Home Media Reports 2004 An oft-repeated resolve

20 February 2004

Friday

28 Zilhaj 1424

An oft-repeated resolve

Many a time both our president and our prime minister in their speeches repeat that we are not under any external threat but face a threat from within, i.e. from extremism and terrorism, and that we must uproot them both. So the danger is quite well known and our beloved country has already suffered tremendously from these two deadly enemies of our social peace and sectarian harmony.

When the illness has been diagnosed, what remains then is the remedy and cure which cannot be in repeating the resolve again and again. It lies in accepting the challenge bravely and in dealing with the evil in a resolute and determined manner to rid the nation of this scourge.

It must be understood that the root cause of these two evils are the ordinances issued by General Ziaul Haq to prolong his rule by pleasing the right-wingers.

They were never demanded by the majority of our nation, nor were they ever a part of the manifesto of any political party. Neither were they ever debated in parliament and passed by the majority of members to be included in the Constitution. They were in fact entered in the Constitution at gun point by General Zia.

If a dictator from the army can introduce such destructive laws, why cannot another man from the same institution pay back the debt it owes to the nation by rescinding these laws?

MOHAMMAD ISHAQUE SOOFI
Rabwah

© The DAWN Group of Newspapers, 2004 Source: www.dawn.com/2004/02/20/letted.htm#11