Daily Times

Use of religious and sectarian grounds to canvass for votes must not be tolerated anymore. Neither the country’s law nor the vision of the founders leave any room for such politics.

The list of losses borne by the Pakistani nation because of mixing of religion with politics is long. From the agitation in support of the objectives resolution, and the anti-Ahmediyya riot of 1953, to the pressure tactics that led to the second amendment to the 1973 Constitution and the Nizam-e-Mustafa movement of 1977 onwards, the collective political wisdom of clerics and Islamists has not once concerned itself with any concrete issue of the public – particularly those living on the social and economic margins of the polity.

No wonder, the public hasn’t ever voted them into power, and they have always relied upon patronage of undemocratic forces which has occasionally resulted in some concessions here and there, in the form of a handful of seats in the Parliament, or places in state institutions.

Recalling these facts is relevant at the moment since both the established and the upstart clerics and Islamists are organising to influence the upcoming election’s outcome. That is their constitutional right, but – as representatives of the fourth estate of Pakistani democracy – we consider it our duty to remind those in charge of the other three pillars to be mindful of their duties – vis-à-vis the country’s law and the founders’ vision. Neither of the two permit anyone to make demands like the one the Pir from Sial Sharif has made in the most recent rally in Lahore over the weekend. He cannot question the faith of any Pakistani, nor can he or anyone else be allowed to make generic demands like imposition of Sharia. Last time we let that happen, the nuisance that came out of the whole affair was called Sufi Mohammad in the 1990s, and Mullah Fazlullah in the 2000s.

The fact of the matter is that Pakistan has a majority Muslim population that practices their faith in multiple ways. There simply is no singular version of Sharia that can be enforced on these internally differentiated Muslims of Pakistan.

Electoral politics ought to be about social and economic issues of the Pakistani public. That is the kind of democratic politics foreseen by the founders of this nation, and that alone will take the nation forward. The authorities have taken this issue very lightly in the previous elections, but it is imperative that they get to work now and ensure that no one brings religious, sectarian or faith-based issues in electoral debates. For the threats they have hurled already, the Pir of Sial and the upstart barelvi clerics in Tehrik-e-Labbaik must be acted against in accordance with the law.  *

Published in Daily Times, January 22^nd 2018.