The National Assembly adopted a resolution demanding that what is regarded by many as a secular vision of the Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah about the status of religious minorities in Pakistan be adopted as the country’s roadmap for the future. There was no opposition to the resolution in the depleted house, though hardline religious scholars, like those in the government-allied Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) and the opposition Jamaat-i-Islam, have in the past disputed a secular interpretation of the Quaid’s vision, which they say was actually of an Islamic state. However Year after year, non-Muslims are forced to migrate from the country and not necessarily to greener pastures, but for mere survival, leaving their homes and jobs behind to start again in any country willing to accept them. We live in a country where temples are burned and churches targeted, while the number of persecuted ‘minorities’ keeps increasing. What, then, should parliament do? What good is such a resolution when there are elements within many of the parliamentary parties that do not consider non-Muslims to be equal citizens of the state? In countries with a different past, the resolution may read like an assertion of the obvious; in Pakistan it is difficult to overplay its significance, both from the point of view of content and timing. After independence, contrary to Mr Jinnah’s words, the state lost little time in recasting faith — specifically the faith of the majority — as its raison d’être, and later, as the cornerstone of its foreign policy. A triumphalist narrative, especially from the ’80s onwards, was deliberately nurtured through means both subtle and overt, and the minds of entire generations poisoned for short-sighted objectives. The fallout within the country has been devastating, as witnessed in the lynching of blasphemy suspects, sectarian killings, the sacking of localities with minority populations, and the bombing of religious processions and places of worship, etc. Although religious extremism has disproportionately affected minority communities, it has over time morphed into the bedrock of a vast terrorist network that the state is now battling to destroy. Efforts are being made to rein in some of the more reactionary elements in society. The parliamentarians, to their credit, have taken the cue to push through the much-needed endorsement of Jinnah’s speech from 68 years ago. The lack of opposition by members of religious parties in the assembly to what was clearly promotion of a secular point of view — unthinkable even a year ago — indicates that they too have picked up on the prevailing mood. Nevertheless, for Aug 11, 2015 to be a defining moment, the resolution must form the basis for action. Politicians and the establishment need to take a far more categorical stand against religious extremists of all shades.
pk.shafaqna.com
