Countering terror

The Pakistani nation is so angry over the brutal killing of more than 140 students and their teachers that they have said ‘no’ to the EU and the UN on their requests to maintain the moratorium on hangings. We may hang a few hundred terrorists; send another few hundred to jail – and then what? Terrorists are not afraid of death or jail terms. They are fighting an ideological war.
These punishments will not deter their pursuit for afterlife achievements. These administrative measures are not going to end terrorism in the country until these are coupled with confronting the narrative of religion to which these terrorists always refer. Sadly, our government, political forces and religious scholars have not done any real work to defeat terrorists on their own turf. Until we come up with an alternate narrative, we can neither convince terrorists nor the general public which play a major role in supporting and financing them for the cause of religion.
Masood Khan
Jubail
Saudi Arabia