the poverty-ridden youth to become productive part of the society. In this connection, curricula should be modernized. Besides, madrassas education should be regulated to prevent the spread of extremist ideologies. It is through quality, inclusive, and modern education that radicalism can be discouraged. Furthermore poverty alleviation and provision of economic opportunities is another panacea for extremism and terrorism. Ironically, insufficiency of economic opportunities creates frustration, deprivation, and anxiety among the youth. It makes them vulnerable to fall prey to the extremist and militants for financial incentives. Undoubtedly, investing in economic development, job creation, and vocational training provide them a peaceful path. In addition to this, provision of social justice is another cure to win hearts and minds of the people. Rampant violation of human rights and extra-judicial killings imparts resentment and revenge. An inefficient and corrupt criminal justice system erodes public trust. It leads individuals to seek alternative forms of “justice” to address their unsettled grievances. Thus, sustainable peace can also be achieved through fair, accessible, and efficient justice system and police frameworks.  Moreover, since her inception, Pakistan has been witnessing poor social cohesion and interfaith harmony among its population. It has led them towards violence and terrorist activities to get accepted their different vendettas.  Indeed, national integration and cohesion should also be fostered among the disgruntled sections of the society. Steps that foster dialogue, understanding, and respect among different communities, sects, and religious groups should be taken on war footing basis. In turn, it helps to dismantle the sectarian and ethnic divisions that extremist groups exploit. This builds a stronger national identity that transcends narrow affiliations. Additionally, prolonged military operations also cause political instability and adverse repercussion, especially when tangible improvements in security mechanism are not attained. Since, inception Pakistan has been witnessing widespread political instability. In turn, this phenomenon foments terrorism by creating governance vacuums and weakening of law enforcement apparatus. It allows militant groups to exploit social, economic, and political grievances of the masses. Ironically, frequent regime changes and civil-military discord distract authorities from security. It provides safe havens for groups like the TTP and other so-called terrorist organization. This contaminated environment of political polarization allows extremist groups to fill the void by promoting sectarianism and radicalization, which further destabilizes the state.  Political stability is essential to knock down the terrorism in Pakistan. It provides the foundation for effective governance, the rule of law, economic development, and social cohesion. Political stability allows the state to address the fundamental causes of terrorism, including poverty, inequality, sectarianism and ideological basis of terrorism.  It is also a matter a fact that when the state fails to provide justice, security, or basic services, people may turn to non-state actors. Lack of rule of law, poor governance, unbridled corruption, has added fuel to the fire. Strengthening of rule of law, police reforms, and transparent governance reduce extremism. It has capacity to manage the anger and disillusionment

Hani Rasheed Through the pages of your esteemed newspaper, I wish to highlight the importance of freedom in our society. Freedom is not a luxury or a favour; it is a basic right of every human being. People deserve the freedom to express their opinions, choose their future and live with dignity. Unfortunately, many people still face restrictions, fear and injustice when they raise their voices. When freedom is suppressed, society loses hope and progress comes to a standstill. A nation cannot truly develop if its people are afraid to speak the truth. The government and society must protect the rights and freedom of citizens. Freedom should be used responsibly, but no one should be silenced through injustice or fear. It is time to understand that protecting freedom means protecting the future of our nation. I hope your newspaper will highlight this important issue and encourage the authorities to protect the fundamental rights of the people

By Dr.Sajjad Ali A suffering pervades the walled villages of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and the privacy of the homes in the city, in a language of suffering all distinct. The language of infertility is not the one used in medical textbooks but it is the one that speaks to life and death in Pashtun society. Being a childless woman is being defined by a lexicon of failure here, a failure that runs against the very ethos of Pashtunwali, where a person’s nasl (lineage) and naam (name) is everything. The condition is identical, but the language employed to use it as a weapon against women and men are very different, very vicious. It is a public indictment to her; a silent, emasculating damnation to him. The Woman’s Cross: The Public Indictment The worthiness of a Pashtun woman is arbitrarily squeezed into her reproductive capability. When she drops the one perceived duty, she is not infertile, she is cursed, useless and dangerous. The attack starts with an endless list of names and peghoor (tease). She is a banjh (barren), the most common and heart-breaking epithet. She is a shana (dry, unfruitful tree that bears no fruit). She is khaanch (empty), a hollow vessel with no substance. The elders of the family complain, “Mata plar na laree, khaanch de” (She hasn’t borne him a son, she is empty). Her body is compared to the barren land of Sheera zameena (salty, infertile land) which nothing can grow, or shara (fallow land). The childless woman or the one whose children have died is generally known as a kheeri, which translates as woman of ill omen, bearer of misfortune. She is slightly banned from being present at weddings or cradles (gharay). When a child is sick after the visit, people begin muttering, “Da kheeri da las na ye bimar sho” (After the touch of the kheeri the child fell sick). This spiritual banishment is so devastating! If her husband returns to marriage, or if the family goes bankrupt, she is considered a shamat (a bad omen, a curse to the family) and a manhoos (inauspicious, unlucky). The psychological take-home message is no less horrifying: she is not only failing to give birth; she is an active, evil agent of birthlessness and death and decay. She’s a curse for their existence. The peghoor is available in a dramatic fashion. A mother-in-law would see a hen with chicks and will loudly cry out, “Da charkha ham bachy kawal, khu da adamzad mung na shwe.” (Even this hen hatched chicks, but this human gave us nothing). Neighbours grumble, ‘Khudai da qahar da, cha ta kho pukha na we (She is God’s wrath, she hasn’t ripened for anybody—to mean that she has not become a mother). A cruel comic scene that is often acted out: The guest exclaims the house is a paradise, and the mother-in-law replies, “Kor kho jannat de, khu khaanch de, khoonda raghlay na de” [The house is a paradise, but it is empty, no fragrance has come into it]—singing about the fragrance of a child which reminds her of something she failed to do with her daughter-in-law. This puts her in an economic hostage position. She is a servile slave to make up for her “defect” because of the ever-present unspoken danger of a balka (co-wife). All the money is spent on her own “cure,” which includes dangerous dai (traditional birth attendant) concoctions, expensive visits to taweez-keeping (piir sahib) and futile taweez (amulet) usage. She will wear a tawiz laced with prayers for fertility and she will be made to drink water that has been washed with a dranzay (a special supplication)—her husband’s diagnosis will not even be suspected. This quest devours the family’s resources, everything aimed at the woman who is in a desperate struggle to remain not the family’s shamat. The Man’s Secret: The Silent Emasculation The man feels that the lack of producing babies is not something he has failed to do biologically, but something he has failed to do as a man. He can’t be brought into pity, because if he is, he’s acknowledging that he lost nang (honour). The words he has to say, the words he is not allowed to say, the words he can’t say at all: his torment is a poison that is surrounded by a wall of aggressive denial, but is intended to un-man him. If he is unable to generate a zo-ye (a son), then he is no longer a sar-ye (a man, a leader). His name is a na-mard, the worst of all names, that of a non-man. He is a susra—an utterly impotent, weakling man, a term of maximum contempt. A khassya (castrated bull, eunuch), who has no power and virility. He is a namardanz (an impotent creature). A popular bit of vicious poetry is: “Dwa kalah ye we-weted, khu goly ye na kholay shwe” (“He tried twice, but not a bud was able to blossom for him”, a poetic and mean way of saying that he was unable to start life. His true trial is in the hujra (man’s assembly). The taunt is never a literal arrow, but an arrow of some sort. A story will be told: “Da kala de, cha tofang walwela, khu dasy nese wa, che laande khassia we” (“There’s a man who wields a big rifle, and makes a lot of noise, but inside, he’s a eunuch”). They all laugh, the childless man is forced to laugh loudest, and the white-hot shame is his. The tale is best told in a popular social media comic strip that shows a doctor showing a semen analysis report to a furiously upset husband with a nervous wife looking on: Panel 1: A doctor shows a semen analysis report to a furious-looking husband, with his wife sitting nervously. The Doctor says, “The report reads: azoospermia.The Doctor says, “The report reads azoospermia. Panel 2: A huge, broken speech bubble bursts out of the husband’s mouth: “Tor! Tor! Sta da peghalay!” (“Lies! “It’s your slander!”)