Daily Times

Sir: Pakistanis seem to have been born with a constitutional right to slaughter their fellow citizens. The majority of Pakistanis are Muslims and yet, Sunnis are slaughtering Shiites and vice-versa. The Taliban and their acolytes are Sunnis and yet, they are slaughtering fellow Sunnis who do not share their interpretation of Islam. They have been bombing schools, hospitals, mosques and Sufi shrines, killing fellow Muslims, and they are slaughtering Christian and Hindu minorities — all in the name of Islam. Salmaan Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti are their latest victims. How can this be stopped? To eradicate the hatred for fellow Muslims who do not share their version of Islam, these factions of Pakistanis need a leader who can teach them the message of love and tolerance. When Mahatma Gandhi launched his nonviolent movement to end the British colonial rule in India, he made it clear why he rejected all calls for a violent freedom movement: “If Indians take up guns to kill the British, given India’s great religious and ethnic divisions, they would still be using the same guns to kill each other long after the British had gone. If India makes violence her creed, I will not care to live in India.” Pakistan seems to have made violence its creed where Gandhi’s worst fears have become a reality. This never-ending slaughter can only be stopped by a leader who will teach the virtue of love. A Pakistani Gandhi will go from mosque to mosque to preach the message of tolerance instead of hatred and violence. It may be reminded that although a devout Hindu, Gandhi respected all religions and borrowed freely from the principles of other religions: Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. In fact, partly because of this, many orthodox Hindus reviled him. It was a strict orthodox Hindu who finally assassinated Gandhi because of his attempts to help the Muslims. Mahatma Gandhi also remarked, “Those who hate others end up hating themselves.” It may be too much to ask, but Pakistan needs its own Gandhi.

MAHMOOD ELAHI

Ottawa, Canada