Senate concerned at distortion: is it 'unity, faith and discipline' or 'faith, unity and discipline'?

Chairman Senate Raza Rabbani on Friday warned that some elements have started distorting key principles or ideas enunciated by the founder of the Nation Mohammad Ali Jinnah, which will not be tolerated. The warning from Rabbani came after Senator Pervaiz Rashid, a former information minister of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) who had to quit in the wake of Dawn Leaks controversy, said that some elements have mutilated Jinnah's words to impose their own philosophy which is the reason the country has turned into a "warrior state."
The debate was initiated after lawmakers while speaking on an adjournment motion moved by Attique Sheikh of MQM-P the on impact of hate material in schools and role of religious, security and educational institutions, stressed the need for uprooting religious intolerance through drastic changes in curricula. They argued that the military operations against militants are no solution to eradicate the menace of terrorism unless hate material that impacts the entire generation is removed from books.
Rabbani said that recording of Jinnah's speech is on record but even then a particular segment of society is bent upon attributing the slogan of "faith, unity and discipline" to Jinnah, which reflects how they want to run the country. "The original words of Jinnah were "unity, faith and discipline". But some people have distorted this famous saying and displaying huge billboard on main highways, which will be disastrous, he cautioned.
Rabbani said he had also seen huge billboards on Airport Road in Rawalpindi where a willful attempt has been made to distort the same famous saying of Jinnah, adding despite issuing orders thrice, no one bothered to correct the Quaid's saying. "I need your help Mr. Pervez Rashid...we can not allow anybody to distort the sayings of the Quaid as all his speeches are available in the recorded form," he added.
Besides censoring and suppressing Quaid's words, Rashid regretted, these elements are also giving a different interpretation to Jinnah's saying. According to him, the authentic translation of 'faith' is 'firmness of belief' while these elements translate it into as 'Imaan (belief)' which is a very dangerous sign.
He said this is a great disservice to Jinnah's vision of a proper relationship among religion, state and citizens, adding, "The reason we have a confused national narrative is because we misinterpret the Quaid's vision and words." Rashid said that some "major players" are openly promoting hatred that has tuned the country into a 'warrior state', and "in such circumstances, how can one change the curricula?"
Making observation on a motion on trichotomy of power, the Senate chairman said that in prevailing circumstances, all state institutions should work by staying in their prescribed constitutional ambits. He reiterated that the senators presented themselves for accountability when other institutions escaped accountability, adding the Parliament has set a trend which will go a long way in making every institution accountable.
"I would urge the Parliament to play its due role and put forth something in order to ensure the balance in trichotomy of power so this debate on the issue must not end as an exercise in futility," he maintained. Senator Muzaffar Hussain Shah of PML-F said that Parliament is not doing what it is required to do, adding it failed to exercise its power coffered upon it by the people and "we must not blame other institution of weakening the legislature."
"The judges must not be blamed as they can't do anything beyond the statutory book...mother of all institutions is Parliament as it is a lawmaking body," he added. Senator Farhatullah Babar of PPP said that extremism will be defeated by creating an intellectual infrastructure and space for freedom of expression and tolerance for dissent to defeat extremism.
He said that distortion of history had undermined the building of intellectual infrastructure in the country, adding a military dictator quietly deleted from the Objectives Resolution in the Constitution the words 'freely' with respect to right of minorities to profess their religion.
"Diaries of the Quaid were forged to make people believe that the Quaid wanted a presidential and not a parliamentary form of government. History books teach children that history of Sindh began with the arrival of Muhammad bin Qasim and that Sultan Mahmood Ghaznavi is eulogized as a great Ghazi driven by religious zeal to destroy Hindu temples," he added.
He said that falsehood and distorting history had undermined the educational and intellectual infrastructure. It is no surprise that so-called educated persons were involved in cases of Mashal Khan, Noreen Leghari, attackers of opposition leader in Sindh Assembly and Safoora Goth incidents, he further said, adding when armed conflict is glorified in the name of religion, the result is violence in the name of religion.
He said that the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act has been used to punish bloggers and political activists dissenting with the state narrative but has not been used to stop hate speech and sectarian violence. He asked that biannual report of FIA on the implementation of the law be placed before the Parliament. He pointed out although the interior minister had promised over a month ago to lay it before the House, it has still not been done.
Chairman Senate Raza Rabbani directed the Interior Ministry to place a report of the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act before the house within three days, with a warning that any further delay in this regard will not be allowed.