Daily Times

In 1941, while encouraging Muslim women to become active socially, educationally and politically, Mr Jinnah, the founder, maker and philosopher of this country of ours, famously said, “There are two powers in the world: one is the sword and the other is the pen. There is a great competition and rivalry between the two. There is a third power stronger than both, that of the women.”

Malala Yousafzai, a young Pakistani girl barely 14 years of age, fighting a valiant battle for life at the time that I am writing these lines, has proved this statement to be true many times over. She has shown that a woman is indeed more powerful than pens, swords, guns and rabid fanatics who seek to turn back the clock on our progress. Her eyes are like shining lamps of truth that will for generations to come light up our nation. As the heir of Hazrat Fatima tuz Zahra (AS) and Hazrat Ayesha Siddiqa (RA), she will no doubt be remembered in history as Pakistan’s Jeanne d’Arc. This is the beginning of the end of Taliban tyranny in our northwest. From this point onwards, there is absolutely no question of any compromise or negotiation. There must not be any surrender.

This valiant young girl has known since age 11 what an Oxford-educated Pakistani hero, now nearing 60, who should know better, does not. The Taliban espouse a bigoted and fanatical agenda that does not negotiate or compromise. Americans, Pakistanis and Saudis created an army of militants to fight the Soviets. Now that army seeks to gobble up its benefactors. How do you negotiate with an army of fanatics? There is no point trying to distinguish between the ideological Taliban and the foot soldiers as Imran Khan likes to say. These man-eaters who have tasted blood are not likely to be rehabilitated. This is the way it is. A history lesson is in order. When the world faced the Nazi menace, there were many pacifists who wanted to ‘negotiate’ and find a ‘political solution’. One can only shudder at the thought of what would have become of the world had their irrational and illogical advice been given any serious consideration. Then too it was Anne Frank’s diary that moved the entire world. Why does Khan want to let down Pakistan’s Anne Frank? This is as much about you as it is about Malala. This is not what one expects from the maker of the SKMT and Namal College. We expect better from you, Imran Khan.

Perhaps a more ideologically correct example is in order for the Islamic bluebloods. Chach Nama records that it was the plight of a young girl that had moved the stonehearted Hajjaj to send Muhammad bin Qasim to Sindh. Should he have negotiated instead? If not why should we? Should we negotiate because the Taliban, unlike Raja Dahir, claim to be the soldiers of Islam? Is being a Muslim a license to kill in the name of Islam? What kind of double standards are these? Kharijites also claimed to be Muslims. They assassinated Hazrat Ali (AS). The good news is that we saw a determined General Kayani when he went to visit Malala in Rawalpindi. May Kayani prove to be our Hajjaj bin Yousaf.

Then you have Qazi Hussain Ahmed of Jamaat-e-Islami. He had the audacity to blame people who had praised Malala for her courage as being the reason for the attack. His equally ignorant daughter, Samia Raheel Qazi, is calling the Taliban “our brothers” despite the fact that they have accepted responsibility for the attack. Jamaat-e-Islami — the more mainstreamed version of the Taliban — is a curse for Pakistan. Throughout our 65 years, at every turn these self-styled custodians of Islam have worked like termites eating away at the very fabric of our state. In 1971, their jihadis murdered our fellow citizens in East Pakistan and led to the separation of that province. Since 1972, every educational policy in our country has been vetted by the Jamaat-e- Islami at the behest of an unthinking establishment, thereby converting an entire generation into paranoid reactionaries. Jamaat-e-Islami also aided and abetted General Ziaul Haq in butchering our soul as a nation. Now while the entire nation is coming to a much needed consensus and determination to fight the Taliban menace, these jokers are putting a spanner in the works by coming up with inane and idiotic conspiracy theories about the Malala incident.

There come many occasions in the lives of nations where they find themselves at a fork in the road where one way leads to salvation and the other to destruction. At every occasion, we as a nation have chosen to take the road that leads to destruction and devastation at the behest of these mullahs and their court followers. No more. Let us cry halt and let us now fight this battle not only for our sake but also for generations yet to be born.

If you are still a fence sitter or a supporter of Imran Khan, ask yourself this: what kind of a Pakistan do we want? A Pakistan where our daughters are not allowed to go to school? Where they are shot in the head for asking for their basic fundamental human rights? Or do we want a Pakistan that opens up opportunities for all its citizens, regardless of their gender or religion or ethnic origin.

As I started with a quote from Jinnah, I will end with one that underscored a fundamental truth: “No nation can rise to the heights of glory unless your women are side by side with you.”

Pakistan Zindabad.

The writer is a practicing lawyer. He blogs at hhtp://globallegalforum.blogspot.com and his twitter handle is @therealylh