Medical profession has through the history worked to save life and promote good health. Doctors around the world work day and night for preserving life and preventing disease so that we do not fall sick. In the event of being taken ill medics put forth all their efforts to get the person rid of illness and put him/her back to work. Every year millions are spent globally on doing research to invent new methods of treatment so that the generations to come can lead a better life. Death is the end of life which doctors try their best to prevent. This is why it is important to oppose violence of all kinds.

It is unfortunate that our region which is one among the most deprived in the world is suffering the heat of violence constantly in one form or the other leading to further deprivation of our resources away from our basic needs to wasteful expenditure on arms race. Terrorist violence has killed large number of people both in India and Pakistan.

As per a report by National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, A Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Center of Excellence, Based at the University of Maryland published in September 2018 number of terrorist attacks globally in 2017 was 8584 which caused death of 18753 people and injured 19461 persons.

During the same year there were 574 terrorist attacks in Pakistan causing death of 851 persons. In India there occurred 860 attacks leading to death of 380 persons including the incidents in Chhattisgarh and North East. Both the countries have witnessed serious terrorist violence incidents like the attack on Indian Parliament in 2001 and Mumbai in 2008. In Pakistan the worst incident has been the terrorist attack on school children in Lahore.

Such violence leaves behind a long tale of unforgettable events and misery. Those injured in such violence have to suffer all their life due to the loss of limbs, eyes or other organs besides the mental disorders including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Children lose their school education and worst is the loss of love and affection and care of parents.

Such events create a natural hatred against the perpetrator and demands for a similar response and stringent action. But such situations have to be tackled with much seriousness and statesmanship. Rhetoric may yield catastrophic results.

War is the one of the most serious threat to public health with catastrophic effects on infrastructure & environment and accounts for more deaths and disability than many major diseases combined. It destroys families, communities and sometimes-whole cultures. It channels limited resources away from health and other social needs.

In the present situation any talk of aggression could be of serious consequences as both India and Pakistan are nuclear weapons possessing countries. The use of these weapons in the event of a war cannot be ruled out. The death of over 200,000 people killed by atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the continuing effects of radiation fallout are still not forgotten. Present day nuclear weapons are much more deadly. Even a limited use of 100 nuclear weapons could put 2 billion people at risk.

It is time to work collectively to curb the menace of terrorism which is totally inhuman and dastardly act. Whereas it is important to defend the sovereignty of the nation, it is imperative to wage ideological struggle against terrorism through civil society actions against fundamentalism, conservatism coupled with creation of more avenues for education & job opportunities. When dialogue ends violence begins. There need for greater statesmanship by all sides. Let us remember the preaching of Red Cross and Bhai Kanhaiya. (IPA Service)