Will you remain silent till the Taliban come for you?

Will you remain silent till the Taliban come for you?

Wednesday, January 28, 2009
http://valleyswat.brinkster.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=73
The Taliban have destroyed the most beautiful part of the country, Swat, burning down over 200 schools, denying education to a whole generation and pushing them to the Dark Ages. There is a mass-scale migration from Swat as well as Bajaur and Mohmand agencies. The poor people of Swat and FATA who have no place to go are subjected to the tyrannical rule of the Taliban. As for those who have moved to camps in Peshawar or Islamabad, they too are suffering. Residents of Peshawar are living in fear and there has been a sharp drop in the number of visitors from other provinces.

Regrettably, the rest of the country seems unmoved. The religious parties organise demonstrations to condemn Israel's bombing of Gaza -- which is a worthy cause -- but do nothing and say nothing when Muslims are being butchered in FATA and Swat. As for the lawyers, they are more concerned about the restoration of a single man to his lost position than about the Taliban which may soon knock on their own doorstep. As for the urban-based media, they too seem more concerned about a judge's daughter getting more marks than about a whole generation of children being denied their right to education.

Leaders of the PPP and the PML (N and Q) meet each other and talk about possible political permutations but no one has the courage to visit any of the country's Taliban-infested areas. I am sorry and I hate to say this but there are many people in Swat who are now beginning to think that the rest of the country, especially the people of Punjab and Sindh, have now forgotten them completely.

What I want to ask the people of Punjab and Sindh is that when will they speak for us and break their silence -- will they do this then when the Taliban set foot in Blue Area?

Hussan Parri

Tehsil Matta, Swat