From what is unravelling, it is time for parliament to legislate, declare entire month of Ramazan a public holiday.
LAHORE: This with reference to M Ziauddin’s article “Introspection” (August 14) and the questions raised in the book referred therein. Such is the level of insanity in Pakistan today that every government functionary and society at large appear to have lost sense as to where an individual’s religious obligation ends and responsibility towards the state begins. A measure of this was the recent ruling to advance the date of the presidential elections. It was done due to the PM’s visit to the holy land during the last ashra of Ramazan.
Government officials taking leave on the pretext of tableegh or the annual congregation at Raiwind and unhesitatingly employing official resources at their disposal is a long-established practice. But as religiosity continues to expand at spectacular pace, a persistent decrease in official attendance in state institutions and individual lethargy during Ramazan are now commonly observed.
From what is unravelling, it is time for parliament to legislate and declare the entire month of Ramazan a public holiday. This will solve the problem once and for all. Society at large has become judgmental and deduces opinion more through external appearance than through logic, allegiance to the state, institution or professionalism.
Muhammad Azam Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, August 16th, 2013.
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