Terrorists are not Martyrs
By
Sajjad Shaukat
People from different walks of life
including politicians, religious scholars (Ulemas) and media persons have
expressed their feelings of grief on the recent comments of Jamiat
Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and especially of
Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Ameer Syed Munawar Hassan who evolved new theory on
Shahadat (Martyrdom). Maulana Fazlur
Rehman in an interview with senior journalist Saleem Safi on November 5, this
year on a renowned TV channel program Jirga said, “Even a dog killed by the US
is a martyr.” In a separate interview
conducted by Safi on November 7, JI Ameer, Munawar Hassan stated, “If American
soldiers being killed by the Taliban were not martyrs, how could Pakistani
soldiers killed by Taliban be declared martyrs.” In an earlier statement made
on November 3, Hassan had already triggered controversy when he declared
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader Hakimullah Mehsud a martyr following
his death in a US drone strike.
In this
regard, a spokesman of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on November
10, strongly condemned the irresponsible and misleading remarks of the JI Ameer
Syed Munawar Hassan, saying that he declared dead terrorists as Shuhada
(Martyred), while insulting the Shahadat of thousands of innocent Pakistanis
and soldiers of Pakistan’s armed forces. The spokesman explained, “Sacrifices
of our Shuhada and their families need no endorsement from Syed Munawar Hassan
and such misguided and self-serving statements deserve no comments,” demanding
an unconditional apology from him.
Instead
of apologizing for his derogatory and illogical remarks, Syed Munawar Hassan
said on November 10 that he was stuck to his opinion of considering Hakimullah
Mehsud as martyr and not viewing soldiers as such. General Secretary of
Jamaat-e-Islami, Liaquat Baloch announced on November 11 that its Ameer’s
statement was correct and according to Sharia (Islamic Jurisprudence). While denouncing the ill-conceived thoughts
of Syed Munawar Hassan, various leaders of Pakistan Peoples Party, Awami
National Party and Muttahida Qaumi Movement including law-makers and prominent
figures pointed out, “We should salute to those mothers, widows and orphans
whose dear ones sacrificed their lives for the cause of the motherland.
Besides, all those personnel of the security forces who lost their lives for
the integrity of the nation and all those innocent people who were killed in
bomb blasts, suicide attacks and other terror-incidents are martyrs.” They
reminded, “Every child in Pakistan knows that 7,000 security officials and more
than 40,000 innocent citizens including religious scholars have been killed by
the TTP led by Hakimullah Mehsud…the JI Ameer’s statement means to scorn the
sacrifices of our great martyrs who lost their priceless lives to save the
lives of millions of Pakistani citizens in the ruthless terrorist attacks carried
out by these Taliban.”Some leaders suggested that If JI Ameer did not beg
forgiveness over his controversial statement; the government should institute a
case of treason. In this respect, the
members of Sindh Assembly in one voice also demanded from Jamaat-e-Islami Chief
Munawar Hassan to apologize over his irresponsible statement which questioned
the martyrdom of Pak Army and law-enforcing agencies.
Meanwhile,
in order to clarify the controversy over martyrdom, Prime Minister Muhammad
Nawaz Sharif of the ruling party (PML-N) visited the General Headquarters (GHQ)
of Pakistan Army on November 12 and pad homage to the martyrs of the country.
Afterwards, a statement released from the Prime Minister House quoted the PM as
saying, “Those who have fought for Pakistan, Ghazis (living) and Shuhada
(Martyred), have sacrificed their today for ensuring a better tomorrow for our
future generations and all of them are our benefactors.”
However,
on the issue of martyrs and terrorists, the opinion of Ulemas has great importance.
In this context, on November 10, Chairman Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) Hamid
Raza Rizvi from a fatwa issued by 30 scholars and religious clerics, and
terming statements by Munawar Hasan and Maulana Fazlur Rahman as “rubbing salt
on the wounds of heirs of over 50,000 people killed in terrorist attacks in
Pakistan,” announced, “Hakimullah was involved in killing of thousands of
innocent people and army men. The fact that he was killed by a US drone could
not purge him of his sins and he was not a martyr.” On November 12, accepting
the challenge of TTP spokesman Shahhidullah Shahid on Shahadat-controversy,
Hamid Raza replied that he was ready for debate with the Taliban on any
channel.
It is
mentionable that in the past few years, the militants of the TTP and its
affiliated outfits killed thousands of persons across Pakistan through suicide
attacks, bomb blasts, targeted killings, beheadings, assaults on military
troops, police stations, sectarian violence etc. Besides blowing children
schools and attacking the female teachers in order to deny education to girls,
they also targeted mosques, Imambargahs, mausoleums, and disgraced dead bodies.
Their nefarious acts resulted into deaths of several people in Pakistan. They
continued their anti-social and un-Islamic practices to impose their
self-created ideology of Islam.
In the
Khyber agency, they also indulged in murdering and torturing Shias in their
majority areas, forcing them to flee. Particularly, in some tribal areas and
Swat these insurgents have been involved in a number of crimes such as
drug-smuggling, forced marriages, hostage-takings for ransom and even
car-snatching. They justify that they collect money through these unfair means
to wage their holy war and in eliminating the moderate dissidents. When Pakistan’s armed forces successfully
ejected the TTP militants out of these areas by sacrificing their own lives,
the new leader of the TTP Maulvi Fazlullah who had close connections with
Pakistan-based TTP leader Hakimullah Mehsud, had run to Afghanistan. Based in
the Afghan provinces of Kunar and Nuristan—with the support of Indian secret
agency RAW, Afghan spy service, the National Directorate of Security (NDS)
which also have tactical backing of the US, his insurgents intensified
subversive activities in Pakistan by sending suicide bombers and
heavily-equipped militants.
Notably,
the capture of a senior TTP leader Latifullah Mehsud by US Special Forces (USF)
from Afghan custody, confessed that Afghanistan and India were involved in
promoting terrorist activities inside Pakistan. He also revealed that while
waging proxy wars in Pakistan, terrorist attacks on Gen. Sanaullah Khan Niazi
in Upper Dir, at Peshawar Church, in Qissa Khawani Bazar and elsewhere had been
planned by Indian and Afghan intelligence agencies. Especially, regarding
terror-attack at Peshawar church, TTP did not claim responsibility, but it
proved when the outfit misinterpreted Islam by indicating that it was in
accordance with Sharia. However, the
militant groups also recruit very young boys, and after their brainwashing
through indoctrination, they train them for suicide bombings. The planners
misguide these Muslims by convincing that they will have a noble place in the
Heavens in exchange of suicide attacks.
Nevertheless,
Islam considers killing one innocent person equal to murdering the entire
humanity, while jihad is a sacred obligation, but its real spirit needs to be
understood clearly, as targeting innocent women and children is not jihad.
These Taliban and their banned affiliated outfits are defaming Islam which is
the religion of peace, democracy, moderation and human rights. In this
connection, in the recent past, more than 50 Islamic scholars declared “killing
of innocent people, target killings and suicide bombings in Karachi,
Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa along with sectarianism…is not Jehad” and
“is against the spirit of Islam.” They explained, “The terrorists’ self-adopted
interpretation of Islam is nothing, but ignorance and digression from the
actual teachings of the religion…the suicide attacks and related violence
smeared the name of Islam and weakened Pakistan.”
Everyone
knows that besides responding to Indian military’s unprovoked firings at the
Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir, which killed a number of soldiers of Pak Army
and innocent civilians, thousands of personnel of the armed forces and
law-enforcing agencies lost their lives in Khyber Paktoonkhwa, Karachi,
Balochistan and tribal areas in coping with terrorists so as to maintain the
integrity and security of the country. So, they are the true martyrs. Another notable contradiction is that when
the JI workers were fighting the forces of the former Soviet Union in the first
Afghan war, sponsored by the US-led west, they were calling their killed
Mujadeen as Shaheed. But, now this party has forgotten the term of
martyrdom. Nonetheless, the JI Ameer’s
self-created definition of Shaheed means that there is a state within a state
where Taliban could be allowed to slash the throats of security forces and to shed
the blood of innocent persons. No doubt,
Munawar Hassan’s statement has exposed the extremist thinking of JI and its
vilification propaganda campaign to harm, defame and denigrate the prodigious
sacrifices of Pakistan’s soldiers, with criminal object to glorify the enemies
of the state, while terrorists are not martyrs.
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