Daily Times

Pakistan must know who is about to challenge the writ of the state and why. The challenger will be a former chairlift operator who also used to sell firewood to make both ends meet. A manual worker, Mullah Fazlullah, has now become powerful enough to threaten the lives of Pakistanis by becoming the head of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). There are many lessons hidden in this episode. For instance, people who are made irrelevant to the mainstream of society revenge themselves on society that does not listen to a chairlift operator and give any respect to a firewood seller.

Fazlullah obtained religious education (it is not known to what extent), which might have enabled him secure just the job of a chairlift operator. This means that the kind of education he obtained was not enough to offer him social recognition outside the ambit of religion. As a firewood seller, he was also unrelated to societal mainstream. Through his actions, he is now trying to prove himself relevant. When it is told that Fazlullah is a ruthless commander, the strength of his being reactionary is understood. He must be resorting to bringing about a change in society through his reactions. Similarly, if it is told that he is prepared to do anything to enforce his uncompromising interpretation of Islamic law, as he did by launching the FM radio in Swat in 2005, the reason for that is also known. It is all about recognition. He wants to assert his religious knowledge on society. The name of religion is used to justify his reactions.

Fazlullah must be fond of enjoying respect from his followers who respect a militant according to his intensity of ruthlessness. He would enjoy more respect only when he is more daring than others. That is how commanders are made in the circles of militant organisations. He could not have got his audacity and ruthlessness recognised in the eyes of his followers by just killing only innocent civilians but also by attacking military convoys and installations. It is all about recognition. His curriculum vitae must be full of such attacks, making him a perfect choice for being the head of the TTP.

If the state of Pakistan keeps on spending less on development and more on non-development areas of the economy, people like Fazlullah will keep on taking revenge on society for their deprivations and powerlessness. Similarly, if the state of Pakistan keeps on doing lopsided development in the country by spending more in the urban areas and less in the rural areas, people like Fazlullah will keep on rising and haunting the state with their reactions. Interestingly, the government is now hell bent on negotiating a peace deal with Fazlullah; a person who was just a chairlift operator and firewood seller before 2005 has, through the route of militancy, become a major ‘stakeholder’ in Pakistan.

Why should Fazlullah not oppose the polio vaccination campaign? Did the state introduce science in the curriculum of religious seminaries (where he sought education) to ameliorate his ignorance? Why could Fazlullah not become Doctor Fazlullah, why did he become Mullah Fazlullah? By depriving equal socio-economic opportunities, the state is also responsible for pushing its citizens to become Fazlullahs. If the state keeps on spending on missiles and guns instead of books and pens, people like Fazlullah will keep on being born in one part of Pakistan or another. If Fazlullah were a doctor, he could have been interested in constructing his own hospital in Swat to seek more social recognition and economic wellbeing. If he were scientifically educated, he could have been leading a polio vaccination drive from his own house.

Why should Fazlullah not promote Qazi courts and flogging and chopping of limbs as punishments when the concept of the modern day judiciary has not been introduced to him by the state? Why should Fazlullah respect the constitution when he has sought almost no benefit from the constitution? Did the state try to hold the local bodies’ elections in Swat to introduce democracy at the grassroots level? If not, why lament the rise of Fazlullah as a person who is opposed to the civil tenor of life? In Pakistan, using the judicial system to seek justice and living one’s life according to the Constitution of Pakistan are still urban concepts.

Apparently, Fazlullah revolted against his destiny of playing his role as a chairlift operator in society and eking out his income by selling firewood. Now, he wants to assert himself, though in the name of religion. To catch him or kill him, money will be spent on the training and equipment of the armed forces. If that money had been spent in Swat in the development of infrastructure such as constructing schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, roads and rail networks, Fazlullah would not have found any incentive in becoming a reactionary.

What about his children? Has the state made arrangements for imparting education and providing rightful economic opportunities to his children to become respectable citizens of the 21st century? If not, Fazlullahs will keep on being born and there will be no dearth of militant organisations such as the TTP to recruit them. It can also be said that in the suburbs and neglected areas of Pakistan, at least one Fazlullah must be being born every day. Any one of them may challenge his destiny and become a commander of a religious (or sectarian) outfit to enjoy respect in his fellows, seek social relevance and find a cause of his existence (and death) in militancy under the cloak of religion. If this is not the failing of the state, what, otherwise, the failing is?

Pakistan has to mull over where its failure lies: whether the state is failing in eliminating those who could not become useful and respectable citizens or the state is failing in upbringing its citizens to become useful and respectable citizens.

The writer is a freelance columnist and can be reached at qaisarrashid@yahoo.com