Adil Najam
This was another bad week for Pakistanis. Our closest international ally continued bombing our territory. The self-style custodians of our morality kept up the indiscriminate killing of our citizen. One of our most popular television show anchors incited murder in the name of religion through television.
Once again, this was a week when Pakistanis died. Pakistanis cried.
The political machinations in the country continue to be a distraction that is keeping many, too many, glued to the soap opera quality twists and turns in the story of Pakistan’s tortured democratic experiment. But the real story in the country remains what it has for the last two years: a divided society which is at war. Niether the self-styled custodians of our internal identity nor our self-styled freinds abroad seem to be helping. Indeed, they keep making things worse for Pakistanis everywhere.
Meanwhile, Pakistanis continue to die. Pakistan continues to cry.
Whether it is pre-US-election posturing or a deeper shift in US policy, it is clear that the American forces have increased their military incursions into Pakistani territory. Beyond the fact that this is clearly a violation of the sovereign territory of a country they claim to be their ‘closest all,’ one cannot even imagine what the strategic logic of these incursions could possibly be since each incursion only strengthens the hand of the extremist elements that are supposedly after, angers Pakistani public opinion, and pushes the Pakistan goevrnment into a tighter corner. There is no real evidence that they have hit any important militant target but innocent Pakistanis, including children, women and even Pakistani soldiers have certainly been killed; 15 killed this Wednesday; 12 more on Friday.
Meanwhile. Pakistanis continue to die. Pakistan continues to cry.
Meanwhile, the merchants of murder and mayhem thrive even more in this condition and continue their war against Pakistan. Indeed, they seem now to be targetting the places of worship themselves. Only today an alleged suicide bomber was caught in Islamabad. On Thursday, 25 died in a grenade attack at a mosque in the Banai area of Dir during taraweeh prayers. Last Saturday, even as Asif Ali Zardari was being elected President, 31 people were killed and another 81 others injured as a suicide bomber blew himself and his vehicle up at the Zangali police post at Kohat Road, Peshawar.
Meanwhile. Pakistanis continue to die. Pakistan continues to cry.
And those who one might have wanted to bring calm and lessons of peace, are themselves engrossed in preaching hate, and in this case murder, to mass audiences. On September 7, Aamir Liaquat Hussain – GEO TV’s popular religious talk-show anchor, former MQM Minister, a holder of multiple fake degrees, and religious instigator extraordinaire – in his GEO TV Show Alim Online presided over a long discussion instigating that those holding Ahmadiyya beliefs were ‘wajib ul qatl’ (i.e., liable to death). The next day, Dr. Abdul Mannan Siddiqi – a 46 year-old Ahmadi in Mirpurkhas and a US-trained cardiologist who had retruned to work in his community – was murdered in broad daylight while working at his local hospital. The next day, Seth Muhammad Yousuf of Nawabshah was also murdered brutally. Whether there is a direct link between the two or not, the preaching of hatred and the practice of hatred both thrive in our land of the pure.
Meanwhile. Pakistanis continue to die. Pakistan continues to cry.
One sits here, shaken by sadness at this waste of human life, and wonders: at how many hands and for how many reasons should Pakistanis die? How long must Pakistan cry?
What the West thinks of the Pakistan Army.
“Pakistan army pledges to
It’s a surprise to find how ignorant some of the folks who are replying here could be. One individual claims that there are laws against hate speech in USA. There is freedom of speech here and any one who has studied a little law or lived in United States for some years, understands that it’s not easy to ban speech just because you consider it hate speech. If that was the case, Fox News wouldn’t exist. Many radio talk show hosts talking about blasting Kabbah on their radio shows would be banned, and Danish cartoons would not be published. Meetings in the woods of Idaho where Aryan Nation meets annually to propagate hate against black and browns would be banned. Hate speech is the most difficult to prove here and that’s why it continues with equal opportunity to counter it. In fact, such things are easier to ban in countries like Pakistan and India.
Another individual fails to understand why Aamir Liaquit is the host of a popular show. Well, he is the one who made that show popular because many people enjoy watching it. Shows are made popular by their hosts, not the other way around. There must be many who don’t care about all his point of views and simply enjoy other informative chats he has on this TV show.
The biggest surprise was to see some one like Adil Najam imply that the murders were instigated by Aamir Liaquit. That went a bit too far.
Use your common sense when listening or reading anything. If you are getting brain washed by Aamer Liaquit, Altaf Hussain, Zardari, Nawaz, Imran Khan or any one else for that matter, it’s YOUR fault.
Only if Pakistanis could learn to improve their emotional IQ, there will be less killings and less crying.
@ Alim-on-Line must not venture into such
accessive ordinance of eleminating someone,
but must keep informing the public about the
suspicious and foreign agents sects, they have
plenty to disclose. Altaf, the terrorist, has won your
hearts only now ? so that his “achievements” should
not be disclosed, those of “telephone” on-line
murders in thousands !
a decent answer is worth non cacophoney !
Companies only take action when it hurts their pocket and their financial interest are threatened.
So all those if you wish to Geo and the News to do something cancel their subscription
So much for GEO’s slogan about ‘live and let live’. I am just thinking about the magnitude of Dr. Mannan’s sacrifice. He was a practicing cardiologist in the States who went to Tharparkar to “live there” and build a hospital for the locals. Treated countless people in the last 15 years and this is what he gets in the end: 11 bullets piercing his body in broad daylight while he was seeing his patients.
Altaf Hussain’s actions and statements are commendable. He has sided with the weakest in this case knowing that there is no political gain in such a stance.
Yes I ask as well where are Imran Khans, Peoples Party and Muslim League.