http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=323321&version=1&template_id=46&parent_id=26
Publish Date: Friday,30 October, 2009, at 10:33 PM Doha Time Taliban, the killers of women, deserve no sympathy By deliberately targeting a busy women's market, the Pakistani Taliban have taken their war against the state to a new macabre level. More than 100 people, mostly women bargain hunters and children were blown to bits in a powerful blast in Peshawar on Wednesday, confirming a new strategy by the terrorists who have now upped the ante against all things they consider 'un-Islamic'. Earlier this month they had bombed an Islamic university targeting female students and some months ago had virtually put an end to girls' education in the troubled Swat valley by dynamiting more than 200 schools before the Pakistani military launched a massive operation to flush them out. In 20 days, more than 150 people have been slaughtered in market-place bombings in Peshawar, turning a love affair for a city felt by millions of Pakistani Pashtuns into fear over a worrying new trend towards mass civilian bombings. Seven attacks in four months have battered the historic old city, which in the past was a tourist attraction and a centuries old trading capital made rich by the Silk Road snaking east to west. The Taliban's brutality against women is well documented ever since they came to power in Afghanistan after they toppled the government and brutally executed former President Najibullah in 1996. Immediately after assuming power they went on a senseless rampage, closing down all educational institutions for girls and banning women from working. Until then women played a significant role in Afghan society, contributing their might as nurses, doctors, teachers and office workers. The Taliban's policies, however, deprived them of their very basic rights and threw the already impoverished nation into further chaos. Many claim that the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban are different and have different agendas, but the fact remains that their modus operandi is the same and they share the same ideological values apart from their very strong ethnic bonds, most of them being Pashtuns. Wednesday's blast was perhaps timed to coincide with the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's arrival, and she sure got a ringside view of how terrorists operate in Pakistan and the havoc they can cause. Needless to say, it also gave her the opportunity to do some tough-talking, reminding the Pakistani leadership of the perils of taking the foot of the pedal in the fight against terror. She blamed them for failing to crush the Al Qaeda leadership when they had the opportunity and reminded them of their responsibilities, saying Pakistan was fighting its own war and had America's backing. However, this is not a view shared by many Pakistanis who view America, India and Israel as the root cause of all problems. Strangely enough none of the Islamic parties have spoken out strongly against the attacks and even President Asif Ali Zardari seems to have gone silent, hardly making a forceful statement to give the people some confidence. It all points to the turmoil and confusion reigning supreme in Pakistan. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
