Afghan Press Author: Rooh-ul-Amin

Ramadhan had its own reverence and it was indeed an emblem of peace and brotherhood.

This time it saw a decline in this spirit and witnessed just uproar and bloodshed (seemingly a never-ending series of violence).

It is a month in which families receive gifts and loves from relatives and friends.

Think of those who received the dead bodies of their sons, brothers, husbands in this sacred month, aromatic with love—and that too reared in the swaddling cloths of others with a hope that one day they will be cynosure of all the eyes of their sisters, brothers, children and above all their parents in frailty and seepage

But the dreams of three families of Chamkanni and Maasma blew up receiving the corpses of their blue-eyed ones a few days back when a militant group killed three police soldiers out of 25 after their abduction.

Public raised a great deal of hues and cries, against militants and the bleak failure of government in their safe release, but to no avail.

The protestors blocked G.T road, near Chamkani, blocked Motorway near Maasma, burnt tyres and chanted slogans against establishment.

Will all this hue and cry compensate the loss of those three police constables who were killed by the Taliban under their hostage is a question that is popping up in most of the minds?

It is heavy even too nagging because the answer is a hundred times in negation. Had they been killed in fight against militants but not under hostage, one of the protestors lamented, declaring it anti-Islamic and anti-Pukhtoonwali (a code of conduct for Pukhtoons shelter). Earlier this occurrence, sharing the sympathies with the bereaved families of the deceased ones of bomb blasts in Miskinai Masjid at lower Dir, Minister for Livestock Hidayatullah Khan assured that the government would ensure early compensation to the heirs of martyrs of the incident. Strange enough to call it compensation because they were human and a human loss cannot be compensated. Can he tell that what a human life is and how much its price is? It is not something to be bought in bazaars rather once gone, gone forever. We don’t want compensation but we do want safety, surety for a secure life. A life where there is no Talibanisation and state sponsored terrorism.

It must have consoled many hearts for time being, when he announced that the provincial government is going to give Rs. 100,000 each for the deceased and Rs. 50,000 and Rs. 25,000 each for those critically and partially injured ones respectively. But his announcement would be turned into another relic of the same graveyard where most of the pledges have been buried. It was nothing more than escapism of their basic duty and foremost task—ensuring security of public lives and property.

The government instead misleading the public must fabricate a defence policy and plan that can ensure public safety.

Amid these vicissitudes the step of local Talibans under the bid of its Shura (consultative body) is seemingly human and appreciable, releasing 25 out of 38 soldiers for Eid-ul-Fitr (a religious festival). The militants, in a welcome move released unilaterally the security forces soldiers who remained for a long time under their hostage in Swat. Talibans called this move ‘in respect of Ramadhan’ but anyway it is also vague in a sense that whether ‘the respect of Ramadhan’ was only meant for 25. According to some notions it was the outcome of a secret deal between Taliban and government.

But refuting any deal with the government, the spokesman for Taliban declared that rest of the 13 would soon be absolved and they will have their Eid with their families. Which is no doubt a glad tiding for us all and even tantamount to their rebirth for them and their families.

The story of their hostage goes back to July 29; when the militants stormed the Deolai check post in Kabal (Swat) and surrendered 25 soldiers of the Frontier Constabulary along with nine policemen. Later on four other police constables were caught elsewhere.

Imitating the past case of the two kidnapped Chinese engineers belonging to a popular cellular phone company, which proved very lucrative for Taliban in releasing their friends.

This time too Taliban probably wanted to swap the 38 captured soldiers for the release of more than 100 militants from the government custody.

In order to weaken the Taliban’s bargaining position, the government not only pretended to look the other way but it gave the impression that it had already dismissed the abducted soldiers.

Taliban permitted a private channel to take the footage with an agreement that it will telecast it weekly– with cameras focusing on the shackles around the feet rather than their faces. The voice in the background bewailed the fact that the ‘government was totally indifferent’ to this purely human issue.

Looking at the government indifference the Taliban considered it merely keeping the hostages in fetters away from human settlement and decided to release them. The card used here by the government was risky putting the lives of its 38 soldiers at stake. But the government obduracy in the show proved fatal for the policemen under the hostage of another Taliban faction.

Watching the drop scene of the whole show the Taliban faction who had abducted 25 police constables from Kohat road turned savage, killing three of them as a token for the government to show that they are different than the faction in Swat. Confessing the responsibility of their abduction Tahreek-e-Taliban Waziristan wing demanded for the safe release of their friends but the government possibly here also wanted to use the same old card but it went at half cock. If Baitullah Mehsud has done it so he must kill his own brother because he is also a Colonel in Army. A servant of the same government, which Mehsud has denounced already his bitterest enemy.

If he really wants to set example of Islamic leadership he will have to start with his own family as the Suhaba (the true followers of hazrat Muhammad) fought against their pagan brothers from the ranks of Islam. Though that was purely a religious war and it is political cum religious.

Taliban violated Islamic and as well as Pukhtoons tradition “Pukhtoonwali” which teaches the safety, even of the vindictive enemy when in your custody or shelter.

Government on the other did not pay heed and took it merely as a bluff from Taliban, which resulted at the loss of three valuable lives. In such a tragic moment to assure for compensation is nothing but dandling the public while we have yelled for security not compensation.