By Afshain Afzal

It is a million dollar question but will remain unanswered because it involves annual billions of dollars funding to keep this world insecure. We do have tens and hundreds of past examples where we witnessed all out military operations or use of drones, artillery and even bombing by aircrafts but for a minute imagine an incident in near future where a religious extremist heading a Madrassa in troubled Pakistan-Afghan border give mere a sermon and what will be the reaction from State authorities? From the loudspeaker of minaret he announces before a religious gathering, “Hundreds of Police and Rangers personnel fell to our hands but we safely allowed them to be transported unharmed. This time I am warning the personnel of Police, Rangers, and Army to disobey orders if asked to sprinkle bullets on your own unarmed people. The state is compelling the public to revolt by killing own people and I hereby declare that next time we will not talk about remaining peaceful fire is opened on unarmed people and to save the lives of our people we will come out with weapons then we will show who run away; who has how “Gharrat”, who has more strength and then they will not be visible anywhere”.

From the legal point of view, Section 6 (7) (a) of Ant-terrorism Act, 1997 provides; In this Act, a “terrorist” means “an individual who has committed an offence of terrorism under this Act, and is or has been concerned in the commission, preparation, facilitation, funding or instigation of acts of terrorism”. Sections 121, 121A, 122 and 123 of the Pakistan Penal Code (Act XLV of 1860) covers the offence: Section 121 provides; whoever wages war against Pakistan, or attempts to wage such war, or abets the waging of such war, shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine. Section 121-A provides, whoever within or without Pakistan conspires to overawe, by means of criminal force or the show of criminal force, the Federal Government or any Provincial Government, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine. Section 122 provides, whoever collects men, arms or ammunition or otherwise prepares to wage war with the intention of either waging or being prepared to wage war against Pakistan, shall be punished with imprisonment for life or imprisonment of either description for a term not exceeding ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.

Now let us weigh what Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur said in his 14 December 2024, address at Mansehra, Abbottabad, “Hundreds of Police and Rangers personnel fell to our hands but we safely allowed them to go rather safely transported them. I am telling the Punjab Police, I am telling Rangers, I am telling the soldier of Army that such order which you are obeying and your are sprinkling bullets on your own unarmed people, the responsibility of food has been taken by Almighty Allah there is Lannat on such food… State has been given the status of mother but this state by killing own people is compelling the public to revolt. I am firm on my declaration that next time we will not talk about remaining peaceful; Imran Khan for God shake the abandon the word of peaceful then we will come out without the slogan of peaceful and then whosoever open fire on unarmed and to save the life of our people and we are compel to save their lives and then when we will come out with weapons then we will show who run away; who has how much Gharrat, who has how much strength “Damm”, who has how much manly strength, and then you will not be visible’.

We all know that it is conspiracy against the state of Pakistan in which in the name of Civil Disobedience weapons would used to spill blood on the streets to blame State authorities and security agencies. In the war against the Federations may security and intelligence personnel are directly involved who are engaged in spread rumours to create hatred. The state machinery, specially the security and intelligence personnel need to be reminded Section 123 of the Pakistan Penal Code, “Whoever, by any act, or by any illegal omission, conceals the existence of a design to wage war against Pakistan, intending by such concealment to facilitate or knowing it to be likely that such concealment will facilitate the waging of such war, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine. One wonders why blue-eyed terrorists exempted from prosecution… only because they claim to be from influential class or sons and brothers of a military officers as many politician claim. Why military operations cannot be launched in posh areas of Federal capital and provinces. And why only religious factions who criticized government for non-implementation of the Constitution are target of military operations. It is high time that State authorities, International community including UNO and human right organizations must take action to track the real terrorists and protect the victim for being poor and orphans belonging to Madrassas.