News:

In the aftermath of the brutal attack on the Public Army School in Peshawar, the government under the supervision of the army announced a national plan of action to fight terrorism. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif addressed the nation through national TV and warned the terrorists saying "your days are numbered..." He also announced a 20-point plan to combat terrorism, which includes the establishment of a Rapid Reaction Force, special courts run by military officers to try terrorists, and greater regulation of madrassas. However, for the umpteenth time the government failed to acknowledge the root cause of terrorism plaguing Pakistan.

Comment:

Unless Pakistan boldly addresses the primary cause behind the terror attacks, the situation in the country will deteriorate further. Terror attacks were unheard of until America returned to Afghanistan in October 2001. Since then, Pakistan has been plunged into a cycle of violence perpetrated against civilians on a magnitude and scale not witnessed before.

The obvious cause behind the terror attacks is well known by all parties in Pakistan, but rarely is it singled out, ridiculed and eliminated. America's state terrorism masqueraded within the confines of international law and supported by Pakistan's military brass is the chief cause behind terror that continues to engulf the streets of Pakistan. America's principal terror inflicting tools on the Pakistani population are: robotic death drones that indiscriminately kill civilians, numerous US incursions into Pakistan such as the Abbottabad raid  and Raymond Davis like operatives free to roam streets of Pakistan to plan the next terror attack. None of these items appear on Nawaz Sharif's list and yet all of these terror inflicting methods are well known and documented.

The other pillar behind America's state sponsored terrorism against the Pakistani people is the unstinting support provided by Pakistan's military rulers. This includes: sharing intelligence with American army personnel, furnishing air bases for American drones, providing safe houses for American operatives in Pakistani cities, and ensuring that the American hegemony over Pakistan continues. The cooperation that began during the Musharraf era, mushroomed under Kayani and is now spearheaded by General Sharif shows no sign of abating.

It has not escaped attention of the Pakistani public how some of the high profile terror attacks and incursion by US forces have occurred in military areas, which are supposedly well guarded and protected. So if the military cannot protect its own kind, how does one expect the military to protect Pakistan and its people from Pakistan's archenemies? Furthermore, no senior army officer is held accountable or punished for the lapse of security, which only serves to raise suspicion that the army brass is in cohorts with America.

If the Pakistani civil and military leadership are sincere about stopping the terror attacks then they must resolutely address the primary cause. All that is required is the implementation of the following 2-point plan:

1.   Sever all links with America. This includes the closure of the American embassy, cessation of intelligence sharing and the confiscation of all air bases provided to the Americans. This must be accompanied by the expulsion of all American civil and military personnel from the country.

2.   The Pakistani military top brass should publicly repent, and renounce its subjugation to America. This act of remorse should be augmented by the cessation of military activities against the tribes living in both sides of the Pakistani border, and opening up the ranks of the Pakistani army to sincere militants who yearn to fight for the honour and dignity of Islam. This new pact should be employed to safeguard Pakistan's frontiers from the armies of crusaders and their allies.

Nevertheless, the forgoing points are only a temporary measure to stop terror attacks. A permanent solution necessitates the establishment of the rightly guarded Khilafah "Caliphate". Only the Khilafah "Caliphate" can unite the Pakistani army Afghans, Pakistani militants and the Pakistani public under the banner of Islam. Allah says:

واعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا وَاذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ كُنْتُمْ أَعْدَاءً فَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُمْ بِنِعْمَتِهِ إِخْوَانًا وَكُنْتُمْ عَلَى شَفَا حُفْرَةٍ مِنَ النَّارِ فَأَنْقَذَكُمْ مِنْهَا كَذَلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ آيَاتِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ

"And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided. And remember the favor of Allah upon you - when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favor, brothers. And you were on the edge of a pit of the Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allah make clear to you His verses that you may be guided." [TMQ: Al-Imran:103]

Once united under a Khilafah "Caliphate", the crusaders and the enemies of Islam will think twice before lifting their hands to strike Muslims! The Messenger of Allah (saw) said,

«وَإِنَّمَا الْإِمَامُ جُنَّةٌ يُقَاتَلُ مِنْ وَرَائِهِ وَيُتَّقَى بِهِ فَإِنْ أَمَرَ بِتَقْوَى اللَّهِ وَعَدَلَ فَإِنَّ لَهُ بِذَلِكَ أَجْرًا وَإِنْ قَالَ بِغَيْرِهِ فَإِنَّ عَلَيْهِ مِنْهُ»

"The Imam is a shield behind which the people fight and behind whom they are protected."

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by

Abu Hashim