A nation in shambles

"Cool breeze, snow on the street and a cloudy sky. It had been a good day for Raheem. He had bagged a huge promotion and was rushing towards home where his wife awaited him. Overfilled with joy, he was walking without any overcoat unbothered by the freezing wind." // 

The same Kabul was hit by a terrorist attack a couple of days back, killing hundreds of innocent men, women, and children. What's more horrifying is that it's not even unusual anymore, it has become 'normal'.

In Pakistan, we are led to believe that Afghanistan has always been an uptight tribal society which is not entirely true. So what exactly turned a city like Kabul into an epicenter of extremism? Boiling it down, fearing a Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the establishment set up hundreds of extremist religious schools in Pakistan, preparing an entire generation to fight for someone else's interests in the name of religion. Ziaulhaq, the Pakistani dictator at the time, was more than happy to help since it was the only way to prolong his illegitimate rule which would have faced international sanctions otherwise. 

This resulted in the rise of several sectarian and extremist outfits in Pakistan. Since the state was using that extremist narrative to fight the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, these organizations were patronized by our government. But it also affected the everyday life of Pakistanis. An entire generation grew up believing they had a right to interfere in someone else's beliefs, a concept that was largely unknown in Pakistani society. Even though these organizations were present well before Zia's takeover, they had never gotten adequate public attention. This sudden urge to have moral validation from the people around was pristine. 

With this historical background, it's clear that Pakistanis born in or after the 80s have encountered this polarized society. They grew up when extremism was being encouraged by the state. Now even if the government tries to undo the mistakes, it will face sheer resistance from within the government and military institutions. Our military intelligence agencies are also part of the same society. Any effort to normalize this radicalized society will face resistance from inside such agencies.