The road ahead: ‘Communal riots of 1953 gave birth to extremism today’

Lack of rational debate is a contributing factor in the crisis of identity, says journalist.

KARACHI: After 66 years of independence, the gruelling question of how to move forward from the present state of crisis, which manifests itself in the breakdown of administrative machinery and the collapse of civil power, often boggles our minds.

From the parliament to the judiciary and from television talk-shows to seminars, the prevailing ‘crisis of the state and society’ remains one of the most difficult conundrums for experts. At a seminar organised by Helpline Trust at Marriott Hotel on Monday, journalist Mahmood Sham invited the participants to reflect on the two major findings of the Munir Commission Report on communal riots of 1953 that, in his opinion, were the terminus a quo for extremist tendencies in the then nascent six-year old Pakistani state.



In the panel discussion, moderated by journalist Afia Salam, Sham observed that the commission’s report recommended treating ‘subversive forces’ purely as a question of law and order, without any political considerations. “If this was made the rule and the provincial and federal governments refrained from political interference, just one district magistrate and one superintendent of police could have easily dealt with them,” he added referring to the report.

The second significant finding of the commission, he pointed out, was the presence of ideological confusions on primary issues, including the identity of the state, which, he said, will persist and create violent situations until all stakeholders attempt to arrive at a consensus. “Had the recommendations of the commission been taken seriously, Pakistan would not have been facing the most serious crisis of its history today,” added Sham.

Journalist Ghazi Salahuddin said the lack of rational debate was a contributing factor towards the crisis of identity.  “The question whether Pakistan was meant to be an Islamic state or a secular one should have been resolved by now,” he said.  According to him, the sense of being a Pakistani and one nation has lost its lustre over a period of time.

Former information minister, Javed Jabbar, said that it is the society, which shaped the state and served as a parent. As far as Pakistan was concerned, there were different nationalities that came together to form the state, he added.

He underscored the need of ‘social engineering’ to develop a sense of common identity. “This is essential because of the peculiarity of the creation of the country, wherein the state was formed before the society.”

Air vice marshal (retd) Dr Abid Rao, a defence analyst, traced the rise of extremist forces through the periods of Islamic history. In his view, the phenomenon of advocating an Islamic state through violent means was not new and should be dealt with the same modus operandi, which was employed by the founder of the Sikh empire, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, against the ‘mujahideen’ of Syed Ahmed Shaheed.

Dr Huma Baqai, the social science department chairperson at the Institute of Business Administration, said the policy of appeasement or even talking to elements that do not recognise the writ of the state was in violation of article 246 of the Constitution.

Dr Baqai, however, did not restrict her assertion to the Taliban only. “Those who bring a city like Karachi to a standstill and hold citizens hostage also share extremist tendencies and challenge the writ of state.”

Earlier, Hamid Maker, founding chairperson of Helpline Trust, said the only way to improve the quality of life of the citizens was to demand and advocate good governance through the enforcement of the rule of law, accountability and adherence to a code of conduct in the government and society.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 25^th, 2013.