The world was watching nervously, wondering what would happen next in this huge and poor Muslim country. Would this spiral in to the oil fields and take the world’s energy sources out of the hands of western allies? All eyes focused on the museum, would the crowds attack and loot it? Some television channels actually seemed disappointed that the protestors were Egyptians that loved their country and its heritage. Tweets went out to save Egypt’s priceless heritage and antiquities. Then came tweets that a protective human shield had been formed around the museum, and with that came international empathy. The world’s attention now focused on the civility of the protestors. They must be alright if they understand the value and importance of history and seek to preserve it, perhaps we should consider that they, too, have rights and can demand them.
It started with one self-immolation in Tunisa and has spread to Egypt, Jordan and now Yemen. Will it spread to Pakistan? Will the Lahore museum soften global hearts or will the reported size of our nuclear arsenal seal our fate? Is our government thinking? Meanwhile, back at the ranch, it is business as usual.
There’s an American in Lahore and no one, it appears, is clear as to how he got here. True to form, our government has said to the Americans what they want to hear and to the public what they want to hear and then lobbed the problem to the courts to deal with. Remember, if there is immunity then there can be no prosecution. Call them spooks, intel, spies, whatever you like, we know every country posts them abroad and they all receive immunity under the Vienna Convention. So if it’s shooting people in Lahore, beating up your girlfriend in New York or smuggling heroin in to Spain — the bailout provision we all signed up for is there. But if you don’t act quickly and decisively, the atmosphere becomes toxic, things spiral out of control and the issue is obscured.
There’s no talk of the hundreds of poverty-related suicides, increasing unemployment, spiralling inflation, insane food prices. Real issues that will add fuel to the already existing debate on the streets about who’s God it is that looks over Pakistan and who his appointed viceroys are. We aren’t looking at education, the need for a single curriculum and schools that provide an alternative to the madrassa.
To understand our real priorities, just take a look at Islamabad; it bears a striking resemblance to images of Baghdad’s Green Zone. There are roadblocks every few yards and Constitution Avenue is a no-go area. Fear stalks the power corridors and all concerns are focused on personal security. The answer to these concerns is more security; so there are more police and rangers, more dogs, more scanners, more guns and more chances of being killed.
And yesterday morning, Sherry Rehman woke up to the news that she had withdrawn the bill she had proposed to make important changes to the Pakistan Penal Code. Changes that would ensure that the law not be abused or used to terrorise people. But the government, met at the barricades of sanity by a screaming mob, retreated to their security cordon, forgetting that Salmaan Taseer’s murderer was a policeman, a man detailed to protect him.
This is the year of the Rabbit, we are caught in the headlights and the only thing that will double is our population and the woes that brings with it.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 5th, 2011.
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