The brutal killing of Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, is the last show of extremism that we have witnessed during 2007. Although we live in a politically polarised country, thank God our political class had enough intellectual clout to limit the extremes of political pique and thrived to introduce democratic reforms when they were felt necessary.
Our comparative peace and safe living make us forget how extremism has reared its head away from our shores. Thousands of people have been killed by political extremists and fundamentalists, very often in the name of religion.
The situation in Pakistan is explosive. The killing of the beautiful lady, leader of the PPP (Pakistan Peoples Party) and twice ex-Prime Minister, is only the tip of the iceberg. Islamic extremists are set to destabilise the country. Musharraf’s declaration of a state of emergency did not help the situation and the knot is so entangled that no political expert has come forward with a practical solution. But Pakistan is just one example of the human carnage that 2007 has brought about.
The deployment of forces from the US and its allies did not solve the complex situation in Iraq. During the year suicide bombers killed thousands of innocent people who had nothing to do with the ‘holy fight’ of Islam against the West. In March in Al Hillah, two bombers wearing explosive vests blew themselves up in a large crowd of Shi’ite pilgrims in the city, killing 120 pilgrims and wounding another 190. In August, in the towns of Qahtaniya and Jazeera near Mosul, four coordinated suicide bomb attacks killed 570 people and seriously wounded another 1,562.
Very often, suicide bomb attacks were attributed to the work of Islamic extremists and especially Al Qaeda. Al Jazeera news agency reported in October that a white American citizen was training Al Qaeda fighters in Somalia. In Afghanistan more than 6,300 people were killed in politically related violence. Hundreds were also killed by fringe political groups during the Philippines’ general elections. Television footage brought to our homes thousands of killings in the Middle East.
Violence and human carnage was not limited to Islamic sects alone. Lots of human lives were sacrificed in Chinese and Russian mines. Sudan’s atrocities in Darfur and outright infringements of human rights all over the globe lead to the conclusion that the political world is lacking in basic issues: of instilling life over death, of establishing liberty over oppression.
The Human Rights Watch group published an extensive report covering all geographical regions and criticised the Big Powers (US and China) and the EU for lacking in leadership in guaranteeing the right to life and other basic human rights. The group’s report criticises American involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan (basically intriguing it in another Vietnam syndrome) and leaving the US impaired and lacking in credibility to police the world political stage. Chinese economy has dominated the economic stage in 2007 but problems relating to human rights have left a strong mark on the Chinese capabilities of influencing the world stage as much as one expects.
In our own country we have also witnessed unwanted wastage of human life. We had two fireworks’ factories explosions killing fireworks enthusiasts and throwing their families into eternal sorrow.
On the local stage we need to address once and for all the folly of sacrificing lives to national pastimes; we need more surveillance in places of work especially in the construction industry; deadly chemicals in certain industries have to be closely watched and health education should be propagated so that workers can also be in a position to shoulder their responsibilities (together with their employers’) for their own safety.
On the global stage, multilateral conferences need to address the preservation of life and the total elimination of massacres, political killings and suicide bombings. The war on terror proclaimed by the Americans and their friends has not as yet produced the required results. Terrorism cannot be affronted by organised armies and state-of-the-art military equipment. The sharp divide between Islam and Christianity has to be solved through dialogue and a clearer understanding that no religion is superior to the other. Moderate Islamic groups around the World have a lot to offer to calm Islamic extremists. Extremist Biblical Groups are not doing a favour to Christianity and are hampering the Islamic-Christian dialogue which is so badly needed.
If the West wants to live in peace, it has to delve its hands in its own pockets to alleviate poverty stricken countries. Poverty and ignorance are fertile ground for breeding extremists and terrorists who have nothing to lose in exploding themselves, especially when they are told that by sacrificing their lives they become martyrs and would enjoy a better life elsewhere.