Extremism is a greater menace in terms of a state’s ability
to deal with it, rather than terrorism, extremism can be termed as root of a
tree while terrorism its branches, you keep cutting the branches but you will
not get desired goals until you put out the roots.
Therefore, extremism is a greater threat to the country than
terrorism.
Extremist incidents killed thousands in last few years,
which should be a wake-up call for policy makers who need to check the rising
intolerance and extremist attitudes in the society. To eliminate extremism we
need a certain measure as it can not be eliminated by using the force of gun
only.
According to the constitution of the land and speeches of
the founder of Pakistan, everyone has an equal right to live in this country
whether they are from the Ahmadiya, Christian or Hindu communities but some
religious extremists oppose it. Preaching of religious clerics must be checked
to tackle the menace of extremism. Incidence of extremism reflects that the
social structure of Pakistan is disturbed. Mumtaz Qadri killed former Governor
Punjab Salman Taseer after being emotionalized in a Friday sermon by a
religious cleric. Public places, educational institutions and even mosques are
no longer safe.
To get rid of from the extremism we must consider the roles
of school text books in rise of extremism in Pakistan? What is the role of
media? What is role of judiciary? Is deteriorating economic condition and
unemployment also contributing in it and last but not the least is there
foreign involvement? Unless these questions are answered truthfully, the
Pakistani nation will suffer. Nations that consistently blame others for their
problems usually end up in a miserable failure. Pakistan’s most problems are
internal and not external. Real change in a person or in a society comes from
within and not by the presence or absence of any external influence. We have
always been an emotional, rather than rational nation. The main political
parties and also the major religious parties need to sit down together and
condemn religious militancy with consensus. The government needs to show
serious commitment towards shrinking of trends of extremism and should also adopt
serious efforts to bring about moderation in society, as the founders of
Pakistan were moderates. A more tolerant society will definitely bring about
more cohesiveness and unity in Pakistani’s fragmented society.
