Daily Times

The bomb blasts in two mosques on the day of the birth of the Holy Prophet when the faithful gathered to pray was the most unfortunate event. The blast in a mosque in Dist. Mastung, Baluchistan, killed 52 people and injured 70 others. Simultaneously, another blast took place in a mosque in Hangu in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Although no group owned responsibility for the heinous acts, people at large pointed fingers at different militant groups of religious persuasion.

The blasts in the mosques are not isolated events. Killing and damaging the properties of people of other religious communities such as Christians and Ahmadis has, regrettably, been a common affair. Last August people attacked a Christian colony in Faisalabad when two Christian men were accused of committing blasphemous acts. People armed with batons and stones vandalised churches and damaged several houses and a cemetery. Even though some Christian men reached higher positions in various services in the country, mostly they’re employed to do jobs of low grade. For example, men looking after the restrooms in the Model Town Park, Lahore, are Christians wearing yellow uniforms. They feel pleased when given some amount during the Christmas season or Easter. Common sense suggests that members of the Christian community are unlikely to blaspheme pages of our holy book, especially when they’re starkly aware of belonging to a minority group. And equally aware of the consequences of committing a blasphemous act.

The World Bank Country Director’s observation that Pakistan has the highest number of out-of-school kids in the world is shocking news.

Sometimes new parties based on religious sectarianism suddenly spring up out of the blue dividing the believers further. Tehreek-e-Labek is one such party. No point in highlighting who was instrumental in raising this party but it’s now a religious force to reckon with. In a semi-literate society, such religious parties establish themselves quickly. Every religious party wants to convert us, the believers, to better Muslims when the holy book ordains that every human would be answerable for himself on the day of judgment.

A report by the Independent Urdu mentioned that TLP was involved in attacking the Christian community and causing destruction to the places of worship – churches and cemeteries. A TLP leader asserted that it’s the right of every Muslim to protest against the desecration of the holy book but some of the party workers exceeded the limits and were arrested, he admitted. And that ‘we would have them released soon’ he assured. However, when the public at large does not protest against the atrocious acts targeting minorities, it means people have accepted such activities as a routine matter. This kind of thinking sets a dangerous trend in society by promoting sectarian hatred among different religious groups, which breeds extremism. Investors both local and foreign hesitate to risk their investments in a country where the law and order situation remains unpredictable for whatever the reasons. But why should acts of killing and vandalism occur in a society whose 40 per cent population lives below the poverty line? And every Pakistani, including the new-born and grownup, carries the heavy burden of a loan amounting to Rs3,00,000, as quoted by some newspapers.

Most of the events reported by the newspapers these days pertain to proceedings in the courts. Which politician said what, when the elections would be held and whether or not Nawaz Sharif would return on the prescribed date are the added speculations. These reports have the least priority for the poor in the country whose only worry is how to fill their sunken stomachs. Under the prevailing circumstances, a statement by the World Bank Country Director in Pakistan appears most appropriate. He said, “The current (economic and democratic) model can’t reduce poverty as Pakistan has the lowest per capita income in South Asia and the highest out-of-school kids in the world.” Alarming indeed!

I strongly feel that our main problem at the national level is the absence of selfless and dedicated leadership that could motivate the people, guide them in the right direction, control the population and ensure modern education at affordable cost. The World Bank Country Director’s observation that Pakistan has the highest number of out-of-school kids in the world is shocking news. It means the next generation would have lost its precious time, which it could have spent on educating itself. It can only be termed as gross negligence by various governments that have been in power.

I vividly remember reading late Ardesher Cowasjee’s weekly columns in the Dawn. When he wrote about issues of religious sectarianism and extremism in the country, the only remedy he emphasised was – education, education, education. He was on the mark.

The writer is a Lahore-based columnist and can be reached at pinecity@gmail.com