Unsafe even in death
Government must take action against those who desecrated the memories of the community’s deceased loved ones.
Dead or alive, the Ahmadi community of Pakistan has not been spared from discrimination and hate crimes in our country for decades. Another atrocity against the community occurred in Model Town, Lahore on December 3, in which over 100 gravestones of the deceased were destroyed. According to reports, the terrorists — admitting to being members of a banned organisation and the Taliban — arrived with weapons and excavation tools, wearing masks. After locking up guards and caretakers, they stormed graves and smashed gravestones, which, for some, possibly marked the last memorabilia of their deceased loved ones.
Conditions in our country are so poor that our government and law and order system cannot even let the graves of the dead be in peace. However, stuck in circumstances where the state cannot protect the people from terrorist threat when they are alive, the fact that the dead could not be protected is not shocking. Seemingly, this was a planned mission as eyewitnesses said the men were constantly on the phone informing callers that they had begun their mission. If our intelligence were more on its feet regarding potential terrorist activities, perhaps this incident and others could have been avoided. Details provided in the story about what the men’s accents were or what their appearances were do not matter. The point here is that no faith should be disrespected by anyone and that members of all faiths should be allowed to live freely without fear. No matter who the perpetrators were, they must be brought to trial. However, since the men were possibly members of the Taliban, this is not likely, highlighting the dangerous situation the nation is trapped in, helpless in the fight to root out and eradicate prejudice and terrorism in the country.
Disrespect to any religion or belief is unacceptable. We must learn to see one another as humans first, capable of loving and not just tolerating but respecting and appreciating one another for our differences. The government must take action against those who committed this terrible act and desecrated the memories of the community’s deceased loved ones.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 5th, 2012.
Conditions in our country are so poor that our government and law and order system cannot even let the graves of the dead be in peace. However, stuck in circumstances where the state cannot protect the people from terrorist threat when they are alive, the fact that the dead could not be protected is not shocking. Seemingly, this was a planned mission as eyewitnesses said the men were constantly on the phone informing callers that they had begun their mission. If our intelligence were more on its feet regarding potential terrorist activities, perhaps this incident and others could have been avoided. Details provided in the story about what the men’s accents were or what their appearances were do not matter. The point here is that no faith should be disrespected by anyone and that members of all faiths should be allowed to live freely without fear. No matter who the perpetrators were, they must be brought to trial. However, since the men were possibly members of the Taliban, this is not likely, highlighting the dangerous situation the nation is trapped in, helpless in the fight to root out and eradicate prejudice and terrorism in the country.
Disrespect to any religion or belief is unacceptable. We must learn to see one another as humans first, capable of loving and not just tolerating but respecting and appreciating one another for our differences. The government must take action against those who committed this terrible act and desecrated the memories of the community’s deceased loved ones.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 5th, 2012.