All in the course of one day, the capital was ransacked allegedly by Mumtaz Qadri's supporters; 70 innocent souls enjoying Easter in Lahore's Gulshan-i-Iqbal Park were killed in a suicide blast carried out by a Taliban faction in Lahore; journalists and the Press Club were attacked in this city. How does this happen now when the army, rangers, police and government claim success in their anti-terrorist operations?
The three Sunday incidents have earned bad press for Pakistan from the whole world. We are all branded as terrorists fuelled by the most vile and abominable fanaticism. But we as a nation are not; and we the public want to know why extremism is flourishing. It represents the mindset of less than 10 percent of Pakistani people, but it is the only mindset that is strong and healthy and prosperous. Why is something so evil strong, healthy and prosperous?
The public is never taken into confidence, nor is it called upon to participate in eradicating terrorism and extremism. The army will wipe out terrorism. The government pledges to protect the people. The masses, the 200 million peoples have no role or voice in the eradication of the scourges of terrorism and extremism, which is the key to eradicating terrorism. Why?
One possible reason could be that the establishment does not trust the masses. This is largely due to the strong religious sentiments of the majority, which is seen to be the potential source of lack of tolerance. Look about you, how many people you know, your colleagues, workers, domestic staff, the cleric of the neighbourhood Masjid, the caretakers of the Sufi shrines, the schools and the teachers where your children study, whether they are posh or government schools, your doctor, storekeeper, office-boy. How many of them are radical? How many will join militant groups, kill children and women?
In this city, where your circle of acquaintances comprises people from all four provinces, hardly any person you know is fanatic or a potential terrorist.
At least in this city, do not stick labels on people. Imagining every woman wearing a hijab or every man in an untrimmed beard to be obscurantist is senseless. I personally dislike the hijab and untrimmed beard but I do not condemn the people who prefer this look. I am no exception.
In this city there is religious tolerance, cultural diversity and public participation in each other's festivals and cultural events. I am reminded of our Hindu Sindhi colleague whom we called Guru. He had no one, and when he was old the Press Club was his home. A cottage near the outhouses was refurbished for him to live in. His birthday was celebrated by the club members. On Diwali the club's domestic staff would light earthen lamps outside Guru's house, and members would visit Guru to wish Happy Diwali.
The Karachi Press Club is a bastion of democracy and tolerance. General Zia-ul-Haq called it 'enemy territory'. Sunday was not the first time the club came under an attack. The Police and government are wary of religious extremists because they too love power and see fundamentalists as both a source of retaining power and surviving. The Rangers too perhaps think that way. This is why fanatics are handled with kid gloves. The dharna in Islamabad, which ended on Wednesday evening, was small but it immensely affected life in Islamabad for four consecutive days.
The protesters at sit-in are perhaps the only ones who have freedom of speech in the country. They can place both reasonable and unreasonable demands before the government.
Fanaticism is a disease, which makes its appearance, and will continue to appear, wherever those in authority are afraid of them, afraid of their violence.
In his pep-talk after the Lahore attack the Prime Minister made a heart-wrenching speech about defending the masses and eradicating terrorism. Not once did he utter words 'Christian' and 'minorities'.