by Silent Thinker

Punjab’s Home minister, known for fighting extremists, was killed yesterday. Seven Taliban involved in the attack on a Peshawar military school were hanged last week. Since December 2014, almost 200 people have been executed. For Fr Yaqoob, "We must focus on education. The army alone cannot defeat terrorism."

Peshawar (AsiaNews) – Terrorists "have instilled fear in people’s hearts and now we are driven in the same direction. What was once a peaceful nation now wants their death, there is no difference” in terms of acts of violence, said Fr Amir Yaqoob, parish priest at Holy Name Catholic Church in Peshawar.

The clergyman spoke to AsiaNews about the country’s drift towards ever-greater violence following the attack carried out by the Taliban against a military school in Peshawar, in which they killed 134 students and 19 adults.

Because of this act of extremism, the government in Islamabad lifted the moratorium on the death penalty for terrorism-related offences and reinstated executions in all capital cases.

Since the moratorium on the death penalty was ended in December 2014, almost 200 people have been hanged, including a young Catholic man who always claimed his innocence and was 15 when the crimes (multiple murders) he was convicted for were committed.

Seven terrorists involved in the attack against a military school are among those executed. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif welcomed their death.

“Bringing the terrorists to justice has given a sense of feeling to us and the parents that such criminal activities will, Insha Allah (God willing), soon be completely eliminated from Pakistan,” he said on Pakistan’s Independence Day (14 August).

Fr Yaqoob disagrees with the prime minister. The clergyman fears that the violence will escalate indiscriminately. This came yesterday in an attack in the village of Shadi Khan, in which a retired army officer, Colonel Shuja Khanzada (pictured), was killed.  

Two attackers broke into Mr Khanzada’s residence and blew themselves up, causing the collapse of the ceiling. Mr Khanzada, who was Punjab Home Minister and was known for his efforts against terrorism in the country’s largest province, was chairing a reconciliation meeting between local tribal people. In total, 12 people were killed in the attack, plus about 30 wounded.

Lashkar-e-Islam, a group affiliated with the Taliban, claimed responsibility for the act, saying it was carried out in retaliation for government's military operations against the group in the tribal areas that led to the shooting death of Malik Ishaq, the leader of a banned Sunni militant group.

Akram Khuram, a volunteer with the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, rejects the parallel military justice system with which terrorist suspects are tried, including the seven Taliban, because such a system "deprives detainees of the right to defend themselves" and fuels a general sense of insecurity.

"The army cannot defeat terrorism alone. All members of society, especially the ulema, must contribute to the fight,” Fr Yaqoob said. “Political parties and leaders must eliminate corruption and injustice; otherwise, these conditions will create fertile ground for terrorism. Instead, they must take steps to promote education."

• pakistan
• taliban
• death
• penalty
• executions
• civil
• war