Toll Peshawer 2pm. Welcomed by Additional secretary general Intikhab Khan. Enroute darulAman peshawer to distribute warm clothes. I had promised to come to Pwr this month and I just made it with assembly session done. Enroute pwr on motorway I reflected on my mission. I was hear to say the toguh but right things so that all of us would bandwagon them and de-talibanize our country. My msg which I carefully drafted this morning was clear. I thought of how so many men and women in nwfp were hostage to talibanization. Fata too. It was our job to set the record straight. My family was not thrilled about this trip but then if I wasn’t going to have the guts to say the right things and get a bandwagon on the same I shld hav stayed out of assembly and politics. I saw the land across from motorway. It was as much a part of pakistan as any district of punjab enroute lhr on motorway yet security situation made all tense.
My aide noticed the dry Indus and was shocked. We had so much work to do on delta too. Made me think of the synonmous beauty of indus across from north to south. We were dependent on it from gilgit baltistan down to kotri for our sustenance. Thus we had to share it responsibly. We listened to pushto music on the way and I thought of our rich culture traditions and then I thought of talibans or so called talibans. The country had to have a shared vision a definition. We had become too fragmented. We had to regroup under shared values and it was this which was our task as politicians.
Arrived at function. Rotry made me honorary member. After the gift ceremony to kids/orphans who were (some of them) victims of Taliban excesses gave a talk …
Children were Pak’s future and we owed it to them to fight for a safer Pakistan.
my message was…
Swat Talibans being used by RAW.
• Afghan Talibans are a reality. No doubt US has been in touch with
these Talibans through their friends like Saudi and Pakistan. For
regional long term stability it’s important to bring them onboard and
in mainstream Afghan politics.
• Swat Talibans cannot be called Talibans since they are criminals
working minus an ideology.
o If they were Talibans then they would accept Rasool’s (PBUH) first
words ‘Iqra’ and would never burn schools. Rasool (PBUH) made first
educational institute called Ashabe Suffa. Rasool (PBUH) also made
education compulsory on each Muslim man and woman. These ‘Talibans’
are ignoring this. We cannot allow them to destruct educational
institutions. Those who are followers of Rasool (PBUH) they build
educational institutions and not destroy them.
o Islam is not dependent on force or the sword. It’s a peaceful religion.
o There is no allowance in Islam for killing prisoners who have
specific rights. They certainly cannot be slaughtered so barbarically.
These so called Taliban’s activities are not Islamic.
o They are using Islam wrongly since ‘There is no jabr or force in Islam’.
o The Swat Talibans are actually pursuing enemy agenda. And are being
used by RAW.
• Pakistan’s religious parties are currently all working through the
political system and believe that only through the vote can they bring
the necessary changes. In this dispensation to pick up a gun against
the state becomes un-Islamic. Atati Amir.
• Islam is a religion of peace. How can they talk of spreading Islam
when they are spreading violence and chaos and breaking writ of state.
Swat’s violence has destroyed Swat’s peace. People are migrating.
Economic misery is rampant due to these so called Talibans. They are
neither Talibans nor Muslims.
• We demand that government should release all evidence which proves
that Swat Talibans are linked to RAW. India is using Talibans in Swat
for Pakistan’s destabilization.
• FATA, Swat and Balochistan are rampant with RAW agents. Government
must release evidence. Parliament will back government on elimination
of such Indian state terrorists. Due to government defensive policy
India is increasing its belligerence.
• We call upon all the political leadership to back government in its
efforts to eliminate such criminals rather than allow them to hold
innocent civilians hostage to their barbaric violence.
• I appeal to the true Muslims within the Talibans to drop violence
and start practicing true Islam and help establish writ of state.
• We as political parties must be united. I am not here for political
point scoring.
• Government performance can only improve if all political parties
rally against these criminals and strengthen the government to come
down harsh on them.
After the function media briefing went for typical late lunch on riverside. Delicious saag ghost fish chicken.
Hit the motorway. Short trip but for me an important milestone. Some think its a crazy thing to talk against talibans. I feel its the only honest thing to do to save Pak from further fragmentation and doom. I hope all parliamentarians irrespectiv of party join in on this jihad.
