Daily Times

Amazing, isn’t it? This is the same city where not too long ago a weak, nervous, frazzled and mentally burdened and a highly fragile ‘Daughter of the Nation’, made an emotional plea. The venue was a courthouse where she blamed her predicament on the nation of Israel. Though the jury was all American and had no known ties with Israel, but she termed it as a verdict from the people of Israel. How in the God’s name that connection was valid when the lady was picked up from Pakistan and supposedly transported to Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan, I wonder.

The verdict was unanimous and the sentencing was quite harsh. Last we heard, she is serving time somewhere in Texas. The rightwing nuts, the televangelists and the pandering politicos made her the heroine of the east. Her distraught and agonising image became the poster material for the hardliners. The politicos cashed in on that emotional appeal and some charlatans made some real cash in the name of donations. Though some details about her arrest and subsequent dispatch to Afghanistan are questionable and so are some of the details surrounding her actual crime at the Bagram Base, yet as they say, it is what it is. Yes, I am referring to the only daughter of the nation, remembered as Dr Afia Siddiqui.

The high on emotion zealots tend to forget the most important detail. Any court of law, anywhere in the world, requires hard core evidence, which clearly rebuts the case of prosecution. Once a conviction is upheld, you have to present that smoking gun at the next level in the appellate process. Minus all that it is nothing but talk and that too is always very cheap. The allegation against Ms Siddiqui was that she used a weapon against a US soldier at Bagram Air Base, and of course, there were other allegations too, which questioned her connections with the wrong kind of people, the kind of people who are notorious for harming and creating the atmosphere of fear for others.

True or false, it is only known to God, but based on the worldly system of evidence, Ms Siddiqui was found guilty. The passionate and emotionally laced plea was covered by media too and some of our folks made huge, dramatic presentations in her favour. Nevertheless, she is serving time in a penitentiary here in the US and that too in solitary confinement. Perhaps the collections are still being made to get her out of her misery and the result remains to be seen.

In contrast, another daughter of the nation spoke to the world from the same city. The venue was the UN General Assembly and from a podium meant for the dignitaries of the world. Strange that a teenager who was shot in her small town of Pakistan was able to garner love and attention of the entire world. The universal message of peace, tolerance and education is what she delivered. Everyone listened to her in awe and respect. Clad in the shawl of another attacked and martyred daughter of Pakistan, this teenager literally addressed the entire world. Seeking inspiration from the Prophet (PBUH), Buddha and leaders like Gandhi, Jinnah, Mother Theresa and Martin Luther King, she made a very different plea, a plea that is in essence a birthright of every human being. The right to education for every child of this world is her wish. So that ignorance can be removed from this dark world. So that the brutes and barbarians are unable to harm another unarmed girl of her age. So that the pen can truly become mightier than the sword.

Strange again that people termed her as a foreign agent in her own land. Strange that the same rightwing nuts and religious zealots called the brutal attack on her as a drama. A sad reflection of what blind rage and personal failures do to your ability to think straight. But again as they say, it is what it is.

What was shunned as a stunt back home became a front page news globally and the outpouring of support was unprecedented. Thousands of people became instanteous fan of her courage and tenacity. Yes, this is the real daughter of Pakistan who brought love, respect and good wishes for Pakistan. Yes, her name is Malala Yousufzai. May God give every daughter of this nation the courage to become a Malala and not an Afia. May God protect every daughter of this nation from the evil hands of the brutes and barbarians. Because every single Malala lights the candle of hope that ignorance will be an evil of the past. For that unyielding spirit, we owe a lot to this daughter. The daughter who truly made us all proud.

The writer is a Pakistani-American mortgage banker. He blogs at http://dasghar.blogspot.com and can be reached at dasghar@aol.com He tweets at http://twitter.com/dasghar