Burden of December

Every year, December comes calmly and goes silently but it brings some sad memories with it which cast a gloom across the country. It refreshes the wounds which we suffered during this month, once in 1971 and then in 2014. In 1971, we lost our eastern wing owing to the short-sightedness of our rulers. The tragedy could have been avoided had our then leadership adopted a more rational course of action. It was a dark chapter in our political history which will continue to haunt us for an indefinite period but the darker aspect of this episode is that we did not learn much from the debacle. We need to rectify our past follies so that we may turn our country into what was envisioned by our founding fathers.

Then who can erase the memories of the APS carnage in Peshawar in December, 2014? It was the day when the agents of chaos and terror massacred innocent students and teachers in an attempt to destabilise our educational system and to show the world that Pakistan is too weak to ensure the security of its future generations. But the entire nation stood to the test and vowed to break terrorism. Our civil and military leadership met and chalked out NAP to take decisive action against militant outfits of every hue and colour. It was a turning point in our history. Though our civil and military set-up succeeded in providing a safe and secure environment to the nation, we need to be on guard so that the menace of militancy does not rear its ugly head again.

Muhammad Fayyaz Nawrha

Mianwali