Yet another tragedy: Talibans’ newest attack on Peshawar

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]s I opened my Facebook news feed a few hours ago I felt the familiar plunge of my heart falling. More sad news of tragedy – yet another bomb blast in Peshawar.

A few short months ago Peshawar, a Taliban infested city in Pakistan, faced a terrible tragedy. The Taliban massacred around 200 school children at an army school. Today 20 people have been killed during Friday prayers at a mosque and 50 others severely injured. News of my homeland, Pakistan, always depresses me, which is why I try to avoid following it. This news was especially slow to reach people.

I just informed my parents of this attack after I found out on Facebook – they actually had no idea. They just turned on the news and even had to flip through a bunch of Pakistani news channels to find out what had happened, as many channels were busy covering other political news, obviously losing sight of the more important matter at hand.

It seems like everyone, even those in Pakistan, have become somewhat numbed and immune to tragic news like this. We can no longer generate the same emotions of grief, because these occurrences are just so common.

This is not to say we do not feel the pain, but that if we felt intense pain at every tragic instance we would not be able to move on with our lives at all. The news channels all presented slightly different accounts of what
had happened, how many had died, and what motives the Taliban had for this heinous attack. Some stated that it was an act of vengeance against the government and civilians; others claimed it was due to the ongoing violence between religious sects. The exact motive is not important because clearly the act was generated out of pure stupidity, ignorance and hate. While the media often paints a black and white picture of Islamist militants who are at war with the West, the reality is much more complicated.

The truth is the majority of people who die at the hands of these evil killers are innocent Muslim civilians in mainly Muslim countries.

While the Taliban are Islamist Extremists, they are not really Islamic at all, and a clear example of this is that mosques tend to be one of the most susceptible places where a bomb can fall. There is something uncannily ridiculous about religious Islamic extremists bombing a mosque. It just contradicts itself. Clearly these people are not actually practicing Muslims (though they claim to be) and Islam should not be blamed for these abhorrent crimes – the religion strictly condemns killing and does not condone such behavior in any way.

The Taliban are the most cruel, ridiculous group of militants who bomb and kill senselessly, not even caring for their own lives.

This is all done for absolutely no reason. The real reason for these evil attacks has nothing to do with religion but is just plain ignorance and stupidity coupled with evil intentions and carried out by truly cruel and callous individuals filled with hatred.

It is a sad reality that innocent civilians are killed everyday in countries where there live so many brainwashed and violent people. Schools, mosques, and churches, which are the most sacred of places, are no longer safe. I hate to end on a desolate note, but there is not much that can be done to stop this madness.

All I can really do is spread this sad news and cry with Peshawar, perhaps drawing more attention to such unacknowledged tragedies, and try to shed some light on the true cause of this insanity.