Daily Times

Instead of acting as one team determined to restore peace throughout the country, it seems as if the Prime Minister, Mian Nawaz Sharif and his Interior Minister, Chaudhry Nisar Ahmed Khan live on two different planets, their views colliding with each other creating more confusion-than what already exists-about the government’s commitment to combat extremism.

First let me tell you where does our Interior Minister, the executer of the National Action Plan stand on the issue. A week or two ago, pictures of Chaudhry Nisar Ahmed surfaced on social media in which he was meeting with Maulana Ahmed Ludhianvi, the leader of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamat (ASWJ), an infamous proscribed sectarian outfit known for its overt Anti Shia stance and connection with violence, its members notoriously crossing over to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to attack and kill the civilians.

In one of the photographs, both the minister and Maulana are smiling, while in an another snapshot, a group photo, both appear to be involved in a casual chat. For most people it was disturbing (if not outright sickening) to watch them together. Even more painful was to see how casually they interacted with each other, how relaxed, how comfortable they looked. There did not appear to have any tension in the air, just some old friends catching up. For days, no one denied the authenticity of the pictures, however no one confirmed it either, an indication towards their genuineness. After that period of silence, the interior minister, while talking to the media earlier this week, admitted that he did meet Maluana Ludhianvi in person. What surprised people most after the admission was that rather than providing an explanation about his encounter, he emerged as a defender of the proscribed organization’s public pronouncement of Shias as Kafirs (non-Muslims). He said the Shia Sunni conflict is going on for centuries and it is unfair (in regards to terrorism) to “link everything with ASWJ’s Chief”.

Digging further he explained in a bizarre way that some organizations behave as pure terrorists while others clash on sectarian basis. Therefore, not all banned organizations should be dealt as terrorist groups. A distinction needs to be made between the two and “separate laws” need to be enacted to deal with them individually.

To me, his logic goes like this: if a lion hunt down a deer, their ‘clash’ has to be understood as a struggle that has been going on in the jungle for thousands of years. Which means the prey is as much responsible for the attack as the predator, lion is as bad as the deer, victim as bad as the criminal. Unbelievably so, but that’s is how he understands the sectarian violence unleashed upon the Shias by Deobandi outfits like ASWJ, Lashkar e Jhangvi (LeJ) and Sipah e Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), a clash between two equals, which is not true. Tell me when was the last time you heard of a mosque attacked by Shia suicide bombers? Never. We hear of Deobandi attacks on Shias every other month that kills scores of people.

Now let us turn the page and look at the Prime Minister’s talking points. In his opinion, “Islam and all other religions preach peace and affection and those preaching otherwise are not doing any service to the religion.” On his latest visit to the Katas Raj Temple in Chakwal, Punjab, he forecasted that the “day is not too far when Pakistan will be considered a minority friendly country.” Diverting further from the approach from the Interior Minister, he said, “In my personal view, we are all equal — Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Christians — and people belonging to other religions; we are all one,” Of course, we are all one: No Shias and No Sunnis in the eyes of the state which is obliged to protect every citizen regardless of gender, age, ethnicity or faith.

Earlier, he had changed the name of the Center of Physics in the National Research Institute to Abdulsalam Center of Physics, to recognize the contribution of the theoretical physicist, the Nobel Laureate disregarded by most Pakistanis for his Ahmedi faith. And before that on Diwali, he said, “I feel immensely happy and satisfied to see the members of Hindu and other minority communities serving Pakistan shoulder to shoulder with their Muslim brethren.

Looking at both sides of the picture now, you must ask: does the Prime Minister share his vision with the cabinet members? I am not sure about it. If he did, then why would Chaudhry Nisar say and do things just the opposite of that? Rationality fails us here. But, a cynic in me has solved the mystery. I think that the actions of the Prime Minister are just an eyewash, that neither him nor his minister intend to take the bull by the horns. One plays good cop, while the other acts as a bad one using the same old tactics to delay and divert the attention of the people from a looming catastrophe. Had the Prime Minister been serious in eradicating extremism, we would not have seen Chaudhry Nisar running the Interior Ministry a long time ago.

The writer is a US-based freelance columnist. He tweets at @KaamranHashmi and can be reached at skamranhashmi@gmail.com