"Tomorrow a protest has been planned by some, so please try not to venture outdoors. It will not be safe."-People are often heard advising their offspring, friends and other relatives prior to public gatherings in the country. So, if a majority of urbanites, town dwellers and villagers remain indoors on protest days, the question is who are the ones we see on the roads? How come tens of thousands of men and boys of all ages, are out on foot or on vehicles provided by the organisers?
The next important question that comes to one's mind is why do they appear like hooligans and behave in such an aggressive and destructive manner? Why do they seem to enjoy destroying private and public property? Why cannot they lodge their protest without forcing the authorities to resort to firing tear gas shells and using physical means to prevent the mobs from getting out of control?
Protesting and expressing one's disdain is considered a fundamental right of citizens in a truly democratic state. Anything that may be a cause for concern, is emotionally disturbing, hurts the sentiments and violates basic human rights can be agitated by those who are affected otherwise how else would the government learn about troubles being faced and issues confronting their electorates especially when the matter pertains to a large number in the population. Individual problems can be addressed and taken care of by elected representatives at the local level but big crises can only be managed collectively by the Parliament which is the protestors' main focus of attention. On these occasions, banners, placards, black bands, flyers, pamphlets, speeches, slogan-mongering etc are commonly used to give vent to expression. Shouting and hurling abuse, undoubtedly very uncouth, are also tolerated at times but no sane government permits its people to act beyond a certain limit, particularly if it entails violence and damage to properties.
In reality, protests depict the true character and nature of a nation. The more civilised it is, the more well-orchestrated would the demonstration be and if the people are unmannerly or ignorant, it would be reflected in their behaviour. Thus, actions such as stoning, attacking others, arson, looting and disrupting normalcy speak volumes about the inherent characteristics of the crowd.
Violence convulsed Pakistan on 21st September 2012, in the name of protest against a highly provocative blasphemous anti-Islam movie produced in the US. This means that if non-entities offend our religious icons, instead of proceeding with dignity, we will resort to looting our own kin, destroying our own national assets and turning the guns on our very own authorities struggling to maintain law and order and preventing an uncontrollable mob from upsetting whatever is left of our diplomatic ties with the world.
One of the senior officers of the police force mentioned: "I was commanding a police force of 500 men at Native Jetty Bridge and Mai Kolachi and Sultanabad...areas around US consulate. Thousands attacked us from five different directions. I saw 2 of my men falling prey to protesters fire. I wondered these people are being led by thugs and terrorists. Allah save our nation."
What is very disturbing is the fact that there appeared a deliberate attempt to molest the public authorities as if the underlying objective of the demonstration was not to protest but to show the extent of illicit strength that is gradually being built up by vested-interests. This calls for the immediate attention of those at the helm of affairs because already their neglect has led to the creation of a generation of young people who are without proper education, direction, vision or any sense of patriotic nationalism. To make matters worse, they represent an immensely deprived section of our society which has nothing to lose in the event of stern action against it. They have no regard for other people's possessions or any sympathy for those in distress. They are totally gripped by their own deprivation which forces them to indulge in atrocities which no sane human being can imagine.
A Peshawar resident expressed his wounded sentiments in the following words:
"Those two cinemas that were burned an hour ago were and are landmarks of my sweet city Peshawar. It clearly indicates that in the name of protests a lot of opportunists, goons, looters, and vandals have come out to the streets and are pillaging public and private property. What a nice tribute to a city which is already bleeding from the effects of ongoing 'War on Terror.'"
While the conscious few are writhing with pain over these acts of shamelessness and their hearts are bleeding at the apathetic state of affairs, the concerned fewer are worried about the future of this country. They are wondering how an entire generation has become hostage to religious bigots. The criminal negligence of state in protecting lives and properties of the citizens and failure to provide basic facilities like health and education are cited as the core reasons for hijacking of the innocent by the hooligans.
The administrators of madrassas (religious schools) claim that they are serving the humanity-they provide food, shelter, education and clothing to millions representing the poorest of the poor. If the State cannot provide even primary education to all the children-Article 25A of the Constitution says: "The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of five to sixteen years in such manner as may be determined by law"-the vacuum has to be filled by somebody. After inserting Article 25A through the 18th Constitutional Amendment in 2010, both the federal and provincial governments are fast asleep and none of them till today has enacted a law that ensures uniform and free education for all children till high school. It requires taking over all existing educational institutions and converting them into public schools. There should be no Deeni Madrassas (religious schools) or privately-owned so-called English-medium schools in the country.
The madrassas get hefty donations in the name of religion from the rich-many of whom do not pay taxes. Unfortunately, however, the State is merely a silent spectator-it has failed to collect taxes from the rich, is least pushed to carrying out its duty of providing security to its citizens and violating fundamental rights guaranteed in the supreme law of the land. Resultantly, the State is in perpetual chaos with the situation fast deteriorating without any hope for positive change in the near future because the ruling elite and clergy have common interests of keeping the masses poor and ignorant so that their control remains unchallenged.
Religious intolerance, bigotry and terrorism-these are the wages of State's policy of appeasement towards forces of obscurantism. A State least interested in looking after the poor and the deprived is bound to fail. The ruling classes in Pakistan have looted the country's resources ruthlessly and stashed their wealth abroad, so they have no interest left in its survival, which is not the case with other countries where the rich and mighty have linkages with their motherland. In Pakistan many of the elected ones lied on oath concealing the fact that at the time of contesting elections or thereafter they had either surrendered their Pakistani citizenship (became citizenship of another country) or acquired citizenship of another country (dual nationality). The Supreme Court has already disqualified some of them and many others may face the same fate in the coming days.
In a land where the law-makers blatantly violate the supreme law when it is to their advantage [Article 63(1)(c)] what can one expect, except "no rule of law." The hooligans definitely cannot be condoned for their despicable acts but legitimacy of the State and its administrators is faced by a big question mark. How can violators of law even dare claim to be custodians of law?
(The writers, lawyers and partners in HUZAIMA & IKRAM (Taxand Pakistan), are Visiting Professors at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).
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