Recent statements of Jamaat-i-Islami amir Munawar Hassan that Pakistani soldiers are not martyrs if they die battling jihadi terrorists resulted in outrage as is expected by any sane person who recognises the sacrifice of our brave soldiers. Unfortunately, this is not the only insult that our soliders are facing such as the treatment of their sacrifice by media.
A recent example of how media handled certain deaths puts the troubling situation in a stark light. On 21st November, a US drone strike some people including militant leaders. The story was covered with front-page headlines.
A few weeks later, a bomb attack martyred four Pakistani soliders and wounded five more 45 km east of Miramshah. Taliban militants claimed responsibility for the attack. What headlines did these brave men receive? None. Their sacrifice was reported at the bottom of the back page, a tiny article squeezed in between some advertisements, as if their lives were only worthy of whatever space remained when more important news was finished.
The lives of terrorists are not more valuable than those of our soldiers. Their sacrifice is not a footnote. Our soldiers deserve better.
