This Saturday Pakistan’ electronic and social media was buzzing with some very bold statements coming from Lahore, wherein the ex-Ameer of country’ most influential religious party, Jamat-e-Islami, Syed Munawar Hassan stressed that to clean our society we needed only ‘Qittal fe Sabeel Allah’ (massacre in the name of God). Jamat’ political partner in KPK government chose not to comment on this, permission to kill!
The other two major political parties PPP and PML-N also declared that Munawar’ statement did not represent the JI’ polices. There were few others who put up a strong defense in media, to excuse Jamat from general public’ backlash. But why should Munawar be blamed for his frank views, that’s what Jamat and other religious parties have been propagating and justifying for a long time. Though Jamat openly insulted the sacrifices of Pakistan Army, but no one dared to challenge such outburst; encouraged by that inaction Munawar has now gone one step forward to openly asking his party workers to cleanse the society.
Can anyone be brave enough to put a stop on this further fracturing of the society? Pakistani society has already been ruined by numerous religious and sectarian divides; religious minorities are regularly targeted by mobs in the name of blasphemy, their worship places are attacked and looted with no one to challenge the terrorists, Hindu girls are forced to convert to Islam, Hindus and Hazara are fleeing the country. Is this all not enough that Jamat is now vowing to stage open massacre to cleanse the society. Pakistan needs to learn from Bangladesh which has banned all religion based political parties.
MASOOD KHAN,
Saudi Arab, November 2.