Revolution means a fundamental change in political organisation, particularly the overthrow of one government or ruler and the substitution of another by the governed. However, in the contemporary world of the ‘Islamic Republic’, the word revolution has become a synonym for the word ‘gag’. The Canadian cleric Tahirul Qadri is back after a span of one year to inculcate a revolutionary sense among his clique. On the other hand, our helpless brethren, the IDPs — who left their hometowns for the greater good of the nation — are waiting for our help.
In this ‘pre-revolution’ adventure, Sunday’s conference of political parties agitating against the government is the latest addition. The participants — a majority of right-wing parties with the exception of the MQM — demanded the resignation of Punjab’s chief minister, holding him responsible for the June 17 incident. Moreover, the declaration of the conference included ‘revolutionary resolutions’. I wish they would also raise the plight of our oppressed internally displaced brothers and sisters due to the ongoing army operation against the militants. We, the people of FATA, have suffered a lot in this war against terrorism; we have either been a victim of its military operations, insurgency tactics by the militants or drone attacks, all of which add to the hardships of the tribal folk. After giving numerous sacrifices for the country, unfortunately, still the ‘patriots’ doubt our patriotism.
No doubt, all rational voices condemned the barbaric act of the Punjab police when they killed 11 workers of the Minhajul Quran and injured many more. Nevertheless, this does not mean that in response the self-claimed Sheikhul Islam be made the civilian dictator of Pakistan. According to political scientists, revolution is an “activity or movement designed to effect fundamental changes in the socioeconomic situation”. However, in the Pakistani context, according to Tahirul Qadri and his ideological partners, revolution is to make themselves prime minister and head of state of the country.
When a country is besieged by terror outfits, the rational approach would be unity of the masses, not a campaign for the removal of a democratically elected government. Despite pitfalls, the PML-N government should be allowed to complete its five-year tenure; these democratic transitions will only serve to strengthen democracy and participatory governance in the land of the pure. The PPP and ANP did right by not participating in Qadri’s conference when there is so much chaos in the country, internal and external threats, terrorism and extremism, an army that is skirmishing and operating against the enemies, existential threats and, most importantly, the issue of 0.6 million IDPs.
Some days earlier, columnist Zahid Hussain rightly said, “He (Qadri) is neither a Lenin nor a Khomeini. But it is the mere folly of a ham-fisted government that has made a ‘revolutionary’ out of a charlatan.” Revolution means to prepare a mindset on the ideology of equality and justice. It does not mean to overthrow a government of incompetent rulers by bringing in ideologically confused clerics. The same is the dilemma with Qadri. He considers himself a ‘Machiavellian maulvi’, which he is not. Perhaps ‘comedian maulvi’ would suit him better.
The level of hypocrisy in the Islamic Republic is that we burnt Lahore’s Joseph Colony by levelling charges of blasphemy against one of its residents, but on the other hand, we take no action against those who accept sajdas (procrastination) before them — a famous video clip shared online shows followers kneeling and bowing their heads before Qadri — and dancing in mosques. My question to the Allama is why he does not see the browbeaten, vulnerable and unfortunate IDPs of North Waziristan. Why does he not hear the whimper of infants that are born on the roads?
Historically, Lenin or Khomeini and all other revolutionary leaders were men of their word. In Qadri’s case, he has always taken a U-turn like another politician, Mr Imran Khan, the chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI). These mystified politicians and clerics are responsible for bewilderment and confusion amongst the masses, particularly the youth.
Furthermore, by giving their own interpretations of the holy book and wishing to implement their own version of religion, they are committing a felony against the people. There was a time we considered Dr Qadri to be a cleric for spreading and preaching interfaith religious harmony. However, regrettably, he has proved to be a self-centred leader. His individualistic approach was unleashed during his ‘container dharna (protest)’ where he stayed inside his protected container and his naive followers kept chanting slogans on the roads of the federal capital. A magnanimous leader is always people-centred; he leads, not just orders. That is the main difference between a leader and a boss. We have had many bosses but we still crave for a leader who can fathom and sympathise with the pain and hardship of the IDPs.
The writer hails from FATA and is a student of M Phil. He tweets @EngrTuri