(Asghar Ali Mubarak)
ISLAMABAD (TNS)Army Chief determined to eliminate Fitna al-Khawarij, the real face of Khawarij exposed by the APS tragedy , the resurgence of terrorist attacks, ambushes and military activities in Pakistan, mostly attributed to Fitna al-Khawarij and sub-extremist organizations, has become a serious threat to the peace and stability of the country.
An extremist organization that was once considered close to dissolution has changed its name and reappeared in a new guise, and the reason for its resurgence in power indicates a need to reexamine the complex regional realities to find out what gave these militant groups the opportunity to re-emerge.
Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir has reiterated the Pakistan Army’s determination to eliminate Fitna al-Khawarij and stressed that efforts will continue until this threat is eliminated. The ISPR said that the Army Chief appreciated the determination and spirit of the soldiers and officers and said that the martyrs are the pride of Pakistan, the martyrs will not be forgotten, nor will blood be wasted.
According to the Pakistan Army Spokesperson, General Asim Munir said that the Pakistan Army, with the cooperation of other security agencies, will eliminate terrorism, ensure the establishment of lasting and sustainable peace in the country, and ensure the establishment of lasting and sustainable peace in the country.
Army Chief Asim Munir said that the Fitna al-Khawarij and its facilitators will be defeated, the Army Chief appreciated the determination and spirit of the personnel and officers.
It should be noted that this statement of the Army Chief has come at a time when the security forces had foiled an attempt to attack a check post in the Makeen area of South Waziristan yesterday, killing 8 foreign terrorists, however, 16 soldiers were martyred in the exchange of fire.
Regarding this attack, the ISPR had said that on the night of December 20 and 21, a group of Khawarij tried to attack a check post of the security forces in the Makeen area of South Waziristan district. The security forces effectively foiled the attack and killed 8 foreign terrorists in the exchange of fire. However, 16 brave soldiers embraced martyrdom while fighting bravely during the intense exchange of fire.
Earlier, the ISPR had said that the security forces had foiled an attempt by the Fitna-ul-Khawarij to infiltrate the Pak-Afghan border in the Rajgal area of Khyber, and 4 foreigners were killed in the forces’ action.
Upon reaching Wana, the Corps Commander Peshawar received the Army Chief. It should be noted that the Army Chief’s statement came at a time when the security forces had foiled an attempt to attack a check post in the Makeen area of South Waziristan yesterday, killing 8 foreign terrorists. However, 16 soldiers were martyred in the exchange of fire. Regarding this attack, the ISPR had said that on the night of December 20 and 21, a group of Khawarij tried to attack a check post of the security forces in the Makeen area of South Waziristan district.
The security forces effectively foiled the attack and killed 8 foreign terrorists in the exchange of fire. However, during the intense exchange of fire, 16 brave soldiers embraced martyrdom while fighting bravely. Earlier, the ISPR had said the security forces had foiled an infiltration attempt by Fitna-ul-Kharij on the Pak-Afghan border in the Rajgal area of Khyber, killing four foreigners in the operation.
It should be remembered that incidents like the APS tragedy have exposed the true face of terrorists and Khawarij and united the nation. 10 years ago, brutal terrorists targeted innocent children who were quenching their thirst for knowledge at the Army Public School Peshawar. 147 people, including innocent students, were martyred in the attack and dozens were injured.
On December 16, 2014, 6 terrorists jumped the wall and entered the Army Public School. Armed with modern weapons and dressed in the uniforms of government officials, the terrorists opened fire indiscriminately on the students who were thirsting for knowledge, causing innocent students and teachers to be covered in blood and the school, which used to smell of flowers, was contaminated with the smell of gunpowder in a few moments. Security forces immediately reached APS and killed 6 suicide bombers of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan after a long operation, 147 people, including 122 innocent students, were martyred in the attack by the brutal terrorists. 9 security personnel, including two officers, were injured in the encounter with the terrorists. 6 terrorists involved in the Army Public School attack were arrested by the security forces and sentenced to death by military courts.
After the Army Public School tragedy, a National Action Plan was made and terrorism was eradicated from the tribal areas. As a result of the Army Public School tragedy, while terrorism was eradicated from the country, the evil intentions of the anti-knowledge elements were also destroyed. Issuing a special message on the 10th anniversary of the tragedy, President Asif Ali Zardari paid tribute to the martyrs of APS. The President said that incidents like the APS tragedy expose the true face of terrorists and Khawarij. APS united us as a nation against terrorism, we pay tribute to the sacrifices of law enforcement agencies and ordinary citizens. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in his message that terrorists have separated 144 innocent lives from us forever, time cannot erase the trauma of this tragedy and the separation of these innocent children. Terrorists target innocent Pakistanis at the behest of foreign hostile elements.
It should be noted that from August 5, 2024, the government of Pakistan has issued orders to all ministries and government departments to use words like ‘Fitna-ul-Kharij’ for the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) of Pakistan, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif, while holding a press conference, said that the government has recently notified the TTP as ‘Fitna-ul-Kharij’ through an letter, after which this terrorist organization will be written and called by the same name because ‘it is a sedition and has no connection with the religion of Islam and Pakistan.’ In the notification issued by the government, the Ministry of Interior of Pakistan also ordered all government departments not to use titles like ‘Mufti’ or ‘Hafiz’ for individuals associated with banned terrorist organizations in all official documents, but rather to use the word ‘Kharij’ before their names.
According to the Ministry of Interior, ‘the purpose of this change is to reflect the true nature and ideology of this organization (TTP).’ The question is when and how did the term Khawarij come into existence? And who were the Khawarij? The Khawarij are followers of the first sect of Islam, whose role in the political history of Muslims, according to the Urdu dictionary of Islamic studies, was that they carried out continuous rebellions. There are some traditions that the Khawarij originated during the time of the Prophet PBUH.
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According to the circle of Islamic knowledge, the Khawarij also had a taste for poetry and oratory, but they greatly exaggerated their moral violence. ‘If a person commits a major sin, they deny that he is a believer, but consider him an apostate.’
‘The extremist part of their group, represented by the Azraqah, says that anyone who becomes an infidel in this way cannot re-enter the fold of Islam and that his wives and children should be killed for his apostasy. They consider Muslims who are not Khawarij to be apostates.’ Those who agree with the Khawarij and their descendants are still found in Morocco, Yemen and Egypt. ‘Recently, some groups of Al-Qaeda, ISIS and the Taliban have also continued their guerrilla warfare like them, considering Khawarij principles and their actions to be correct. They consider all Muslim governments in the world to be infidels and acting against them to be correct on the basis of the Khawarij principles.’ Fakhr Kakakhel, an analyst who closely monitors extremist groups in the region and the author of ‘Jangnama’, said that language is of great importance during conflicts and the effects of this language have also been seen in the past. He gives the example of the war between Russia and Afghanistan, saying that those who fought against Russia were called ‘jihadis’ and this word was a term of respect that was considered superior. ‘But as the targets change, the language used during the conflict also changes.’ The Western media used to use the word ‘terrorists’ for these same ‘jihadis’, but now words like militants or armed groups are being used for the Taliban. The effects of the language used during the conflict also have an impact on the public level. ‘When a word is used repeatedly, it becomes a common word, it hurts, as it does for the TTP. The purpose of these orders of the Pakistani government is to compete with the TTP on the narrative front. Senior director of the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy, a think tank in the US, said, “The Pakistani state is very late to the game, but others have been doing it for decades.” Words like “fitna al-Kharij” and “foreign” were used against extremists in the early days of Islam.
