Daily Times

Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif renamed the National Centre of Physics at Quaid e Azam University to Professor Abdul Salam Center of Physics this week. And by doing so, he officially acknowledged the services of late particle physicist Dr Abdul Salam, who in1979 won the Nobel Prize. I understand, for many Muslims the Nobel Prize means just a mundane achievement compared to the eternal bliss of paradise. Even so, I must add that he was the first ‘Muslim’ scientist to receive such a distinction.

Despite his achievements and worldwide recognition, the-Pride-of-Pakistan was reviled in his motherland for his not-so-conforming beliefs. He belonged to the Ahmadi faith; which is why we considered it our ‘moral and religious duty’ always to belittle his brilliance, and to pit his Electroweak Theory against the blasphemy law. How else can we define national tragedy? Nevertheless, it seems as though the current leadership recognises the mistakes of the past.

A couple of decades ago, who could have imagined that the right leaning, not-so-sophisticated, pro-establishment, Punjab-based Mian Nawaz Sharif would go as far as to honor anyone from the minority community?

A person from Ahmadi faith would have been erased without consideration. Populism demanded that the politicians stayed away from jumping into controversies. Mian Nawaz Sharif’s ‘sponsors’ too would have instructed him against playing with few things in life: fire, foreign policy, national security and religion! But as the leader of Pakistan Muslim League has matured, he has dumped their advice in the garbage can, distancing himself from the religious zealots marching towards the activists who value freedom of speech as part of their faith. Those who are watching his deliberate yet subtle moves including his earlier address at Diwali are not surprised by his current decision, but a lot of people are taken aback.

To be honest, modern, educated elite of Pakistan never wanted him to emerge as that liberal hero, the champion of human rights: he lacked both the charisma and style. Never impressed by his simple vernacular, he was a little too ‘Desi’ to talk about those ‘Western’ ideals. With Imran Khan’s exposure to the West, his educational background, general outlook and a clean financial history, the West-leaning, urban ‘intellectuals’ wanted him to bring up the issues revolving around the sufferings of minority communities. But he failed to do so. His populism demanded him to bend backwards to appease the right wing hardliners, which he did. And that has made him the most reliable partner of Jamat e Islami, a party most sympathetic towards Al Qaeda
and Taliban.

So now, after the initiative taken by Mian Nawaz Sharif, I would not be surprised if the Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf kept quiet following the simple rule of avoiding religious controversies. After all, it is the path of least resistance. If needed, he could in future claim that he did not oppose the action which ‘obviously’ meant that he supported it. On the other hand, if there are still some values left in his politics, he would step up and agree with the Prime Minister on this issue publicly, the chances of which exist slim to none.

Similarly, under the leadership of Bilawal Bhutto, the same responsibility falls on the shoulder of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). Though PPP claims to stand for the rights of the marginalised communities, its career has been marred by the constitutional amendment that declared Ahmadis as Non-Muslims. As its emerging face, Bilawal today can denounce the actions taken by his grandfather and lay down the foundation of a new forward-looking party; a party which does not defend the mistakes of its ancestors, rather it learns from them, rectifies them and moves on. Would it make the party weaker or stronger? I am not sure. What I am sure about though is that he would benefit from it both personally and politically. Reason? Because he would then be recognised as an independent thinker, who takes the inspiration from Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, but does not follow him blindly. A visionary, who understands how important it is for Pakistan to protect the rights of its minorities. Would he dare to take this approach? Very unlikely, because, weak leaders like him or Imran Khan do not take bold initiatives. They stick to the old rules avoiding risk as much as they can.

After discussing the three major political parties — PMLN, PPP and PTI, who represent the majority of voters — I want to discuss the role of the military on this issue. I know, constitutionally speaking, it has no role to play. Nonetheless, Pakistan Military has been active in Pakistani politics for a while, even more so than some of the political parties, and is known to protect the ideological boundaries too, along with safeguarding the physical and legal borders of the country. The Army, therefore, can name one of its research labs after the great scientist, not to make a political point (of course), but to redefine the existing ideological boundaries. It will send a message to the hyperactive pro-Wahabi religious zealots too that the old days are gone, and a new beginning is on its way.

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