Charge of the secular brigade

The problem with being a liberal is that most of them seem to be rebels, and often without a cause.

RAWALPINDI: This is with reference to Raza Rumi’s article of July 17 titled “The charge of the secular brigade”. I think whether one happens to be a liberal or a conservative, one should be the well-being of Pakistan and its people. The problem with being a liberal, though, is that most of them seem to be rebels, and often without a cause. And in that sense, they need to realise that a line has to be drawn somewhere.

I have friends in the US and many think that that the killing of innocent people, otherwise called “collateral damage” by drones is wrong and should be stopped. But I have heard many liberals in Pakistan say that this is an acceptable price to pay. So what else am I to think when the liberals seem to consider that the innocents who die in drone attacks are nothing more than animals? If I were to give another example from the US, what I find is that many liberals in Pakistan seem to think like conservatives in America.

A liberal should be someone who wants reform and should sound as if he is parroting another country’s thoughts and opinions as his own. What I am trying to say is that many liberals do not seem connected to Pakistan and unless that connection comes, how will they ever know and understand what the ordinary Pakistani goes through, thinks and believes?

Gandhi was a true liberal because he was a true reformer. Jinnah was a liberal because he stood up for those who could not stand up for themselves. I’m not sure if our liberals are able to do either thing. Having said that, I do believe that Pakistan should become a secular state.

Rizwaan Ahmed Khan

Published in The Express Tribune, July 19^th, 2011.