Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Operation Silence

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf deserves all praise for taking the bold step of storming the Lal Masjid where militants holed up under the leadership of cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi were engaged in a standoff with the government for a week. His decision is in line with the war against terrorism. At a time when his popularity has reached an all time low, it was no mean task to order the storming of the Masjid. He should uproot camps aiding and abetting terrorism in the same spirit.

Ravikumar Sreepada,

Jagtial

The Lal Masjid episode should serve as a lesson to all the countries that promote terrorism or turn a deaf ear to pleas to rein in militant elements. Gen. Musharraf would have perhaps realised in the past week what an uphill task it is to combat terrorism and eliminate militancy.

Chambath Gopalakrishnan,

Palakkad

Gen. Musharraf can now claim to have demonstrated his commitment to fight radical Islamism and the resurgent neo-Taliban. He has achieved three goals by ordering the storming of Lal Masjid. He has shown that he is very much in command and the army remains loyal to him; he has bought time with his critics in the U.S. and Europe who had begun to tire of his un-kept promises; and he has diverted the people’s attention away from the sacking of the Chief Justice. If the General truly means business, he should shut down all radical madrassas.

J. Akshay,

Secunderabad

Terrorism in Pakistan has come full circle. The genie has grown too big and monstrous to be capped at will by its mentors. Terrorism is no longer confined to its borders and tribal areas. It has spread to all parts of the country, including Islamabad and Karachi. The implications of Operation Silence will be far-reaching and may change the political landscape of the country.

Raunaq Rathore,

Noida

Sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. This has been proved beyond doubt in Pakistan. The policy of bleeding India through militancy has boomeranged. India too faced a similar situation when the relatively little known Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale who was nourished for political reasons turned against his mentors and occupied the Golden Temple with his followers and deadly weapons. Operation Blue Star of course flushed the militants out but it also changed the course of Indian politics with bloody consequences. Gen. Musharraf has taken a calculated risk in ordering Operation Silence.

Capt. T. Raju (retd.),

Secunderabad

At last, President Musharraf has delivered what he has been promising to the world — an all-out war against terrorism. It is indeed very encouraging that the security forces acted with professional conviction in dealing with the hardcore elements that were threatening to plunge the Pakistani society into a cesspool of irrational orthodoxy. The Lal Masjid episode should serve as a lesson not only to the Pakistani establishment but also its civil society that has been a mute spectator or passive supporter of Islamic fundamentalism.

S. Safdar Ahmed,

Hyderabad

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