Students urged to understand terrorism to save Pakistan

Islamabad-Students at a seminar on Understanding Terrorism condemned terrorist attacks on the International Islamic University (IIU) and emphasised on the need for actively engaging students in understanding the phenomenon of terrorism to enable them to play their role in steering Pakistan out of the current crisis.

The seminar was organised by students of the Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) and National Institute of Pakistan Studies (NIPS), in collaboration with the National Students Federation.

Irum Jhatial, a student of NIPS, said the way the term terrorism is used in international forums often conceals the states own use of terror. She lamented that the state still does not decide on who is a terrorist and is continuing to protect and nurture certain Islamic militant groups while declaring other such groups as terrorists. Terrorism cannot be defined neutrally in a non-neutral world and people should be encouraged to develop their own understanding and then take a position, she said.

Alia Amirali, a student of Anthropology, said even in this time of crisis, the major political parties have not been able to strike a consensus. She observed that only PPP is ready to own the current crisis as Pakistans War, whereas all other parties are either hesitant to do so or reject it altogether as Americas War. She criticised the role being played by the religious parties in particular, saying that these parties are whipping up anti-Americanism in order to shy away from their hand in promoting Islamic militancy. She desired a counter-ideology emerging from political quarters, which could steer Pakistan out of its current existential crisis.

Kapil Dev, a student of International Relations Department, highlighted the politicised nature of media, particularly the opinion-making power of the anchorpersons, and urged them to present all sides of the picture. He talked about the difficulties in obtaining facts with regards to terrorism, especially from the war-torn areas where military operations are underway. A single-source news item cannot be considered credible, regardless of whoever the source is, he added. He also highlighted the importance of media in strengthening democracy and urged it not to become involved in any anti-democratic agenda.

Tracing the history of the emergence of terrorism in Pakistan, Zahid Imroze, a student of Physics Department, began from the time of the Cold War when the Pakistan-US alliance created the mujahideen to topple the Soviets in Afghanistan, and said that now these very groups are called terrorists. He referred to the role of Pakistas religious parties in providing ideological and other forms of training to Afghan mujahideen through madrassas, which continue to exist in even greater number today. Zahid highlighted the heavy price that both Afghan and Pakistani people are paying as a result of the Cold War in the form of a large number of refugees, and the escalation of terrorism due to increasing poverty, hunger and frustration.

In the open discussion, the students vowed to continue the process of educating themselves about the root causes of Pakistans problems, and expressed their determination to play their role in bringing about the necessary positive changes in the country and society.

In the end, Dr Azam Chaudhry, organiser of the NIPS weekly seminar series, expressed his appreciation for the students effort to tackle these issues in an academic manner and encouraged them to continue to engage constructively in the issues of their society.

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