In a gesture that has attracted record participation from ordinary Pakistanis, 63 million citizens — a third of the terror-battered country’s population — have signed up to a unique anti-terror campaign. Billed as the biggest lobby effort anywhere in the world, Pakistanis signed a petition called “Yeh Hum Naheen (This is not us)” in a four-week period. It is seen as the strongest signal yet from Pakistanis — one could almost call it the cry of a nation stained with shame — that they don’t want fundamentalism or terrorism to be known as the Pakistani way of life.

The campaign apparently ensured that most of the signatories were verifiable individuals. Given that the Taliban are raising suicide bombers and death squads from teens in the hardened badlands of FATA, children above 11 years were also allowed to sign. The campaign was launched in 2007 with a hit song featuring some of the country’s biggest pop stars, including Ali Zafar. Despite the obvious attraction of the signature campaign, not much can come out of it.