July 18, 2021
Under the deepening shadow of Afghanistan, there are continuing reports about the rise and rise of the Taliban. With the departure of the American forces from the country, the spectre of civil war is hovering over Afghanistan.
By a strange coincidence, Malala Yousafzai has also figured in our media this week. After all, she is the very antithesis of what the Taliban represent, in a symbolic sense. And this contradiction also embodies a kind of civil war in Pakistani society.
So, are the Taliban also winning this war, vicariously? What is obvious, anyhow, is that a very large number of people would readily take the Taliban’s side. That is how the Pakistani mindset has been nurtured by our rulers. It is interesting that leading members of the present cabinet now have nice things to say about the Taliban who, obviously, are not divided by the Durand Line.