The massacre of 141 people including 132 children by the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban at the Peshawar Army Public School yesterday was probably the most heinous barbarity ever seen even in Pakistan, which has been victim to this scourge for decades now. Hardly a day passes without suicide attacks, terrorist bombing or target killings in this tragic country.
There is such a furore surrounding the movements of Qadri, Imran and most recently the PTI on the television screens and airwaves that ordinary people, who are already suffering from the brutal socioeconomic crisis, are left bewildered. The ongoing vicious cycle of talks and confrontations followed by the resumption of yet more talks, causes even greater despair for people’s already agitated minds and beleaguered souls. Some have come to the conclusion that if they avoided the television talk shows and news bulletins they would be better off. They could live without the stress and boredom the continuous rows and monotonous speeches with no real content or optimism. The bosses of the “free” media prioritise issues and political topics that hardly address or relate to the burning problems that are frustrating the masses. The corporate media is engaged in a conspiratorial silence that rubbishes the movements of the workers, peasants and youth struggling against oppression and misery stalking this land.
Comrade Ali Wazir is a proclaimed supporter of the IMT. His mass popularity and support in this primitive region - the so-called bastion of the Taliban - shows that if the struggle for a socialist revolution is conducted with correct tactics, courage and determination, Marxists can win the support in these extremely hazardous areas, especially amongst the students and the youth.