I don't agree that the 'whole' nation or even 'most' of the Nation is acting this way; I don't know whether we both run into unique sets of people but I have yet to talk to a single person in the past 1-2 days that hasn't condemned this with some even saying that dogs should be set loose on the TTP or that they ought to be buried alive.
But I do agree that there is a significant radicalized element within our society that has a soft-spot for TTP and ilk like them; however whereas I won't call them an insignificant minority because they are significant in the sense that they are vocal and some are active; now having said that I do most certainly believe that they are a numerically insignificant minority.
I was at the protests yesterday and people were stopping their cars or their motorbikes, vendors were stopping their kiosks and people from all walks of life were protesting against this dastardly act of extreme barbarity. And protests like these are happening all over the country and multiple times within the same country. For example where I was at yesterday; there were 3 different timings when 3 different groups of people held protests over there.
Elsewhere, in my locality there was a smaller protest of a few hundred people as opposed to the few thousand one mentioned above and because it was from my locality I knew quite a few of the faces; I've seen people literally from all walks of life, all shades of religious observance and opinions and from all ages and genders coming there protesting it with one voice.
So yes religious fanaticism is a very real thing in Pakistan and it can't be ignored away by mere 'XYZ country did it.....' but the vast majority of Pakistanis have woken up to the menace of terrorism and do not have a soft-spot, by any stretch of the imagination, for the TTP.
The extremist minority is what needs to be dealt with and will be dealt with in the due course of time; even now, if I remember the DG ISPR's comments correctly, since the start of the Operation something like 3000+ intelligence based operations have already occurred in the rest of Pakistan.
It'll take time but we'll pull through and yes I understand that a lot of work needs to be done and a lot of questions need to be answered but this is not the end....not by a long margin.
There are reasons for this confusion but those reasons are slowly dying away because of circumstances and abhorrent incidents like these hasten their death even more quickly.
So have some faith.
Mon ami, the time for heart warming words and optimistic scenarios is well past. A few RIPs, rallies, walks and candle littings amongst dozens of other shows of sympathy, solidarity, remembrance, humanity e.t.c. aren't going to cut it. Why? Because despite it being the most heinous attack in the history of this country, its not the first nor I believe (though I hope) will be the last. More people have died than this one, there's not a city of Pakistan which has been spared and the result is always the same. Its back to normal after a few weeks. Second, not until you understand the cause and origins of extremism and the resultant terrorism, how do you expect to fight it? As long, you do not realize that there's a whole group of nutjobs which support/facilitate these bastards in the country, how do you expect to come out as a winner in this conflict? As long, as you keep looking outside while the enemy's in the house, how do you expect to see all of this to the very end? People do condemn this act of savagery en masse, I am not denying it or trying to belittle that, not for an instant, but its equally important that they understand and see the radicalization and extremism for what it is, a real enemy that has plagued the progress and development of this country for decades and not being just another problem solvable with "all the time in the world". Its important that people start looking for answers and asking critical questions regarding the role of religious seminaries on the greater issue, not just getting defensive about religion and country and defending the same Mullahs (directly or indirectly) that perpetuate this type of attacks on them. This venting out of anger and making the whole sense of it by saying "India/America/Israel/Martians" and "Islam doesn't allow killing of innocents" isn't going to do the trick as it hasn't before, this goes out beyond the usual conspiracy theories. And so far, that isn't happening. I will keep faith and harbor hope, but if nothing is going to come out from this terror act too and no progress/improvement is seen, then take my assurance that these people wont learn ever and things would continue, as they have until now, in this country. Zarb-e-Azb isn't the whole equation, its just one part of it, for as long as the Madarsas producing and supplying a constant supply of foot soldiers to the terrorists organization aren't dealt with, terrorism wont end. As long as radicalization isn't kept in check, a bastard or two will rise every year or twice a decade trying to impose the real Islam on us and the cycle will continue. Treating the symptom is never enough, lets target the disease. P.S. I dont believe that those people are insignificant in number, for if they were, you wouldn't have had fighting them till now, for if they were, not a large crowd would be out cheering for Mumtaz Qadri and OBL. The extent is far worse than you see and imagine But lets leave that for now.
