In the face of the Lahore attacks, we stand united as ever, sans religious affiliations
KARACHI: It was 68 years ago that this country was formed, built on the basis of three ideals: unity, faith and discipline. Long since have these values been eroded — disgraced by the advent of rampant corruption, greed, hate and prejudice. Cities run red as officers of the law turn blind eye to wrongdoing, for surely profit outweighs morality. Such accounts of Pakistan exceed familiarity with regard to alien news outlets and foreign media; without conscience or acknowledgement of consequence, the belief is propagated that a nation of 180 million is either oblivious or complacent, if not catalytic to the current conditions.
Coated thick with harsh rhetoric and insulting overtones, the overall picture painted is grim. Yet, they know not of our heroes; of the everyday men and women taking a stand to oppression: of Aitzaz Hasan, the 14-year old who gave his life tackling a suicide bomber armed with the intent to massacre an entire village, of Afshan Ahmed, a teacher who was burnt alive while protecting her students on the 26th of December 2014, of Syeda Ghulam Fatima, the woman from rural Sindh who dedicated her life to ending bonded labour. Faced with insurmountable odds, and without glory or recognition, they stood for us. Pitted against each naysayer who doubted this nation, against each tyrant who attempted to undermine our stature and all the progression that has culminated over these fateful 68 years, they stood strong.
Everlasting and undying, it was these brave few that stood to uphold each and every tenet for which Mohammad Ali Jinnah and millions of Muslims fought for, in colonial-era India. In light of the events in Lahore, Multan and Peshawar, we reminisce upon the times that when we asked “When will this end?” It’s now that we ask ourselves: “Will it ever end?”
I write this to highlight the simple fact that as Pakistanis, an invariable component of our blood is resilience. Though deep rooted it may be, it serves indicative of the notion that regardless of caste or creed, each and every one of us could well be the next Aitzaz Hasan, the next Afshan Ahmed, and the next Syeda Ghulam Fatima.
In the face of the Lahore attacks, we stand united as ever — Muslim, Hindu, Christian, Parsi. Above all, I urge that this letter stand as a threat; to every brainwashed fundamentalist, sickened by the thought of a successful woman, to every arrogant politician that leeches off the destitute — you have been warned.
Sameer Haseeb Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, April 6th, 2016.
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