Salmaan Taseer is a hero and will stay so in the minds of countless Pakistanis.
MELBOURNE: It is true that the majority of the Pakistanis have turned from being liberal moderates — that we were until the mid-80s to righteous — holier-than-thou, jingoistic slogan-chanting, conspiracy-believing creatures that the world is increasingly tiring of.
The writer’s father-in-law, Salmaan Taseer, was one of those brave people that went against the populist tide and didn’t cave in to the clergy. He is a hero and will stay so in the minds of countless Pakistanis who saw him sitting in the prison with Aasia Bibi. He gave his life for standing to the oppressors. We salute him for his bravery and his courage.
The hypocrites (perhaps in a majority) do not see that trait. They are more concerned with the notion that one day they will rule Pakistan and perhaps the world. The truth is that we are broke financially and have to rely entirely on handouts from the Americans (who we call infidels at the drop of a hat), the IMF and the World Bank (the latter we readily call agents of the Jews). We are illiterate, have no sense of justice, showering rose petals to a murderer and chanting slogans to free him, unable to raise our voice against oppression. However, when our women are killed by the Taliban and our schools bombed by them, we sit by idly and do nothing. We also don’t do anything when our governments and military make peace deals with those who don’t accept our Constitution or our way of life.
There are lots of people who share the writer’s pain and that of his family.
Haris Chaudhry
Published in The Express Tribune, February 6th, 2011.
