When the High lords and political parties start to play their games, it is often the most persecuted minorities that get exploited and targeted as causalities. The recent non-issue of a clerical error, whose drafting Ahmedis had nothing to do with, that got lambasted into hate speech and incitement against the community is evidence of it.
However, for the people who wish to see Pakistan succeed as a peaceful Islamic country which protects its minorities, not all hope is lost. While Captain Safdar’s speech filled with baseless vitriol and hate may have dismayed us, it is heartening to see that numerous people have come out rejecting the speech. In a press conference, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major Asif Ghafoor made a point to condemn the speech and state that Pakistan is for all irrespective of religion or sect. Quaid-e-Azam Univeristy, whom Safdar criticized for renaming its Physics department after Dr. Abdus Salaam, out rightly rejected Safdar’s words in harsh terms and said it was proud of its most honorable alumnus. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has also expressed outrage at the statements.
It is also heartening to see some leaders of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) take issue with the statement. Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal called Safdar’s tirade hate speech and reiterated that “Pakistan respects all minorities”. Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi lambasted Safdar and said the speech didn’t represent PMLN’s stance.
It is ironic that PMLN is the only party that is outright condemning the hate speech and the opposition parties have seemingly lost their voices. Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which has championed itself as the upholder of human rights, has made very little condemnation of the hate speech, with just a small tweet from Bilawal Bhutto. No major statement from Zardari, and an attempt from Sherry Rehman to speak out against Safdar in the senate was silenced by PPP Senator Raza Rabbani.
Even more disappointing is the silence of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI), which has not only remained completely mum on the issue but has tacitly cheered on the hate, with members making an issue out the clerical error. For a party which claims to be brave, PTI often acts timidly on sensitive issues and maybe needs to have an ideology other than just “anti-corruption”.
While the effort by some government leaders to curtail the hate speech is commendable, it is not enough.