Malala had the moral courage to stand up in Swat, at a time when it was hostage to armed gangs and fundamentalists
DUBAI: Malala Yousufzai is like a breath of fresh air for a country like Pakistan, haunted by people spewing hatred and hypocrisy in the name of a religion. This is because, at the very young age of 17, she preaches tolerance, welfare and peace, while encouraging acquisition of knowledge. In December, Pakistan’s national anthem and flag will be proudly raised in Oslo, the second time after Professor Abdus Salam became the first Nobel laureate.
A majority of Muslim states are plagued by monarchs, military dictators, and pied pipers leading the masses back to the dark ages, and they do so at the expense of focusing on development of human resources, without which progress, prosperity, state security and sovereignty cannot be attained. In a country, where the lives of citizens are not secure, Malala had the moral courage to stand up in Swat, at a time when it was hostage to armed gangs and fundamentalists violently enforcing their brand of faith on the local population. Both Pakistan and India are infected with the virus of feudalism, where political power and nobility are considered to be acquired through accident of birth. However, Malala rose from a poor background to acquire international recognition.
The unfortunate reality is that the curse of terrorism, which plagues Pakistan, is a product of the myopic vision of military dictators like Generals Zia and Musharraf, who gave sanctuary to militants and terrorists to feed their greed for power and patronage by the West.
Malik Tariq Ali
Published in The Express Tribune, October 12th, 2014.
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