Why oppose mainstreaming of terrorists in Pakistan?
Bakhshur Rehman
It is really sad to see our educated youth opposing the mainstreaming of terrorist organizations, especially when they are coming into politics. Is it possible to kill each and every terrorist? My answer will be, No!
There were many terrorist organizations that emerged as political parties and commenced terrorist activities. Congress of South Africa led by Nelson Mandela became successful in politics as this organization traces its history from a very violent terrorist organization. Sin Fein is a dominant political party in Northern Ireland, they had a very close ties with Irish Republican Army (IRA) another Terrorist organization. Now talking about recent examples of Hizbullah of Lebanon and Hamas of Palestine. They both were deadliest terrorist organizations and later on both denounced violence and entered into the mainstream politics.
Now, if we see Jamat Ud Dawa (JuD) of Pakistan, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the US, UNSC, EU and India, there is a big shift in the narrative of JuD ; They are pro Pakistan, supporting Pakistan government and Pakistan Army and they are running one of the largest humanitarian assistance network in Pakistan i.e IKK and FIF. They conducted humanitarian work in 2005 Earthquake and 2010 Floods and improved its reputation in the society. They are running more than 5 hospitals, hundreds of dispensaries, schools and Ambulances.
Interestingly, Hafiz Saeed himself is contributing his part in de-radicalization and re habilitation of the former militants. Apart from Jamat Ud Dawa we see many individuals from different terrorist organizations like Tahreek e Taliban Pakistan those who have been de-radicalized and now they are supporting different political parties in Pakistan, particularly PTI.
Unfortunately, we the educated citizens play a blame game. Instead of accepting them as part of the society and mainstreaming them we are spreading hatred, rumors and false propaganda. Now what is the way forward? Isn’t it our role and responsibility to accept them and providing them the platform for transformation?
After conducting a little research, this is my understanding of the situation.
The contributor is a student at the National Defense University, Islamabad.
