Several Pakistani expatriates appeared confused by Tuesday's twin terrorist attacks in Lahore and debated whether a political or military solution to simmering militancy in the country in recent years, would be the best way forward. While some said the army would always have a vital security role to play in Pakistan despite the recent general elections and restoration of democracy, others argued that democracy would prove to be the panacea. Two powerful suicide bombings in the morning targeted the Federal Intelligence Agency (FIA) premises and an advertising agency in Lahore, claiming several lives just as office hours started. The blasts were the biggest terrorist attacks since the elections that many had hoped would appease militants who were against the former military government of President Pervez Musharraf. “Our people sometimes don't even understand that what could be better for them – democracy or military rule,” said Mumtaz Kahloon, a social worker and director of City Link Company- World Wide Cargo services, Jeddah. “The armed forces are fighting the (anti-militant) wars in interior areas of Sawat and Meeran Shah of Pakistan, and the general public is mostly paying the price with their lives. “We don't even know that who are killed and who should be killed there. These blasts could possibly be in reaction,” Kahloon said. He said the root causes for the blasts should be addressed. “Solving this issue by the military approach can be a temporary solution but it definitely needs a political solution,” he said. Syed Abu Zafar, a Pakistani-American in Riyadh, said militancy has attained a very strong power base in Pakistan and no democratic government can control it. Noting the huge quantity of powerful explosives used in the Tuesday's blasts, he argued that only the army would be capable of defending the population against such attacks. Saleem Abubakar Ansari, a social worker from a literary society in Jeddah, said the security forces should not be blamed every time a terrorist blast or suicide attack happened. “Initially, we have to take measures by getting into the real cause and objective of the bombers and certain forces that are ruining the society by all means,” Ansari said. Raza Haneef from Karachi said some “wrong moves” by President Pervez Musharraf such as the military attack on the besieged Lal Masjid to flush out militants, arrests of several religious scholars and his “heavy-handedness” in continuous use of military power on Wazaristan and Sawat have irked the people, particularly in the pro-Taleban areas bordering Afghanistan. In his view, an elected government would have a tough time containing the anger of these people. The political leaders are talking about winning the hearts and minds of the people but they will also require the army to ensure internal security without which no power can rule the country, Haneef said. Imran Haider from Jhelum (Punjab) agreed, saying that people in the border areas that always enjoyed autonomy would be “hard nuts to crack simply through negotiations, at least for the time-being.” It would take a very long time to change the mindset of these people, “who are brain-washed to commit suicide in the name of religion,” he told Saudi Gazette in Riyadh. Syed Sabir Shah, a community worker in Jeddah, saw a need to end dangerous trends in the name of religion. “No one is trying to do something practical by discouraging the dangerous teaching in some of the Islamic schools and figure out which are the suspicious institutions,” said Syed Sabir Shah, a community worker. “Just blaming the government for every issue is not sensible. People these days can't be bullied with certain media campaigns that are against or in favor of any party, democratic ruler or government official.” Despite Tuesday's bloodshed in Lahore, Abdul Qadeer Mirza, a banker in Riyadh who hails from that city, kept his faith in the course of democracy. He said he strongly believes that militancy would subside “within three months of formation of the federal government.” “Lahore is my city,” he said, “and I was shocked about today's suicide bombings, which appears to be the hand of certain forces that don't want democracy and an elected government in the country.” The army has no role to play now in Pakistan except securing and defending the country's borders, he said, insisting that the suicide attacks are against the “dictatorship of the military.” General Kiyani, Musharraf's successor as army chief, was right, Mirza argued, in announcing that the army would not play any role in the country's politics or internal security arrangements, because security forces such as the Rangers, Police and the FIA are capable of dealing with terrorist attacks. Mirza also dismissed the notion that the militant attacks have something to do with religion. The militants in North Western Frontier Province are actually fighting a war to restore the 28 constitutional rights given to them by the founder of the nation since independence in 1947, he said. “I dare say that over 90 percent of the militancy will disappear once the elected government starts negotiations and takes them into confidence by restoring those constitutional rights in that region,” said Mirza. There are only a few disgruntled elements that reacted out of extremism and they could be brought into the mainstream, he said. So, he concluded, where is the question of the army playing a role in the internal affairs of the country? __
