The main rulers of Pakistan – the military and the bureaucracy – have made decisions that the people of Pakistan have always expressed their dissatisfaction with. Instead of “reconciliation,” the government has chosen the path of “force” and has tried to achieve its goals through the use of weapons. Therefore, since the day it began plundering the natural resources of Baloch and Pashtun areas and completely deprived the local people of them, after the protests of the local population, it has abducted thousands, killed tribal leaders, and silenced their voices with the barrel of a gun.
These policies have been continuously pursued by the government for the past few decades, and whenever the people’s protests intensified, they also escalated their atrocities.
However, since the consequences of oppression are severe, and the oppressor is held accountable for their actions in this world, they are now facing a harsh reckoning for their deeds, and the people are increasingly distancing themselves from them.
What should have happened was that they should have reconsidered their actions and resolved the current crisis through dialogue. Instead, they continued their oppression and, by implementing a new strategy, intensified their efforts to kill political figures, tribal leaders, and religious scholars. Recent incidents include a suicide attack on the deputy administrator of Akora Khattak, “Sheikh Hamidul Haq,” the mysterious murder of the local leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam and prominent religious scholar “Mufti Shah Mir Aziz” during prayer, an attack on the leadership of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the killing of the prominent commander “Abu Qatal,” and the assassination of the controversial religious figure “Mufti Munir Shakir.” The perpetrators of these acts have not yet been identified.
The government’s objective behind such actions is as follows:
First, the accusation against Pakistan is “supporting ISIS militants,” claiming that they have provided refuge to ISIS in Balochistan and some tribal areas to destabilize neighboring countries and use them for their own purposes.
With recent actions, they want to blame some killings on ISIS (even though they generally identify the perpetrators of such incidents as TTP militants, whose conflict is solely with the army, and the assassination of religious scholars and tribal leaders is not on their agenda) and show the world that we do not support ISIS; we are actually fighting against them.
Second: Pakistan is currently facing numerous political, economic, and security issues, for which the people hold the government responsible for everything.
Through these actions, the government aims to create religious enmity, engage the people among themselves, and divert public attention away from itself.
Third: The government’s opponents (whether the TTP or the Baloch militants) are now stronger than ever and are gaining popularity among the people day by day.
By assassinating religious leaders and tribal elders, the government aims to curb the influence of opponents and turn the local people against them.
Fourth: For decades, Pakistan has received international aid under various pretexts and has saved its declining economic situation from collapse.
With its current actions, Pakistan once again seeks to gain international support under the guise of “fighting terrorism” and attempts to rectify its ailing economic condition.
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