‘Not afraid of death’

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I survived this attack and I may not survive the next one but I will not surrender to the brokers of evil. I will continue to speak the truth and fight for peace. After the Tehrik-e-Taliban accepted the responsibility of attack on me things are pretty clear but police are still investigating to find who really did it.

I was delivered a message by a “friend” from the Taliban that I should stop speaking in favour of (teen child rights activist) Malala Yousafzai who was shot by the militants but survived miraculously. I told them I had received their message but they insisted on an answer, so I made it clear that come what may, I will not stop speaking the truth.
I told them that they may have scared politicians, businessmen and others, but this time they have attacked an innocent girl and I will not sit silent.
I was and I am ready to pay the price. I may be killed but at least they should know there are people who can die for justice and care for principles.
I have been threatened not only by the Taliban but the agencies as well and I informed interior minister Rehman Malik about it. He ordered an inquiry and later they termed it an “individual act” trying to prove that the organisations or the government were not after me.
But this new attack is linked to my programmes on Malala Yousafzai. Since she was attacked in October, I made it a point to criticise the perpetrators of the assault. I believe that education is the key to progress and Malala Yousafzai committed no sin by raising her voice for girls’ education in the conservative areas.
Soon afterwards, the Taliban wrote a lengthy Urdu letter to me in which their spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan asked me to ignore the Malala Yousafzai issue or face the consequences.
I could have opted to stay safe and stop speaking on the issue but I thought enough is enough and we must challenge the evil mindset. Unless we do so, they will try to dictate to us how we need to live and we will slowly become a conscienceless society.
I said to myself that we need to tell them we are still alive and we cannot ignore truth and justice fearing attacks.
I pledged to myself to oppose the killings of innocent people and the attempts to impose extremism. I have been speaking the truth and I cannot stop doing so due to fear for life. I will continue raising my voice for truth and justice.
I believe that the saviour is more powerful than the attacker. I can be killed but my mission will live on. God saved me. I don’t think they just wanted to frighten me. They had decided to kill me. I am alive because God wanted me to live.
The attack on me is a message to all the journalists who prefer principles over compromises. We have to decide whether we want to give up or fight for our rights.
This attack also shows how dangerous it is to be a journalist in Pakistan, especially if you are aiming to expose the wrong people. The merchants of hate must know that they cannot defeat the warriors of truth. In the end the truth will prevail.
The way the media organisations and people have backed me has given me new hope. I am not sure who all are plotting to kill me but I can tell you that my only fault is speaking the truth which I am not going to quit doing at any cost.
Malala Yousafzai called me over the telephone and her father Ziauddin Yousafzai also spoke to me. They thanked me for supporting their cause for girls’ education and I promised to continue the mission.
I know that the only way Pakistan is going to progress is by raising the literacy rate. Awareness is the key. I will not surrender to the forces of evil and expect from all to support me in this cause. We should move forward instead of sinking into the dark. Whoever wants to kill me should know that I am not afraid of death.

As told to Shafqat Ali