Run a banned organisation? Retired from the army years ago, but can’t get enough of ‘serving’ the nation? Like being called the ‘father of the Taliban’, even though the ‘boys’ don’t really listen to you anymore? Possess a talent for cooking up conspiracy theories, and presenting them with conviction as fact, without ever breaking character? Outdated? Often outwitted? Outspoken? Outraged? Out of touch with reality? Perfect match! Welcome to the Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC); where everybody means well, really.
Lahore was yet again fortunate enough to host a DPC rally on Sunday. Jamaatud Dawa (JuD), the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami (JUI-S), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Alhamdia Students and others participated in the rally. The enthusiasts carrying anti-drone and anti-NATO placards, comprised of an illustrious line-up and around 5,000 supporters chanting familiar slogans, unfamiliar with how the world actually works. Just the usual anti-drone, anti-US, anti-NATO, anti-India rants, generously contributing to the list of reasons for taking anti-depressants, if anyone living in Pakistan wishes to retain sanity. Carefully cultivated feelings of injustice, self-pity and self-righteousness left the crowd thirsty, and ready to hurriedly gulp the dangerous cocktail of half-truths and half-lies.
They reminded that drones violate the sovereignty of Pakistan, but never said a word about the terrorists who do the same on a daily basis, and that there are safe havens within the country’s territory which are used to plot and carry out attacks against it and other sovereign states. They shed tears for the innocents killed by drone strikes, but not a single mention of an estimated 40,000 innocent civilians who have been killed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) and other militant groups. Instead, they invited the TTP to ‘defend’ Pakistan against ‘foreign powers’. No better example of shooting yourself in the foot to make a strong mark on the opposition. They revealed that there was foreign conspiracy to divide Pakistan along sectarian lines. Really? So, there are no local religious schools and scholars propagating a hate-filled, absolutist ideology? LeJ, SSP is actually comprised of a bunch of English-Hebrew speaking white men, who’ve successfully tanned their way to perfect camouflage.
They claimed that blocking the NATO supply would be a great jihad, failing to clarify whether fighting the Soviets with money and weapons coming from the same ‘infidel’ Americans during the 80s was a greater jihad or a lesser one. They appealed to Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, to order the military to shoot down US-drones. Done. Downed. But, then what? No idea. Where will that put us with the rest of the international community? We’ve already done enough to be looked upon with suspicion over our “double-game” during this war on terror. If isolation is what Pakistan desires, the PM is urged to follow the DPC’s advice. It doesn’t matter what they said about Kashmir. They cannot and have not bought us a solution; only taken us further from it. If only their patrons and supporters realised this too.