Daily Times

The Kasur incident is too horrific to write about. Nor does one wish to get into the controversies about the victim’s father and his conduct or that of the Government of Punjab. It has been a painful ordeal for everyone in Pakistan and indeed all around the world. What is sad though is this damnable attempt to politicize this issue. The Chief Justice of Pakistan has rightfully taken notice of Dr Shahid Masood’s allegations and told him bluntly in a hearing on Sunday that if he is unable to back his claims, he would be dealt with severely. For Dr Shahid Masood’s sake I hope he is telling the truth and can back up his allegations with evidence. If not the Supreme Court must make an example out of this anchor and those who create panic and disorder simply by virtue of being on television. The more disturbing part of this saga is that in our outrage we are ready to de-humanize ourselves by proposing such solutions as public execution. The practice of public executions was done away for a reason. It brutalizes the populace. In prosecuting monsters under the law, we should not become monsters ourselves.

There seems however to be a general conspiracy afoot, which aims at embroiling the present government in some controversy or the other by hook or by crook. I am not a fan of the PMLN government for many different reasons but we, as Pakistanis, cannot afford to have more disruptions to the constitutional democratic order. There is much work to be done in the country and we are in no position any more to be held hostage by same old palace intrigue. Instead all parties should concentrate on organizing the best campaigns possible on real issues instead of manufactured ones. Yes child abuse is an issue and the solution to the problem lies in educating our children and being vigilant in our communities. As for the perpetrators, we have adequate laws to deal with them. If anything we need to fix our criminal justice system to ensure that the perpetrators are punished accordingly and future perpetrators are deterred from such heinous crimes. It should not become part of any script to de-stabilize democracy. Instead we must realize that the responsibility to fight social ills is shared equally by all segments of society and we should confront them as Pakistanis.

Ultimately whatever we wish to be, our salvation lies in letting democracy take its course. There should not be any interruptions in this constitutional democratic order. However it should be a democracy in the true sense of the word and not tyrannical fascism of the majority

A great responsibility and burden lies on the shoulders of our armed forces at this moment. They have to realize that they are ultimately the guardians of the constitutional order and not its enemies. Without the constitutional order there is no country and without the country there are no armed forces. Our brave armed forces have waged a valiant struggle against terrorism in recent years and it is because of their immense sacrifices that have helped guard our liberty. This liberty we must jealously guard against all pernicious attempts to take it away.

Within the meaning of liberty must surely also fall the idea that everyone has the right to hold opinions about life and religion, as the constitution expressly provides for. Narrow minded ideas on nationalism and indeed interpretation of our great faith should not be impediments to these constitutionally guaranteed freedoms accorded to every citizen of Pakistan no matter what his or her faith. Pakistan today has a population that comprises 96 to 97 percent Muslims. Islam and the Muslim way of life are not under any kind of threat from 3 to 4 percent non-Muslims who live in Pakistan. Therefore the state must take a dim view of the religious parties and groups that seek to make sectarian and theological matters into election issues. In a democracy the only legitimate form of identity politics can only emanate from the minority groups who are in need of protection from the majority. When a majority turns to identity politics, it inevitably becomes fascist. This is what has happened in Pakistan with the rise of Deobandi and Barelvi extremists. These sectarian groups now wish to distort the election process by making it about theology and religious doctrine.

The people of Pakistan have never chosen as their leaders the religious clerics and priests in flowing robes. Our leaders have always been worldly men and women. Nevertheless the religious clerics have managed at least since the 1970s to exert such pressure that our elected leaders have been forced to make unconscionable compromises with them and in the process have enacted bad laws that have brought not just Pakistan but very faith of Islam in disrepute. Therefore it is time this Islamic Republic of ours took matters in its own hands and nationalized the practice of Islam, which after all was made the state religion in 1973. For the future of our democracy and indeed sanity in Pakistan, it is important that the religious practice of Islam is regulated by the Islamic Republic itself. After all this is the case in many Muslim countries. What is the point of establishing Islam as the state religion, if you are going to leave its practice in the hands of foul mouthed and uneducated clerics who engage in hate speech and incite violence against other sects and religious minorities? Instead the Council of Islamic Ideology and the Federal Shariat Court should be transformed into truly progressive bodies with leading Muslim scholars who believe in Ijtehad the eternal principle of movement in Islam. This country refers to Allama Iqbal as its spiritual guide but when is it going to implement the ideas of Iqbalian thought as contained in the “Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam”. Here I must point out that I personally believe that Pakistan should be a secular democratic state without a state religion but if that is a position unacceptable to the majority of Pakistanis, then at least be consistent with the Iqbalian ideas that you say you seek inspiration from.

Ultimately whatever we wish to be, our salvation lies in letting democracy take its course. There should not be any interruptions in this constitutional democratic order. However it should be a democracy in the true sense of the word and not tyrannical fascism of the majority. Whether or not we wish to nationalize Islam, we must secure the fundamental principle that the 3 to 4 percent non-Muslims who live in Pakistan, as defined under Article 260 of the Constitution, are equal citizens of Pakistan in every respect.

The writer is a practising lawyer and a Visiting Fellow at Harvard Law School in Cambridge MA, USA. He blogs at http://globallegalforum.blogspot.com and his twitter handle is @therealylh

Published in Daily Times, January 29^th 2018.