Source: LUBP
by Ayesha Siddiqa
The writer is an independent social scientist and author of Military Inc. and was a media consultant for NAB from 2011 to 2012
The terrorist attack on the residency in Ziarat, Balochistan, where Muhammad Ali Jinnah spent the last days of his life has created a lot of anxiety in some parts of the country. Made by the British, the building was pleasing to the eyes and part of Balochistan’s heritage. However, the alacrity with which some people mourned a dead building as compared with the 26 people who died in various terrorist attacks the same day, was amazing. It seems that we have grown so insensitive to human loss, especially in a distant part of the country as Balochistan, that the brutality of the jihadis does not make us turn and look. Sadly, a building is more of a symbol of national ideology than the people of the country.
The provincial government has promised to reconstruct the building in three months. However, there is lesser clarity regarding the fate of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) jihadists who kill people almost every single day. Due to our peculiar focus, we will not even be inclined to ask how a province and people known for liberal religious traditions got occupied withtakfiri jihadis who, like the German fascists, believe in killing anyone that does not subscribe to their values and scheme of things. Poverty and poor governance, of course, are obvious but simple explanations. These two factors can drive people towards frustration and violence butnot necessarily of the kind that seems to be growing in Balochistan. People can get frustrated due to poverty and vent their anger against the state for what they may consider as brutal negligence but not necessarily become part of the religious-ideological jihadi network that has grown exponentially in the province, especially in the past few years. The state has played no part whatsoever in questioning or stopping the systematic growth of Deobandi and Salafi jihadi networks in Balochistan or even the rest of the country. Why are we so silent when we see the Salafi LeT/JuD network or the Deobandi SSP/LeJ/JeM network penetrate Balochistan and Sindh and gain ground in these territories?