Spirit of Eid-ul-Fitr

Eid-ul-Fitr, being observed today across Pakistan, except in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, is unique in the sense that it is burdened with an overhang of two catastrophic developments: one, massive destruction, unprecedented human dislocation and misery caused by the worst floods to hit the region in 80 years, and two, unprecedented fragmentation of Pakistani nation along various fault lines that have deepened with the passage of time.
Eid is an occasion of reunion and renewal of the fraternal spirit which is the essence of all religions. Observance of Eid in PK one day ahead of the rest of the country, though it did coincide with Eid in some Arab countries, has a symbolic dimension to it, which needs to be noted by those at the helm. Despite a specific announcement made by the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee that Shawwal moon had not been sighted anywhere in Pakistan, the meeting of an unofficial committee, headed by Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai, citing 19 moon sightings, declared that Eid would be observed in PK on Friday.
Two Eids in Pakistan, be it Eid-ul-Fitr or Eid-ul-Azha, over the years has become a norm rather than an exception, mirroring the underlying fault lines. A ruthless spate of bombings in major Pakistani towns and cities in the week preceding Eid has meanwhile killed over 300 men, women and children, which is reflective of growing brutalization of a society where resort to gun is preferred over dialogue.
A related angle to the occasion is that Eid today coincides with 9th anniversary of 9/11, the ideological, geopolitical and economic fallout of which will continue to haunt the world for decades to come. The event had led to the drawing of ideologically motivated battlelines across the globe, with former US President George W. Bush vowing to bring perpetrators of the atrocity to book, though the main protagonists remain at large nine years down the line, or so it is claimed. Pakistan has had to sustain the worst internal and external blowback of 9/11, which anyway is quite natural for a frontline state in the global war on terror, to suffer.
As the spirit of Eid is inclusive and conciliatory, the occasion needs to be marked by reconciliation at all levels, and a conscious effort should be made to sustain this spirit all the year round. Unfortunately, Eid is being observed in an environment marked by endless rows of barricades manned by armed personnel, the frisking of members of public, and searches of vehicles for weapons and explosives, which, though, is quite natural given the fact that 300 people have lost their lives in just one week of bomb blasts.
(The latest explosion has taken place at the residence of Balochistan Finance Minister Mir Asim Kurd in which five people have lost their lives.) Let this Eid be an occasion for introspection and self-examination at a national level to ponder the causes that have been instrumental in pushing us to the brink. Rampant corruption and illiteracy in all its forms and manifestations, bradarism born of a narrow, clannish mindset, the divisive role played by vested interests of all hues have pushed the country where it stands today.
There is a large measure of consensus that non-democratic rule and sham democratic dispensations over the decades have marginalized large social segments, which in the stakeholders' view were unfit for socio-economic assimilation in the national mainstream.
Distributive justice and ensuring equal opportunity to all, regardless of their cast or creed can bring about a social metamorphosis that can play a major role in easing out divisions. Our national salvation lies in promoting dialogue and mutual accommodation to remove grievances of marginalized communities and ethnicities in Pakistan.
Let these people be brought back into the mainstream of national life. Let the fruits of growth be equally shared. There is a need to make a huge well-co-ordinated effort aimed at securing genuine national reconciliation. Today Pakistan seems to be at war with itself. Let peace prevail in the country, whatever the cost and whatever the loss to the vested interests. This is the basic message of Eid-ul-Fitr. A very Happy Eid to all Pakistanis!