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Douglas Alexander: IIt's not too late to help nation defeat its demons
Date: 08 March 2009
By Douglas Alexander
TERRORISM is a blight on the modern world. In many countries it is sadly a day-to-day occurrence, but some acts of terror are so shocking that their reverberations echo around the world.
So it is that the attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team in Pakistan has been added to the depressing roll call of the Twin Towers attack, the London and Madrid bombings and the massacre in Mumbai.
The loss of life may have been on a smaller scale but its impact will still be far reaching.
It is a triple tragedy for Pakistan for the families of the policemen who lost their lives, for a sport that for decades has brought people together, and for the fear it has raised among millions of Pakistanis. Because it is not only cricket but the Pakistani nation itself which has this week found itself staring down a long, dark tunnel.
It has long been understood that big sporting occasions are ideal platforms for protest by minority groups. But with the exception of the attack on the Munich Olympics, terrorist groups have until now shied away from targeting them.
It is hard to find words that express the revulsion that these tactics will stir in the hearts not just of sports lovers but of any decent human being.
Words of condemnation, though, are not enough. The scenes in Lahore serve as a deadly reminder of the violent extremism stalking Pakistan. It is a problem not just for the Pakistani government but for the wider world.
As Gordon Brown has said, many of the insurgents fighting British forces in Helmand and many of the terrorist suspects picked up in the UK have passed through training camps in Pakistan.
There they have been indoctrinated both in the vile craft of terror and in the hatred that underpins it.
I was in Afghanistan on Tuesday for talks with President Karzai and British army commanders. They reinforced in my mind the fundamental links between the challenges facing both countries. That is why the British Government is doing all it can to support the Pakistani authorities in their fight against al-Qaeda and its allies.
We are providing help in counter-terrorism operations and support for the security forces but we are also trying to tackle the poverty, powerlessness and alienation which help foster extremism.
Last year, I decided to double the British Government's spending on aid in Pakistan over the next three years, and we will now be working in the border areas and North West Frontier Province where extremism has taken a hold.
The focus of our efforts will be on education, providing textbooks and support to primary and secondary schools. In many ways education is the best antidote to terrorism and provides an effective means of challenging the preaching of hatred and perverted forms of Islam in a minority of madrassas.
I am under no illusion about the daunting nature of the challenges we face. I have seen for myself the madrassas of Quetta and the poverty and isolation of the border areas. It will be the work of a generation to tackle poverty and extremism, but it is urgent that we make a start.
And in the shorter term we are urging Pakistan's politicians to unite in facing up to a threat so serious that it could undermine national security.
The future of Pakistan is hanging in the balance. It is not a failed state but without concerted national and international action it runs the risk of becoming one.
We believe that President Zardari, whose own wife was murdered by terrorists, is committed to tackling extremism on the basis of a strong, stable democracy. Democratic values are among those most feared by extremists entrenching them in Pakistan is therefore critical.
The UK is steadfast in its support for the peace-loving people of Pakistan and we stretch every sinew to galvanise support for long-term development and economic prosperity in the region.
It will be a long and rocky road. There will be challenges as well as triumphs, setbacks alongside progress. But if Pakistan and the international community work together the odds can be overcome, no matter how big. And at the end of the struggle awaits the greatest prize of all freedom not just from poverty but from the fear it too readily breeds.
Date: 08 March 2009
By Douglas Alexander
TERRORISM is a blight on the modern world. In many countries it is sadly a day-to-day occurrence, but some acts of terror are so shocking that their reverberations echo around the world.
So it is that the attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team in Pakistan has been added to the depressing roll call of the Twin Towers attack, the London and Madrid bombings and the massacre in Mumbai.
The loss of life may have been on a smaller scale but its impact will still be far reaching.
It is a triple tragedy for Pakistan for the families of the policemen who lost their lives, for a sport that for decades has brought people together, and for the fear it has raised among millions of Pakistanis. Because it is not only cricket but the Pakistani nation itself which has this week found itself staring down a long, dark tunnel.
It has long been understood that big sporting occasions are ideal platforms for protest by minority groups. But with the exception of the attack on the Munich Olympics, terrorist groups have until now shied away from targeting them.
It is hard to find words that express the revulsion that these tactics will stir in the hearts not just of sports lovers but of any decent human being.
Words of condemnation, though, are not enough. The scenes in Lahore serve as a deadly reminder of the violent extremism stalking Pakistan. It is a problem not just for the Pakistani government but for the wider world.
As Gordon Brown has said, many of the insurgents fighting British forces in Helmand and many of the terrorist suspects picked up in the UK have passed through training camps in Pakistan.
There they have been indoctrinated both in the vile craft of terror and in the hatred that underpins it.
I was in Afghanistan on Tuesday for talks with President Karzai and British army commanders. They reinforced in my mind the fundamental links between the challenges facing both countries. That is why the British Government is doing all it can to support the Pakistani authorities in their fight against al-Qaeda and its allies.
We are providing help in counter-terrorism operations and support for the security forces but we are also trying to tackle the poverty, powerlessness and alienation which help foster extremism.
Last year, I decided to double the British Government's spending on aid in Pakistan over the next three years, and we will now be working in the border areas and North West Frontier Province where extremism has taken a hold.
The focus of our efforts will be on education, providing textbooks and support to primary and secondary schools. In many ways education is the best antidote to terrorism and provides an effective means of challenging the preaching of hatred and perverted forms of Islam in a minority of madrassas.
I am under no illusion about the daunting nature of the challenges we face. I have seen for myself the madrassas of Quetta and the poverty and isolation of the border areas. It will be the work of a generation to tackle poverty and extremism, but it is urgent that we make a start.
And in the shorter term we are urging Pakistan's politicians to unite in facing up to a threat so serious that it could undermine national security.
The future of Pakistan is hanging in the balance. It is not a failed state but without concerted national and international action it runs the risk of becoming one.
We believe that President Zardari, whose own wife was murdered by terrorists, is committed to tackling extremism on the basis of a strong, stable democracy. Democratic values are among those most feared by extremists entrenching them in Pakistan is therefore critical.
The UK is steadfast in its support for the peace-loving people of Pakistan and we stretch every sinew to galvanise support for long-term development and economic prosperity in the region.
It will be a long and rocky road. There will be challenges as well as triumphs, setbacks alongside progress. But if Pakistan and the international community work together the odds can be overcome, no matter how big. And at the end of the struggle awaits the greatest prize of all freedom not just from poverty but from the fear it too readily breeds.
