It is time we returned to the liberal and progressive Pakistan of the 1960s and the 1970s.
JUBAIL, SAUDI ARABIA: I wonder if anyone remembers the Pakistan of the 1960s and the 1970s and how that Pakistan compares with present-day Pakistan? The blowing up of girls’ schools, targeting of polio workers, killing of opponents, criminals wandering the streets, angered mobs ready to lynch anyone and everyone on imagined charges — these are all the hallmarks of today’s Pakistan. Sadly, all this is happening because of the misuse of religion.
The Pakistan of the 1960s and the 1970s was not a fearful place because extremists were not powerful enough to challenge the writ of the state. A peaceful and progressive country was completely revamped when extremism was institutionalised to achieve short-term goals. But as they say, if you dig up a hole for others, you are sure to fall into it yourself — now, there is no way to put this genie back in the bottle.
It is time we returned to the liberal and progressive Pakistan of the 1960s and the 1970s.
Masood Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, May 25th, 2014.
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