Here is a nation feeding on its own blood; heading its way into an ultimate implosion; where people have become murderously judgmental; where there is open talk of ethnic and religious cleansing of fellow citizens: where rationality has been overcome with impregnating hate material; where humanity has lost its dignity, value and will.
Pakistan was mapped out of chaos. It has been more than six decades, but things remain unsettled in terms of its economics, governance and harmony. Not a day goes by without crisis, without sensing how Pakistan is surviving on its edge. When the well-being of the people is prioritized at par with irrelevant subjects as crucial entities for this country. The major question to be asked by people is that of security of their lives and property.
Whatever has made us come to this point may be blamed on the incompetent policies of successive governments since the inception of Pakistan. Major blame can be placed on the religious injunctions in the constitution which, if invoked, cause unnecessary hurdles or stalling of actions that are pertinent to policy making to redress the grievances of the public, which unfortunately cannot be done under current circumstances. Rather, it creates more confusion in the state of affairs.
Before going any further, it is important to mention that there is a difference between an Islamic State and a Muslim State. In an Islamic state, the constitution inducts Islamic jurisprudence whereas in a Muslim state, the Muslims who are in majority along with minorities are allowed to practice their religion without constitutional restrictions. Moreover, Quaid-e-Azam did not provide any vision for Pakistan, though there is a misperception of forged evidence that Quad e Azam declared Pakistan to be an Islamic State. If it was so, why was the Objectives Resolution passed after the demise of the Quaid. Moreover, the Mullahs who were first against the idea of Pakistan and deemed it un-Islamic, came over to Pakistan to avail the opportunity to Islamize gain more power in the constitution building of Pakistan.
It was the appeasement of the clergy that created problems for the public at large. There are many injunctions in the constitution of Pakistan that if invoked, will make the lives of the public difficult in their day to day affairs. Moreover, it has the potential to invoke rivalry between Shia and Sunni sects. Since 1948, the constitution had been hardened with religious indoctrination making little room for the rights of the minorities of Pakistan, who originally migrated to Pakistan under the perception that Pakistan was created for the protection of minorities— alas their dreams were shattered.
Religious upheaval took place for the first time when radical Muslim activists rioted with Ahmedi Muslims which caused a lot of casualties. In response to this, the Justice Munir Report surfaced which concluded that there is not a single agreed definition of Muslim. This report, however, was not paid any heed and was shelved to hide away the details. Since past decades, Pakistan has witnessed far too much bloodshed in the name of religion.
Not only this: the 70’s under Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Zia ul Haq in the 80’s witnessed the growth of Jihadi culture which was financed by the Saudi Riyals and the US dollar to defeat the Russians in Afghanistan. It is alleged that it was during the regime of Zia ul Haq that major education reforms were made by inculcating Jihadi injunctions, the syllabus of which was allegedly prepared by the University of Nebraska. Young children were recruited and adolescents were trained to become Jihadists. Once the war was won against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, the Jihadists, known as the Taliban remained there to cater to the strategic depth of Pakistan due to its geo-political position as an aversion against India and Russia.
The Taliban got into power in Afghanistan, and Pakistan was among the three governments to accept the Taliban government in the world. However, with the eventuality of 9/11 and the US war against Taliban, many of them returned to Pakistan and started creating problems for national security. More than 50,000 people have died due to terrorist activity in Pakistan to assert their demand to impose Sharia in Pakistan. The situation is further complicated as there is not a single group that is working under the single command of the Taliban and have splintered themselves to act on their own.
With the presence of the US in the region, public opinion against them has changed a great deal and has, in a way started justifying the Taliban attacks in response to drone attacks. This opinion, with the help of our stalwart politicians, especially Imran Khan and Mian Nawaz Shareef, have emboldened this stance by misleading the public; they say terrorists are in fact being created due to the drone attacks, which simply is not true. Terrorists existed long before drone attacks did.
The Government and other politicians are proclaiming openly that this is not their war, which is a dangerous trend because unless the war against terror is owned, Pakistan will keep on bleeding unable to protect its citizens’ lives and properties.
The writer is a freelance columnist.
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