I dont agree 100% with dawn editorial but do agree with may points that the editor made. That the dead bodies of these terrorists were showered by rose petals exhibits the complex society that we live in back home but the fundamental question is how big is that rose-petal-showering segment? I fear that portion is pretty significant as the state propogaanda of portraying these animals as “mujahidin fighting against evil forces” has been in place for a very long time and therefore that toxic narrative is well rooted into DNA of our masses (both semi-educated and uneducated). We need to work hard on changing that narrative. That is where role of political parties is so important and alas they are not up to task.
but i do not agree with Dawn that these hangings are not serving any purpose. If these animals know that they will be hanged in weeks if they are caught, it will act as a deterrent to some extent.
Problematic penalty - Newspaper - DAWN.COM
[Problematic penalty](http://www.dawn.com/news/1157690/problematic-penalty) [Editorial](http://www.dawn.com/authors/2677/)
Published about 10 hours ago
[TABLE="class: media one-whole palm--one-whole"]
WHEN an ambulance carrying the body of a Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan militant hanged in Karachi Central Prison is showered with rose petals by well-wishers — as pictured in this newspaper on Friday — it demonstrates how problematic the death penalty is in religiously inspired militancy and terrorism cases. It clearly cannot be a deterrent for terrorists whose very missions either involve blowing themselves up or launching attacks in which death is a likely outcome.
Moreover, the hangings may only be inspiring other would-be militants given the faux martyr status bestowed by a certain fringe section of society upon those executed. All that the hangings have achieved so far is feed a growing appetite in society for vengeance rather than justice — turning an already wounded populace into cheerleaders of death.
More broadly, the question that is still unanswered is, what of the government’s National Action Plan and the range of other measures the government is meant to take to combat extremism and dismantle terrorist groups operating on Pakistani soil? Some initial steps have been taken, but nothing close to a coherent strategy has emerged yet and the government, for all its meetings and press releases, does not appear to have the will or the capacity to develop one. Where there has been movement, it appears to occur largely because of the military’s initiative or insistence that the civilian-run side of the state take certain steps.
Surely, though, a militarised strategy to fight militancy and extremism cannot be a winning strategy. The PML-N government may have only reluctantly, and very belatedly, tried to own the fight against militancy, but being in charge of two governments — in Punjab and the centre — means the party leadership must play a central role. Where is the PML-N lacking? In nearly every department, starting from the interior ministry, which is still in the hands of a minister who fruitlessly pursued peace talks with the very same militants that the ministry must now take the fight to. The unwieldy committee approach to taking on militancy is another problem, with bureaucrats having an unhealthily large presence in many committees that could do with subject-specific expertise. Why, for example, is the police leadership so under-represented in the multiple committees that the PML-N has created? There is still time to correct course, beginning with admitting that execution is no answer and what the government really needs to do is speed up other aspects of the fight against terrorism.
Published in Dawn January 18th , 2015
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