Pakistan needs to stop playing the victim

Pakistan has plunged into three days of national mourning following the massacre of children and teachers at The Army Public School and Degree College in Peshawar

Pakistan has plunged into three days of national mourning following the massacre of children and teachers at The Army Public School and Degree College in Peshawar.

Even as blood-splattered images continued to pour in, so have the analysis and dissection of the tragedy. The Taliban claim that they targeted a school that mostly admits soldiers’ children because its students aspired to follow “the path of their fathers” and target militants.

Yet, it is what Pakistan has to say in response that is important. The government has admitted that they had negotiated with the Pakistan Taliban earlier, but were forced to launch operations when talks failed and militants started attacking.

It is time Pakistan starts accepting that it is them that is the problem and stops pointing fingers at others alleging victimization to justify their failure to take action earlier and actual support in certain cases of terror. The country has itself to blame for what is happening inside.

There is no use pointing towards the Israel-Palestine problem for this, it is specious today to even talk about Kashmir. The country has to re-visit its policies and actually look at how many times they have failed to foil terror. Using excuses, camouflaging a dubious approach to the problem, using policies that send mixed messages are counter-productive.

Every time they are asked about the terror network emanating from there, there are noises about how Pakistan is the greatest victim of terror, and how the world does not know Pakistan’s pain. There are now fewer takers than ever for this argument. Pointing out to global events that are responsible for the Pak problem is not to look at the one finger that is pointing right towards you.

The right way now is to take a complete, blanket tougher-than-ever call on terror. Spell it out in black and white, stop whining about other countries piling atrocities on you, take responsibility and take action, Pakistan.
That is the road, incredibly tough though it may be, that will lead to the solution. And that road starts from your country, nowhere else.

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