Pakistan’s civil and military leaders need to realize that the stability and sustainable development should be of primary concern.
- They need to come to terms with realities and realize that it is impossible to create an effective state if their own citizens are allowed to live in oppression.
Nazarul Islam
In every age, there has existed a tyrant, the oppressor and the exploiter who has shrouded himself in the cloak of patriotism or religion or both to deceive and overwhelm the people. Public tolerance of tyranny has in the long run, led to the failure of the state. This is true for Pakistan.
A state like Pakistan can only exist and develop successfully when the opinions of broad segments of the population, including national and religious minorities, are taken into account. Whatever resources the country may possess, stable development can only be achieved by building a broad base of support and consent among its citizens. A stable political system requires a deep and effective system of checks and balances, where the interests and desires of the varied segments of the population are taken into account.
The unfortunate, ongoing oppression and discrediting of minorities has led to the growth of discontent and radicalization of the masses, which can then become a serious problem for any political system. Only by taking into account the interests and hopes of the broad layers of the population and the masses it is possible to build a stable state. Otherwise, as world history has shown, states which boast of similar symptoms are doomed to failure.
Read: Repression and Revolt in Balochistan: The Uncertainty and Survival of a People’s National Aspirations
Not surprisingly, Pakistan being Muslim country of 240 million people and a de facto nuclear power, most often appeared in news reports in connection with one topic: the increased activity of Islamist radicals and international terrorists. The roots of the idea of creating Pakistan as an independent state go back to the last decades of the 19th century, when Muslim separatism began to manifest itself in British colonial India.
These sentiments received an organizational form in December 1906 with the creation of the All-India Muslim League. However, little is known about the internal situation in Pakistan. Often the real picture had distorted, and negative trends in politics or social sphere were not fully reflected in the world media.
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif admitted during a session of the National Assembly that minorities are being persecuted because of religion. Expressing concern over almost daily killings of minorities, the military chief has said, “Every day, minorities are being killed. They are not safe under the guise of Islam. I want to address the issue of minority safety, but the opposition is blocking my efforts.
Today, Pakistan is facing global embarrassment. Asif emphasized that no religious minority, including smaller sects within Islam, is safe in Pakistan despite constitutional protection. Asif called for a resolution to protect minorities, emphasizing that many victims of violence had nothing to do with blasphemy charges but were victimized because of personal vendettas.
Pakistan’s smaller Muslim sects are not safe in Pakistan, which is a disgraceful situation. While the country’s constitution guarantees minority rights, there are intermittent incidents of violence occurring across various locations, particularly in the largest province of Punjab. Those who lost their lives so far did not have any evidence linking them to blasphemy; rather, these killings seem to stem from personal vendettas.
According to reports, HRCP and Human Rights Watch, Hindus, Sikhs and other minorities in Pakistan continue to face challenges such as forced conversions, kidnappings, killings and attacks on their places of worship. The situation remains volatile, with incidents occurring in different regions.
Read: Woes of Pakistan’s paralysis
Moreover, the Ahmadiyya community faces severe persecution, including legal restrictions on their religious practice, hate speech and violent attacks. They continue to be attacked because of their religious beliefs, with incidents being reported across the country. Pakistani Christians face discrimination in employment, education and accusations of blasphemy, leading to widespread violence and attacks on churches. One of the primary reasons of the persecution is attributed to the nation’s legal framework which discriminates against religious minorities, contributing to their marginalization and vulnerability.
Repression in Pakistan also targeted the Shiites, the second-largest group in Islam. Despite their small numbers, the Shiites represent an economically and politically influential group. The creator of Pakistan, M.A. Jinnah, the country’s first Prime Minister, Liaquat Ali Khan the first President, Iskander Mirza, a major but not particularly successful reformer, Z.A. Bhutto and other prominent politicians.
However, these are not the only problems faced by ordinary Pakistanis. A number of national minorities practicing Sunni Islam are also subjected to repression. Particularly recent years, the situation has worsened in the west of the country, in the province of Baluchistan. The fact is that the Pakistani state is unable to cope with the economic and social problems of the region and cannot solve urgent issues of everyday life of the general population. This leads to the growth of opposition activities and discontent against Islamabad.
At the same time, in recent years, the Pakistan Army has been conducting anti-terrorist operations on the Afghan-Pakistani border on a permanent basis. This has caused serious discontent on the part of civilians. Many observers attribute this to be the root of indiscriminate and brutal nature of the operations carried out by the country’s military.
Read: ‘Default’ is a curse word for Pakistanis
A prominent and influential Baloch activist Mahrang Baloch has claimed that the Pakistani state and the country’s intelligence services share a direct involvement in the disappearance of the families of the protesters. She claims that the day before that the families of the missing people who participated in the march were forcibly disappeared by the state and called it a “brutal act of attacking the families of the victims to sabotage their struggle.” In a communication to X Mahrang Baloch said, “The families of the missing Baloch people who participated in the march are being forcibly disappeared by the state, which is a brutal act of attack on the families of the victims to sabotage their struggle.” Expressing her disappointment, Baloch further stated: “The state continues to pursue brutal and repressive policies against Balochistan.”
Despite some economic successes, Pakistan still faces deep divisions between different ethnic and religious groups. Unfortunately, as practice shows, addressing these challenges is not a priority for the Government of Pakistan. On the contrary, the discontent of the general population and minorities is met with a harsh and sometimes outright brutal response from the Pakistani army and the Intelligence agencies, Western governments have preferred not to see these violations, mostly limiting themselves to criticism from various human rights organizations.
Pakistan’s civil and military leaders need to realize that the stability and sustainable development should be of primary concern. They need to come to terms with realities and realize that it is impossible to create an effective state if their own citizens are allowed to live in oppression.
Read: Celebrating our failures….
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The Bengal-born writer Nazarul Islam is a senior educationist based in USA. He writes for Sindh Courier and the newspapers of Bangladesh, India and America. He is author of a recently published book ‘Chasing Hope’ – a compilation of his articles.
