Pakistan cannot unendingly remain hostage to bigoted blackmailers like Maulana Abdul Aziz
DUBAI: Enough is enough. Pakistan cannot unendingly remain hostage to bigoted blackmailers, like Maulana Abdul Aziz, particularly when such characters have been rejected, time and again, by the public at large at all levels of society. Such elements cannot be allowed to destroy the peace of the majority.
Undoubtedly, the timing of the call for the implementation of sharia law given by Aziz, in the wake of the Islamic State (IS) offensive and the Paris attacks is very significant, and will have serious repercussions on internal security and our stand against IS-led terrorism. The government must immediately stop these elements in their stride; otherwise, the very raison d’etre — to fight against religious militancy and terrorism — of Operation Zarb-e-Azb, along with the support of people, will vanish. Moreover, the international community, which is already wary of us, will stop any fruitful interaction completely. The earlier weak-kneed response and illogical trial of General (retd) Pervez Musharraf in the Lal Masjid case has, once again, encouraged Aziz and his cohort to raise their heads again. Stop them before it is too late. Otherwise, we will be sucked into a quagmire of uncertainty and isolation, which this nation cannot afford.
Gulkhaiz Hassan
Published in The Express Tribune, November 19th, 2015.
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