We hear a lot about establishing the rule of law, however, an even greater danger is being overlooked.
ISLAMABAD: This is with reference to your editorial of January 18 titled “When will the appeasement end?”
We hear a lot about the incumbent government’s mantra of establishing the rule of law, especially in the war-torn northwest, where it has little or no writ in certain areas.
However, an even greater and graver danger is being overlooked: banned outfits like the Jamaatud Dawa arranging rallies and inviting clerics who openly spew hatred against minorities, incite violence and hail the murderer of Salmaan Taseer as a hero. They rip off signboards placed to pay tribute to the late governor and declare all those who choose to side with the murdered governor as blasphemers.
This is all done with impunity and there is nobody to check these antics. The question that immediately comes to mind is: where is the government and why isn’t it doing anything to stop these people? Why have such rallies been allowed and why aren’t law-enforcement agencies catching all those who incite others to violence?
Has enough blood not been spilt already? What are we waiting for? Another murder? The government’s appeasement of the religious right and its acquiescence/weakness has already incurred great harm to Pakistani society at large. Tolerance, forbearance, restraint and moderation, which were once the hallmarks of our society, have vanished and have been replaced with oppression, bigotry, intolerance and hate.
This has to come to an end for the sake of sanity, for the sake of citizenry and for the sake of our beloved country. We cannot be held hostage to a few. We must put our house in order. We must educate our younger generation and instill in them virtues which distinguish nations from hooligans, thugs and barbarians. Those at the helm of affairs must come out of the state of self-denial before all is lost. I am reminded of a song by Strings/Atif Aslam titled “Ab khud kuch karna parey aga”, but my only hope is that the government of the day wakes up to the reality and faces its responsibilities, sets its priorities in order and establishes its writ, not only in ungovernable areas but in so-called governable areas as well.
Edgar Felix
Published in The Express Tribune, January 19th, 2011.
