Daily Times

An approach of ‘appeasement’ may remind us the interwar period between the end of the World War I and the beginning of the World War II. During this relatively short era of interwar, apparently there was no war but the world was still at war. The connection between ‘appeasement’ and world wars was tragedy. The then British Premier Neville Chamberlain’s misjudged idea of appeasement to the dangerous radical fascists possibly to avoid conflict, in fact invited the greater catastrophe of global scale. The beginning of another World War affected the entire world through its apocalyptic grand scope of destruction.

From Hitler to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, chronicle of history have proven that all acts of ‘appeasement’ have faulty understanding to deal with the evil and are merely intended to pursue the false hope for peace.

The latest application of ‘appeasement’ we all have witnessed was exhibited in Islamabad with all pomp and circumstances when the state browbeaten into acquiescence to the small group of extremists. During the weeks-long session of testing the limits of state authority by wreaking havoc in the capital, these extremists finally returned home triumphant. The worst pattern of appeasement has been set for the generations to remember; and the government’s euphoria of today to achieve a short lived peace will lay the foundation of bigger national crisis to come.

The minister-in-charge Ahsan Iqbal. who seems to be a professor-cum-administrator, showed less than his usual astuteness while dealing with the drama and it generated an international opprobrium. After the botched attempt to stop the violent mob, he landed with the fallacy of logic certainly to handle the damage control and to legitimise the state’s policy of ‘appeasement’ saying if the state did not reach a deal with the radicals who virtually controlled the writ of the state for weeks, the situation probably would have gone to a greater tragedy and therefore the agreement was inked to restore peace in the capital. Well, if he smelled the conspiracy quite some time before than why this botched attempt to stop the protesters?

The state’s persistent inability to take stern action against the miscreants who vandalised the private and public properties tells the different story of surrendering to the demands of right-wing extremists which was believed to be a part of the ruling party’s strategy to secure Barelvi constituency in the next general elections. Here comes the time-honored practice of the Pakistan’s undemocratic political culture of putting self-interest over national interest in which the preservation of state authority and strengthening state institutions have never been an important objective.

From Hitler to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, the chronicle of history has proven that all acts of ‘appeasement’ are merely intended to pursue a false hope for peace

The state’s role seemed fully complicit in the whole scheme of discord fueled by the violent mob that took advantage of state’s inability to exercise the monopoly of power rather conceded to their demands which further create the space for mob rule to control the system through provoking violence, hatred and chaos that will deepen the problems in the country. Since the inception, people have been rejecting them through the power of ballot, yet state empowers those making deals and creating amenable space in the constitution for them.

Pakistan has become a country where a group of religious extremists imposes religious tests to re-certify the faith as a price for freedom contrary to the ideals of Jinnah who founded the country based on the principles so that people could practice their faiths with freedom as they choose. The state might as well introduce a process of acquiring and recording information door to door as part of greater scrutiny and reaffirmation of the Muslims faith through an oath certificate.

During the weeks-long crisis in Islamabad, the state’s modus operandi jeopardised the rule of law, fundamental rights and civil liberties. All too often, internal divide based on sectarianism, ethnicity, language, provincialism and religion, has replaced inclusive nationalism where the idea of Pakistan no longer matters. We are reminded that the religious divide remains a curse that can be revived through little effort with devastating consequences for the very survival and the security of the country. Douglas MacArthur, an American general once said, “I am concerned for the security of our great Nation; not so much because of any threat from without, but because of the insidious forces working from within.”

The incumbent government, however, did not live up to expectations and failed to recognise the insidious forces within the country that have been undermining the security and prosperity of the country for decades. It also underscored the vulnerability of the country in the face of the growing division along religious line, the tendency which will serve active anti-state detractor to carry out ominous machinations at the cost of the country’s stability.

Nonetheless, the fate of the state can never be sought through the policy of making concessions to the evil in order to avoid conflict but by building an enduring political structure, state institutions, rule of law and creating stable and secure society that discourages the discrimination and arbitrary rule of all forms. Let’s pray that the state’s gracious attitude of appeasing sneaky forces does not end up destroying the peace of the country. The policy of appeasement can never result in restoration of peace because no amount of appeasement can satisfy the extremists.

The writer is a freelance writer tweets at @ranasarfraz3417

Published in Daily Times, December 8^th 2017.