Daily Times

By virtue of how he died, Hakeemullah Mehsud has been declared a martyr, at least by the populist media and vocal sections of the political class. According to Maulana Fazlur Rehman, even a dog will be declared a martyr if he is killed by the Americans. One is not surprised by this statement as this is the thinking behind the almost-hero status of the likes of Ajmal Kasab and the Difa-e-Pakistan bestowing the title of the ‘daughter of the nation’ on Dr Afia Siddqui. Both killed innocent people but have been declared heroes by Muslims who believe that any anti-western action, however violent, is justified to restore the wounded pride of Muslims.

Listening to Maulana Rehman’s statement, I was hoping some of the media personnel would remind him and the audience of WikiLeaks. Lest we forget, WikiLeaks cables informed us that the very same ‘anti-American’ Maulana, who in his infinite scholarly wisdom would declare a dog killed by the Americans a ‘shaheed’ (martyr), had informed the then US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson that should the Americans ‘support’ him politically he would extend ‘all cooperation’ to them.

Pakistan’s cities and roads are full of tributes to shaheeds. We have roundabouts, bridges, roads, schools, government hospitals, etc, named after Shaheeds. The naming of a road or roundabout after a shaheed is designed to be a small token of appreciation and remembrance. If Hakeemullah Mehsud is considered a shaheed, then will we see such a token of appreciation for him too?

From a religious perspective one cannot say, however, at the state level, are there categories of shaheeds? If Malik Saad of the Peshawar police is a shaheed, the Swat General Officer Commanding is also a shaheed , then are they and countless other shaheeds in the same category as the ‘Shaheed’ Hakeemullah Mehsud? Those who are declaring Mehsud a shaheed, do they equate his and Dr Muhammad Farooq of Mardan and Inspector Khan Razik Shaheed of the Peshawar police to have died for the same noble cause? Would the television anchors, who are crying over the ‘shahadat’ (martyrdom) of Hakeemullah Mehsud, like to interview the widow of Khan Razik and ask her if she wants her husband and Mehsud treated with the same reverence? Would Rehman like to speak to the two children of Malik Saad and his young widow and state that while Malik Saad is a shaheed, so is the next dog that will be killed by the Americans?

Young men, full of life, love and vigour have died in the last 10 years for peace. Whether the war started off as the Americans’ or ours, the bottom line is that it has evolved to engulf all of us. There are very few homes left, at least in Khyber Pakhtunkwa, who have not lost a loved one at the hands of the militants. Whether they were uniformed or non-uniformed citizens, the list of those killed due to the militants’ voracious appetite for destruction is long. While some of the uniformed shaheeds’ loved ones are being taken care of by the state, the civilian lives go uncelebrated and ‘uncompensated’. Perhaps the state might be forgiven by the families for that; however, to equate a maniac killer with their loved ones is beyond words. The Hakeemullah Mehsud who proudly shoots Colonel Imam and then sends his severed head to the family is being declared a martyr by Fazlur Rehman?

Fazl-ur-Rehman is waiting for the next dog to be killed by the Americans (guided by Pakistani intelligence, lest we forget) so that that dog can be declared a shaheed. I’m not sure if Fazlur Rehman has read the Quran lately and has understood who a shaheed is. The families of the martyrs know, understand and believe in it. They, at the very least, deserve the respect of Fazlur Rehman’s silence

The writer is a development consultant. She tweets at @GulminaBilal and can be reached at coordinator@individualland.com