Candlelit vigil: Paying homage to a peace crusader and his ideals

Members of civil society condemn attempts to silence progressive voices.

ISLAMABAD:

Amid flickering flames of candles, members of the civil society held a vigil for the slain senior minister, of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Bashir Bilour outside the National Press Club on Monday evening.

A small number of bereaved activists condemned the murder of Bilour and saluted his courage and unwavering political service to Pakistan. “We cannot follow the sacrifice of Bashir Bilour with silence,” stated Rehana Hashmi who is a part of the Sister’s Trust Foundation.

“Bilour stood tall against terrorism,” she added, asserting that there was a strong need to jolt the government out of its inaction towards terrorist elements.

Bilour disagreed with the western-imposed idea of “good and bad Taliban” and the government’s “short-sighted military strategies” and such a stance is necessary to eliminate violent forces weighing down on the democratic progress of the country, Hashmi said.



The group chanted slogans and held placards, demanding security and safety for the people of country and evoked a “revolution” in the name of the slain minister. “The assassination of Bashir Bilour is an indication of the strength of conservative forces within society,” shared Hasnain Ghayoor, one of the participants of the vigil. He explained that the urban middle class’ bias towards and distrust of political parties underscored the sacrifices of those who were fighting to pull the country out of this “mess”.

The voices were forceful and unanimous on bringing an end to an “imported Islamic ideology” and stressed the need for citizens to get involved in demanding a “peaceful Pakistan” for future generations.

The assassinations of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, Governor Salman Taseer and Minister Shahbaz Bhatti and attack on the 15-year-old Malala Yousafazi were mentioned to bring context to the need to preserve the sacrifices of those who have contributed in pushing Pakistan towards a positive direction.

“We have to find a way to end this,” said Gulnaz Sheikh, who believes that the motive of these killings has been to “quieten” the voices of those with progressive thoughts and ideologies and in order to fight back, “we cannot let our courage die”.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 25^th, 2012.