Dear Fatima. Very sad to hear your views. We are first human being then Muslim. Why you need to “kill” someone by Jihad to save our country? is this the attitude of our civilians or the Taliban? so where is the difference lying ? or the psych of Taliban invaded in the intellectual mindset as well ? No nation want to kill any its a few Individual at the top want. People like you will instigate more Iran/Mumbai attacks and bring bad name to the country.

If the self blast blow up attacks are so proudly owned, then why the confusion about some “real perpetrators”?

i think we are first muslim then anything else we should think about islam and fight for the right. All these things happening in Pakistan are sponsored by agencies but don’t worry our jihadi will not lose they will kill these people and one day there will be terror free Pakistan.

We must get together for the best future of country. Because if we do not become united, our country can’t be progressive. And We must also get Islamic knowledge specially Quran and Sunnah.

S.Q.Khan’s resentment towards the pro-theocracy profile of the present constitution of Pakistan as well as the present theocracy-conducive environment of the country is perfectly understandable. But in all fairness this cannot and should not be attributed to Jinnah. In fact, if anything this situation owes its existence to disregarding Jinnah’s advice and will. Jinnah’s address to the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan,on 11 August 1947 conclusively proves his SECULAR vision for the nation he founded. The Objectives Resolution was not Jinnah’s idea. Attaching the undeserved prefix of ‘Islamic’ before the country’s name was not Jinnah’s idea. Jinnah had requested a Hindu poet Jaggannath Azad to write the country’s national anthem, justifying his choice by stating that he wanted to sow the seed of secularism. Let us be fair to Jinnah. Let us not attribute to him the mistakes committed by others. Jinnah was beyond being a politician. He was a statesman. Those who willfully chose not to benefit from Jinnah’s wisdom and statesmanship should bear the discredit of the country’s latter drift towards its non-secular outlook, not Jinnah.

Jinnah did not pursue a separate country in the name of Islam. The Muslim-majority states were confronted with the threat of being economically subdued by the relatively more consolidated Hindu-majority states. So what Jinnah pursued was neither an ideological state nor the fulfillment of anybody’s dream. What he pursued was a secure economic future for the inhabitants of the Muslim-majority states, which had become patently threatened in an undivided India.

However, I agree with S.Q.Khan’s argument that in the presence of a state-religion there cannot be equality. Inter-faith as well as inter-faith harmony, both are lost. The moment you declare Islam as the state religion, all non-Muslim citizens, who in Jinnah’s will were meant to be “equal citizens of one state” with Muslims, are instantly reduced to Class 2 citizens. And there goes inter-faith harmony. On the other hand, the moment you declare Islam as the state religion, extremists from all the Muslim sects, along with their mutually conflicting views, rise to interpret the law. And there goes inter-faith harmony. Both scenarios are a disservice to Islam.

Apparent cause for the creation of Pakistan as is being told was religion but in fact it is a misnomer. The actual cause of separation of Muslims from Hindus was economical. Muslim traders and businessmen could not compete Hindu traders and businessmen in Mumbay so the idea of establishing their own monopolistic trade empire in a separate state emerged which also got the nod of British for their own political motives to build a religious wall to stop expansion of communism. Unfortunately we are told lies throughout. It is on record that Jinnah was strongly opposed to mixing religion with politics how come he wanted a country dreamed out by Allama Iqbal which would be a home to religious extremists.

This article was a great disappointment to me. If search well you will find out to whom the students were throwing stones.

”ISLAMABAD – Interior Minister Rehman Malik narrowly escaped the wrath of angry students of Islamic University who were in a mood to finish him as they chanted slogans against him besides pelting stones on his bullet proof vehicle.

Had the Minister’s guard not whisked him away, the furious students of the ill-fated varsity would have given him a lesson over the security failure.”
I think it is the duty of the media to print the facts not start a propaganda against Muslim. A very poor article by Mr. Nadeem

Nusrat Pasha sir , Politicians will use all kind of word jugglery to convince the masses. Our Ideology of creation of our country has nothing to do with secularism in true spirit. Ofcourse it was not meant to be theocratic one but definitely an Islamic state. The very word ” Islamic ” In front of our country wipe out the “Equality ,Justice and Fair play” theory. We are segregating the people who born here breath the same air in the name of religion. How do you expect non muslims to be comfortable in a country which has Muslim denotation on that ? Have you gone through our constitution ? do you know that a non-muslim can never become the president and prime minister of our country ? where is the equality we are talking about ?. Its all nothing but hypocrisy aimed to please the west. Jinnah was very fascinated by west and wanted to be friends with them. He must have used all these talks to establish that. Our country can never ever be free and secular until we do away with the religious obsession from the politics and stop swearing by god for all reasons.

Great Article, great narrations, great verbs, great propaganda, great views ,great insight but no weight in the story all seems fictitious because the next day I searched the youtube and I found out that the students were throwing stones at Abdur Rehman Malik. The video clearly showed him entering the building with his bodyguards covering him from the stones being pelted at him. MR Paracha, What is brewing up? Where does this lead us to? What are we supposed to think? Ans ”MEDIA PROPAGANDA”. I read that black water was offering thousands of dollars to media people to?

Mr Paracha how naive can one be? What a drama story.

NFP:

Great article. But can you please give a source for your statement “The attack was then proudly owned by the Tekrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.” I thought this was one of the attacks they had not owned.

Jinnah emphasized that if the state could operate on the principles of “EQUALITY, JUSTICE and FAIR PLAY “, the state would for all practical purposes be functioning on Islamic principles. A republic does not become Islamic merely by placing the prefix of “Islamic” before the country’s name.

In contrast to a theocratic setup, a secular state does not take into account the religious identity of a citizen, thus treating all citizens equally, thereby ensuring equality, justice and fair play for all citizens. Therefore a Secular State, both by definition and by nature, is the best form of an Islamic state.

In any case the only way forward for Pakistan, is to revert to the vision of a Secular Pakistan, the vision presented by THE FOUNDER of Pakistan.

Jinnah emphasized that if the state could operate on the principles of”EQUALITY, JUSTICE and FAIR PLAY”,the state would for all practical purposes be functioning on Islamic principles. A republic does not become Islamic merely by placing the prefix of “Islamic” before the country’s name.

In contrast to a theocratic setup,a secular state does not take into account the religious identity of a citizen, thus treating all citizens equally, thereby ensuring equality, justice and fair play for all citizens. Therefore a Secular State, by definition and by nature is the best form of an Islamic state.

‘very few Pakistanis agree with the diagnosis, thus NFP has to keep hammering away’

The majority agree and those who do not agree are unlikely to come and read the author’s blog either. Repeating something ad nauseum serves little purpose. There is a reason why Pakistan has no Martin Luther Kings and John F. Kennedy’s. And that is simple: there is no dearth of self-styled ‘critics’, who happily assume the moral high ground, yet do not do any practical work to help alleviate the wrongs they rant about.

“The disease afflicting the country has already been diagnosed”

Very optimistic of you, Ikram. But the truth is, very few Pakistanis agree with the diagnosis, thus NFP has to keep hammering away. It is required.

With due respect to Jinnah I must say he was too a politician. Pakistan is formed only due to his fear that he is not going to get right representation in the Indian government. He used the Muslim sentiments for that. Politicians use all that possible to get their work done. I don’t see any meaning in the words of Jinnah beyond it. We have all Islamic Symbolism in allover the country in works and deed, in words and spirits and we claim that we are created as a secular country. If it was meant to be one secular country then why we could not inspire millions of Hindus and Sikhs left this country during partition? What Jinnah was doing then?. Why he failed to get those people in his fold? there is no guidelines in it. Mixing religion and politics is a deadly cocktail. Any nation which does this cannot live in peace. We must denounce religion from all sphere of life and move forward

Why most NFP’s articles always appear similar? I have tremendous respect for the man but I don’t think he is doing enough justice to his true caliber or intellect by make the same points again and again.

The disease afflicting the country has already been diagnosed. Can we now look forward to some treatment?

Someone once commented about Islam which I’d like to mention here.

However, I doubt if it will go well with Muslims and especially Pakistanis.

However, there’s not an iota of lie in it.

“Islam being the youngest of all major religions is undergoing a rough phase which every other religion has gone through at one point or the other. And like all other religions, Islam will emerge stronger.”

Once upon a time, in India people believed that if a widow doesn’t jump into the pyre of her husband, something bad will happen (Even though it never appears in Hindu literature), not anymore.

Today, some Muslims believe that by blowing oneself up and killing Khaffirs, a Muslim will achieve martyrdom and all the prizes associated with that.

I’m sure it will change One day. Sooner the better, as too much blood is being wasted.

Nusrat Pasha has put things in perspective.

But, that’s a very idealist view, which cannot be achieved.

The least (and possibly the best) that Pakistan can do is to follow Iran’s model.

One very interesting fact to the people out there.

In spite of all the hostility between Iran and Israel, Iran has the highest number of Jews in middle-east outside of Israel.

And guess what, they’re not persecuted and quite a lot of them are not even zionists.

Now, that’s a good secular state.

This is the first time that I have gone thro’ any article published in “Dawn”. Excellent piece, indeed! I whole heartedly congratulate NFP for daring to write such a secular, balanced, rational and cogently argued article which goes against the mainstream thinking in a theocratic country such as Pakistan. NFP is a courageous person to express views which are not politically correct. Yes, we do have a small minority of fascists in India. But fortunately, they do not carry much conviction with the common man, who is more concerned about his daily dal roti. After all, Pakistanis are our own people till Partition. We wish them well.

I spent nearly three years in Glasgow (UK) between 2005 and 2008. I came into contact with a couple of Muslim families who originated from Pakistan. Pakistanis are wonderful hosts. I used to meet a young lady of Punjab -origin who used to bring her little daughter to the school. She used to show me such warmth of heart and friendliness, I felt as if I was talking to my own cousin back home in India.

I pray to Allah to remove the mutual suspicion and prejudices between Indians and Pakistanis. May the lawlessness and extremism in Pakistan be a thing of the past. Insha Allah, let our Pakistani brothers and sisters enjoy peace and prosperity.

Prof G.N.Rao,
Hyderabad, INDIA

Not many nations in the world enjoy the luxury of being as explicitly guided by their founding fathers as ourselves. The founder of this country had left ample guidance for its people, in this regard.
Quaid-e-Azam had declared unequivocally that Pakistan would be a Secular state and would remain strictly non-theocratic. The following Golden Words of the founder of our nation, more than ever, summon our attention today :

1 : Religion should not be allowed to come into Politics. Religion is merely a matter between man and God. [Jinnah, Address to the Central LegislativeAssembly, 7 February 1935]

2 : In the name of Humanity, I care more for them [the Untouchables] than for Mussalmans. [Jinnah, Speaking about the Shudras or Untouchables, during his address at the All India Muslim League session at Delhi, 1934 ]

3 : You are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed.That has nothing to do with the business of the State. [Jinnah, Presidential address to the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, Karachi, 11 August 1947]

4 : No distinction between one community and another, no discrimination between one cast or creed and another. We are starting with this fundamental principle that we are all citizens and Equal citizens of One State. [ Jinnah, Presidential Address to the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, 11 August 1947]

5 : Now, I think we should keep that in front of us as our ideal, and you will find that in due course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense because that is the personal faith of the individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the State. [Jinnah, Presidential Address to the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, 11 August 1947]

6 : But make no mistake, Pakistan is not a theocracy or anything like it. [ Jinnah, Message to the people of Australia, 19 February 1948 ]

7 : In any case Pakistan is not going to be a Theocratic State-to be ruled by priests with a divine mission. Regarding non-Muslim Pakistanis he further says, They will enjoy the same rights and privileges as any other citizens and will play their rightful part in the affairs of Pakistan. [Message to the people of USA, February 1948]

We, as a nation, have for six decades, ignobly defied the noble advice of Jinnah – the founder of this nation. Today, we are reaping the harvest of our defiance. We have to learn from our mistakes and retrace our path back to the course defined by our Quaid. We have to regain our ‘ Paradise Lost ‘. We have to rediscover ” Jinnah’s Pakistan “.
Best Regards
Nusrat Pasha

Terrorist killings in Pakistan. Let us blame the usual Jews,Americans and Indians.

Terrorist Killing in Mumbai. let us blame Indian government killing there own people so they have a reason to fight with Pakistan.

Sep 11 – let us blame it on the US government Killing it’s own people so they can wage war on Muslims.

The bottom line is we will not blame the real problem that is religious fanatics and terrorist.

Good article indeed, except some points which are quite obvious in your every article, i.e your habit of turning the waves towards religion,
I agree with the first part regarding protests by students, but why they were throwing stones at minister or police is obvious as Govt has failed to
protect them, once again. Why they carry slogans about K.L bill is because it might have been driven by some political party, like Jamiat who has
a hold in major universities, it was a childish act indeed.
About rest of the article, I agree with you that some of our writers & anchors are trying hard to prove that the anti Pakistan elements are the
only, means “only” cause of all these acts, These journalists might be 50% right, as anti Pakistan elements are active there, but not hundred percent because the people who blast themselves, and who are walking bombs, are offcourse our Pakistani illiterate & half baked minds, who do not know the reality of Islam, for them to die or to kill is the easiest way to accomplish Paradise.
Yes Paradise is for the one who spent their lives according to the teachings of Islam, it is a vast topic, teachings of Islam should not be restricted to some rituals, it is a complete way of living, now a days nobody thinks that earning right, spending at right place, feeding the poor & serving parents, neighbors is also way of Islam, Our Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said “Even smile is a Charity”, also he said “To kill one person, is to kill whole Humanity”, so these half baked minds, these illiterate people & their teachers are damaging not only this country but also Islam.
Next time I hope when you write any scholarly article, you’ll keep the real Islam picture in your mind, not all religious people are bad, there are few left in this society who really have knowledge & they are beneficial for human kind, they are real Muslims.
Cheers!

Good article. Why a society need a “Islamic university” or a Christian university?. Religion is very personal. Not to mix with the affairs of state or politics. We have been a doomed state because we swear by religion in all occasions. And no religion did any good to uplift the downtrodden. We must detach politics from religion. We still live in stone age.

Many blame the Muslim bigotry and the conspiracy trait on lack of education. This is not so. Educated Muslims living in the west also suffer from this virus. Some time back I read in the Dawn an article by Irfan Hussain where he was at an elite function in the Uk. Many including his host blamed the Tsunami caused by an under sea earthquake as designed by US, Israel and India!
Their logic–Most of the fishermen on the coastal regions were Muslim !!

Adnan, Islamabad: “The students were throwing stones at Rehman Malik.”

Quick to stone people who failed to protect you, but always hesitant to condemn those who actually blow themselves up in the presence of innocent men, women and children?
Paracha is spot on about this vicious wave of denial cutting us to pieces.

And also, fine they were throwing stones at Reham Malik. But how would you like to explain the Kerry-Lugar Bill protest the very next day by the students?
As Paracha asked, what did the K-L Bill issue had to do with the bombing?

Great article.

Our country will never be peaceful and prosperous unless we keep region with in the house and mosque.

Religious fanatics have hijacked the country a long time ago.

Religion is personal and should be within oneself, We should not see everything with the lens of religion.

Some of the facts presented in the article are very thoughtful. But your opinion towards religion always remain biased. Its the people who have problem understanding the religion, not the religion itself.

The ‘glorified myths of bravado’ part confirms one point that your articles are no longer for the betterment of society instead its for hating and criticizing religion and that too, with a self opinionated and self righteous stance. You will go on writing anything that supports your secular and anti-conspiracy theorist image. For doing so you will even by-pass historical facts and ground realities.

Excellent NFP.

As is expected from reactionary “news reporters”, they will start giving details about the infidel targets that the terrorists were really after at the place of the attack.

Thank you.

Mr. Paracha, with all due respect, you really don’t know what you’re writing because of the limited information that you’ve got. The students were throwing stones at Rehman Malik, and it was broadcasted live on a private tv channel (the video can be seen on other mediums, its still there). I feel like you’re portraying something that is totally different from the reality and you’ve some different intentions.

Regarding your statement that students held protest outside the university next day against kerry lugar bill, I would just say that I saw no such protest happening except the rally that was supervised by the University’s admin, which was called “Save Pakistan Rally”. I also participated in that.

In the end, I’d really like to advise you to correct the sources from where you get your info. And to get more insight on issues, try to become a master of all mediums instead of proudly being called a cultural critic. You work is from inside the room where you can’t feel the real society of Pakistan.

“Conspiracy Theories” and “It cant be Muslims” syndrome is not unique to Pakistan but is found in most of the so called Islamic world. Pakistan’s biggest problem is this religious bigotry which has seeped into its very nervous system and it now controls every opinion, policy, law, enemy, conspiracy theory, everything. NFP recognizes this syndrome as a huge drawback in his society and is doing a big favor on his people by showing them the mirror. But can decades of indoctrination be changed by a few articles ? It surely is a step forward.

Very well said sir!

Mr. Paracha’s efforts will not go wasted(it is nice to know someone living in Pakistan and trying to do the right thing considering the risk involved). It goes without saying that the problem of Pakistan is lack of education and I am not only talking about the masses I am talking about the so called elites who fail to understand the simple fact that religion should be a personal matter and should never be used to determine the fate of nations. Religion should be banned in public places and so should be public display of religious symbols, anything less than that will most certainly destroy the country. It is about time people learned the fact that it is not the infidels who are hurting the country, ideology which is the sole cause of the situation Pakistan is in.

55% of literacy rate, 22 million internet users and a free media has produced a nation of sleep walkers. Perhaps the quickest solution then, is the state monitored, strictly controlled media. Few tv show anchors are confusing the masses, thanks to free media. These people are delusional and will say anything to round up an applause. Free Speech requires a certain amount of intellectual honesty which I am afraid, Pakistani nation is not capable of.

I agree wholeheartedly. Just a small addition. The people who plan and train these attacks are to blame. The end blunt tool, the actual person who blows himself is to be pitied. In most cases, he has been living his whole life in a small, remote madrassah. He knows nothing but what he’s been taught. Its high time to keep a check on so called Madrassahs.

Secondly, drone attacks are a reality. Picture an everyday guy. Who lost a loved one as collateral damage to an army operation or drone attack. Now, the government has no face. It is an institution. It just goes on doing what it does. On the other hand, the extremist Mullah comes to share his grief and offer retribution. He has a choice. Either to mourn his loss and get over it. Or join the extremist and exact revenge.

But in the end, it is a Muslim, Pakistani who supplies ammunition, who recruits, who trains, who blows himself up.

@KIMI: what NFP pointed out is very much clear in your writing.
@ Pakistani: you dont see the actions of ur extremist as mocking on Religion, look like your out of argument.

In response to the questions raised by some of the Indian contributors on this blog, I would like to say that contrary to what is generally believed today, Pakistan got separated from India, not because of religion but because the people of the Muslim-majority states of undivided India opted and voted for a separate country for reasons that were essentially political. The Muslims who maintained their residence in India, were neither stronger nor weaker in faith than those who chose to reside in Pakistan. Islam was under no threat from Hinduism. It was in fact the conglomerate of Muslim-majority that risked being economically subdued by the larger conglomerate of the Hindu-majority states. Therefore, Pakistan was not created in the name of Islam pursue, but rather in pursuance of a secure economic future for the inhabitants of the Muslim-majority provinces of India. Quaid-e-Azam had held on to the idea of an undivided India, endorsing the Cabinet Mission Plan. Gandhi, Nehru and Patel rejected it. This was the last hope of keeping India undivided and the Congress leadership knew this well. All Jinnah wanted was to guarantee a secure economic and social future for the smaller and economically weaker conglomerate of Muslim-majority states, within an undivided India. The unaccommodating attitude of the Congress leadership made it clear to Jinnah that this was something the Muslim-majority states were not going to get. That left Jinnah with no option but partition. Jinnah’s principled stand always was to defend the threatened, who in this case were the Muslim-majority states. Jinnah’s cause was a just one. His movement was peaceful. The subsequent surge in religious extremism in Pakistan can not be attributed to Jinnah, just as the increase in Hindu extremism in India cannot be linked to Gandhi. Pakistanis and Indians both must learn to be more objective and dispassionate, with reference to our common heritage and history. Pakistan must indeed learn from its grave mistake of disregarding the will of its great founder, by dragging religion into politics. Pakistan has to retrace its steps to Jinnah’s vision of Pakistan.

Nusrat Pasha

The most un-needed article I have ever read, by Nadeem F. Paracha. The article started off well, but as usual, concluded, with the most inappropriate ending of a bashing a political point of view, whilst glorifying another. Topics related to suicide bombing should always be deprived and starved of religion and politics, otherwise, it always ends up ensuing a religious and political point of view to the people. Maybe, writing about such atrocities has made Nadeem radical in his point of view as well. We are all, indeed, losing our sanity.

As a matter of fact, this article is based on facts and figures, well explained and highlighted main areas. While on other hand, its really strange that Pakistani people protest against the talibans and against the western world or US, which I believe is most of people in Pakistan thinks that US or western world is responsible for this mess up. Moreover some of them do believe, main cause is the corrupt politician as well.

This is a right time and cause for Pakistani youth to unite and fight against Islamic Terrorism. Pakistani youth can find their goal to fight. As our old generation has the goal to fight the British empire. And they have achieve it by getting the freedom. Remember all Hindu and Muslim fight together to achieve the ultimate goal of freedom. This time around the same should be done.

Well reading the above article I have came to my conclusion that even if your military will say that they have finish the Taliban. It never will be. The seed of talibanization are in your false version of religion. Your government and education institute should be teach only modern science not any version of Islam.

I think we are to be blamed most as a nation we did not do good to ourselves and we always looked towards the helping hands of other countries. We as nation never stood up and say no more, we as nation did so much bad to this country and now we deserve this. We as nation not respected our founder as he died on the side road cause Petrol finished in his Ambulance what a shame. Have anyone thought of this what have we done to our Mohsin. We as nation are one of the most ignorant nation in the world. We are like a hoard of sheep and shepherd is taking us where he wants to take us. Wake up call for us.

Sane people Like Nadeem Paracha etc are true humanists.

In response to the question raised by an Indian contributor named ‘Indian’, I would like to say that contrary to what is generally believed today, Pakistan got separated from India, not because of religion but because the people of the Muslim-majority states of undivided India opted and voted for a separate country. Thus it was less of a religious choice and more of a political one. Islam was under no threat from Hinduism. But in fact the Muslim-majority states were at risk of being economically subdued by the larger conglomerate of the relatively well-off Hindu-majority states. Therefore, Pakistan was not created in the name of Islam, but rather in pursuance of a secure economic future for the inhabitants of the Muslim-majority provinces of India. Quaid-e-Azam actually held on to the idea of an undivided India, even endorsing the Cabinet Mission Plan, which was rejected by Gandhi, Nehru and Patel. This was the last hope of keeping India undivided. All Jinnah wanted was to guarantee a secure economic and social future for the smaller conglomerate of Muslim-majority states within an undivided India. The persistently unaccommodating attitude of the Congress leadership made it clear to Jinnah that this was something the Muslim-majority states were not going to get. That left Jinnah with no option but partition. His principled stand was to defend the oppressed and threatened, who in this case were the Muslim-majority states. Jinnah’s cause was a just one and his movement was peaceful. The subsequent surge in religious extremism can not be attributed to Jinnah. Pakistan has to learn from its grave mistake of disregarding the will of its founder and dragging religion into politics. Pakistan has to retrace its steps to Jinnah’s Pakistan. And by the way, I am indeed proud to be Pakistani.

Nusrat Pasha

I have been tracking your “enlightened” columns for a while now. It was always amusing how you wrote everything in such a biased fashion with obvious and overflowing Islamic phobia.

I usually choose to ignore people like you who think they “know it all” and people who are so fond of a secular Pakistan but after this column of yours, I just couldn’t resist it.

All I am going to say is that Mr. Paracha, I know I am biased. I do not pray five times a day for which I am ashamed. But I still hold my religion very close to me. I know we should look at ourselves before we start the blame game with others. I know that there are foreign elements behind TTP who without them won’t even last a week. I know everything in our country is because of the wrath of Allah because we have become an Immoral Society. We cheat, we rob, we lie. Our men stare at women without shame and do not respect them. Our women do not cover their heads in public (which by the way is a part of our religious obligations). We Pakistani’s Muslim know all of this, including myself. That is why every word and line I wrote is Biased.

The difference between you and us is that we know we are biased. But you don’t realize how biased you are and your whole cult. Its amusing that you think you are a person with moderate and modern views. But infact you are every bit same of an extremist as TTP are, but in the opposite direction.

I respect anybody’s views as far as political situation in Pakistan is concerned. But I must ask you to stop spreading your “enlightened views” on how an Islamic society should act.

Many thanks for reading this which I don’t know you will.

Peace, and may our lord show you and me the right path.

long live ISLAMIC republic of Pakistan!

Excellent piece as usual by Mr Paracha but unfortunately most of the people reading your blogs and columns are people who already subscribe to reality. but those who are living in denial are least bothered about reading your introspective pieces and even if they do they dismiss it with their universal argument that Paracha is “SECULAR” or a “ZIONIST” Vise versa.

In response to the conclusion drawn by ‘Rationalist’ may I once again reiterate that the ultimate solution lies in separating Religion from State. This applies not only to Pakistan, but rather to all Muslim-majority states, in fact to all countries of the world. This is a universal reality. It would be wiser to exercise pragmatism than to learn the hard way. As far the reformation of Islam is concerned, that anyway is not the job of the state. Religion is reformed by God-sent reformers, not by governments. The State should mind its own business and that should leave the state with enough to sort out. God is most certainly capable enough to take care of the revival of Religion, by ways of His own choice.

I have been making some contributions, now and then to various debated blogs. Natrually I do read so many contributed thoughts by others but also mainly Pakistanis.

What I am beginning to see that a majority of Pakistanis are now writing and openly criticizing with what has happened in Pakistan in the name of religion. The one person who has brought about this change is Nadeem Pracha. I salute him. By God your country needs a total awakening before you begin to walk towards progress.

Instead of Rehman Malik, we need to see Islamic scholars come on TV screen every day and issue fatwas against suicide bombings and other acts, like asking stranger women to dress “properly”. Surely if enough religious scholars speak out, we might see a shift in public opinion.

Sad but true. I feel that problem is just not about Pakistan only. It’s about the entire Islamic world. See around and give me one example where Islam peacefully co-exists with other faiths. Wherever it appears so. Its just subjugates the other.

Problem Number one is fundamental : you just cannot synchronize the theories of two millennium back with practicalities of modern times. The world has changed so much.

Conclusion: It’s an internal churning going on in the Islamic society. But there is little hope. Because there is no scope of reformism in Islam. Whoever has dared to do so has been terminated.

Solution : As mentioned above

May I very humbly suggest that Interfaith Harmony would remain unattainable until there is Interfaith Equality. Equality, on the other hand, is bound to remain a fantasy as long as there is a State Religion. As soon as you start talking about a State Religion and involve that religion in legislative matters, you inadvertently open the door to theocracy. The question of “who decides?” comes up. An unending battle for supremacy between interpretations offered by the various.

Denominations, within that faith, ensues. Clergymen of diverse sects, simultaneously begin claiming monopoly over both righteousness, as well as the right to rule. The umbrella of religion ends up being used, or should we say abused to justify and even sanctify all good and evil of the clergy in most cases evil. Since monopoly and equality can not coexist, interfaith harmony is most conveniently sacrificed at the altar of the State Religion.

Jinnah believed that if the constitution of a country could guarantee ” justice, equality and fair-play ” to all its citizens, that constitution, would for all practical purposes, be Islamic in nature. He knew that while the spirit of a religion was generally undisputed, the dogma and apparent tenor remained subject to dispute.

Only a truly Secular State can aspire to achieve any meaningful Interfaith Harmony. A Secular State does not at all signify an atheistic set-up. That would be an incorrect and misleading definition of secularism. Atheism, not Secularism, is the opposite of Religion. A Secular State, by definition, does not defy or deny religion; nor is it anti-religion. A secular state is one that is not interested in the religious identity of the Citizen, and deals with all citizens as “equal citizens of one state” as Jinnah put it. The religion or religious affiliation of an individual thus, is of no relevance to the state and its business. This is the kind of state that was conceived by Quaid-e-Azam.

The historical fact, whether anyone likes it or not, is that Pakistan was not created in the name of Islam. Pakistan was, as a matter of fact, created in pursuance of a secure economic and social future for ALL the inhabitants of the Muslim-majority states of our subcontinent.

Kindest Regards
Nusrat Pasha

One way to test the foreign hand theory is, what is it these foreign hands are after in our Pakistan?
Some countres have natural resources like oil, some are manufacturing power houses, some are financial power houses, some are IT powerhouses, some are automobile power houses, some are electronics powerhouses. One can imagine other countries (foreign hands) go after such powerhouse countries. What is Pakistan a powerhouse of, what’s its claim to fame in terms of world-class exports? What has anybody to gain anything by messing with Pakistan? Also, why would anybody destabilize Pakistan – to what end? What does anybody gain? Who in their right mind would like to take over Pakistan?
Let’s open our eyes that nobody is interested in having their hand in our country except if they feel that the only way to save the world is to help them not be the powerhouse of one thing they actually are – extremism/terrorism.

I always thought writing articles and reading it just a waste of time but my thinking is / was absolutely wrong as I can see people interacting in this way and commenting and observing things right or wrong is really healthy for a nation who is in such a deep trouble. We need to realize and express ourselves not only online but also express our views within friends family and other social gatherings this will increase our awareness of what is happening around us and will help to rise this nation which is very much required. May Allah help us all.

Wow! What a great article! The courage to face up to the truth even when that truth is (literally) blowing up in one’s face is to be respected. So hats off to those Pakistani’s who can see reality for what it is but what you can do about it is another matter! Right now the Pakistani Army has to assert total authority over the country – Waziristan and Swat included – after which the Political process has to bring a strong democratically elected civilian government which calls the shots. After which look to Economic development. There is no country in the world that would not sigh with relief at seeing a strong, stable, progressive and secularly-oriented Pakistan! Secular Law can just as effectively safeguard Islamic values. India and other parts of the world have devout Muslims in their millions thriving (in the main) under a secular dispensation. the Talibs who brainwash and force kidnapped poverty-stricken children to commit suicide while killing innocents are pure unadulterated criminals and should be put down.
May Allah preserve the sane people of Pakistan and give them courage to cope with the madness!

I am an Indian citizen, and I say this with all earnestness: Indians should be banned from commenting here. Whose idea of religion and politics is not very different from anywhere else. These are usually those people whose only idea of human progress is ‘India Shining,’ while much of the country goes hungry, reproduces the most venal kind of politics, and brutally crushes people’s resistance.

Amazing article and amazing attitude from the educated and uneducated Pakistani’s. Sometimes it appears that we are in wonderland. But this ain’t gonna happen. We need to wake up and wake up very soon otherwise all in vain. What actually happening in Pakistan is not real, unbelievable and amazing and what we as people have reaction to it is on top of that, Brazil electricity was shut down for few hours and whole world was aware of this news as breaking news, we stay hours and hours without electricity and no news to us and also we are not ready to come out and protest. We are happy the way things are going, we do not have any basic necessities covered and we are still living like normals. What will our so called elected leader will do if we are not willing to do anything, our senses are getting numb and we don’t feel a pinch mild or strong. Please we need bring change within our selves and get on the path of bring change, we need to talk and express ourselves. Come on nation come on Pakistan rise to the occasion. May Almighty Allah bless our great country.

Sad but true. Hope more people read your article and do some soul searching.

For those that say “root cause is terrorist poverty”, question is – Why does Bangladesh whose people are equally poor if not poorer, not have the same problem?

For people who cynically question, “where does the money come from”, a comment by Senior Superintendent of Police, explains that Karachi has always been a major source of funding for the terrorists: ‘Apart from collecting charity money from mosques, they conducted robberies and kidnapping for ransom, and now we have evidence that the militants also smuggled narcotics, which they sold overseas in the illegal drug market.’

To this add the Jazia collected from non-Muslims and the protection money rackets being conducted from small businessmen in provinces where the writ of the state does not run. Funds are therefore no longer a mystery.

The time for cynically dismissing the TTP as a problem that Pakistan owns and putting the onus on foreigners has gone. The time to support jehad but oppose terror has gone because the men and funds in both these causes are interchangeable.

@ Ghazan Khan – the poorest people in the world will not buy sophisticated weapons. Anyway poverty does not justify mass murder.

By my comments I do not imply that I condone the haram action of anyone committing suicide which is exactly what the suicide bombers are doing. They are also taking the lives of innocent people. Innocent people can be sinners against Allah’s law but they are still innocent until proven guilty of a crime under Allah laws on earth and they are not allowed by Islamic law to be summarily executed in suicide bomb attacks.
Its people like Paracha, the heretics who should not be allowed to try and hijack the moral authority but us the ordinary muslims who should condemn these actions. Because if heretics like him take the lead their ulterior motives will still lead us to our demise because their intentions are not for the sake of Allah’s pleasure but for some self righteous glory.

The article here is very clear look inwards for solutions to problems. We tend to blame the world around us. I am surprised when one of the blogger mentioned India also has issues, true but why benchmark India set your own standards and surpass them because in spite of all the issues India is today a major economic super power.

Many commentators seem to be the products of madrassah here. Does everything has to be seen from the angle of religion. Muslim / non-Muslim. Good Muslim / Bad Muslim. For Muslims / aganst Muslims.

E.g: Taliban can not be called Muslims. But would they be okay if they could be called Christians / Jews or Hindus. NO. They should be judged for their actions and not on the scale of religion. Its time we took religion out of our system and looked at humanity and country’s interest as primary.

It will help.

Hi NFP, I am Indian from western country. First time in my life, I am ever impressed by any Pakistani and that is you. It seems that you and your other supporters are not sleep walking at least.

Earlier, I had very negative picture about people of Pakistan. Few days ago, by mistake I came across Dawn, read your article and now become fan yours & Dawn and now regularly read your article…

You should be leader / minister in Pakistan Govt or at least you should be writing such article in Urdu news paper to wake rest of the Pakistani’s from their sleep walk…You rock…NFP

The article was a good effort to create confusions in the mind of readers which is a good technique used by many i.e. if you can’t change other peoples’ beliefs, create some confusions amongst them and half of your job is done.

Yet another “brilliant” analysis! Yet another opinion that all of us are so hopeless but do you have an answer?

Although, Nadeem realizes and talks about the problem of intolerance and violence in Pakistan as opposed to peaceful coexistence, Nadeem needs to learn to give a more balanced coverage and show the other facts of ground reality too. His articles are generally lopsided and unbalanced and biased in coverage. Why is he silent on important steps needed to bring peace to the country back, educate, moderation and tolerance among religious elements, stop all kind of assassinations, increase security cameras and personnel, beef up law enforcement to suppress bombs/attacks, if every living person within borders, secure the borders against the fanatic and subversive elements and enforce law abiding for the top national leaders. Why total silence on these related areas ????

Dear Nadeem Paracha,

It’s going to take a lot of serious rethinking and a lot of moral courage, to even begin to move in the direction of the beautiful Pakistan that was envisioned by Jinnah.

Our beloved Motherland today stands hostage to Mullaism. The entire nation and state has
been hijacked by the very elements who opposed Quaid-e-Azam tooth and nail throughout the Pakistan movement. His realistic and profoundly wise dream of a secular and forward-looking Pakistan has been brutally sabotaged by successive governments and non-government circles alike. Today, there is murder in the name of Islam. Today there is terrorism in the name of Islam. Today there is kidnapping in the name of Islam. This is what you end up with when you begin to mix up statecraft and religion.

Jinnah’s slogan was : ” let religion be the business of the individual and let
statecraft be the business of the state “. The moment you start talking about a State Religion, the clergy claiming to be custodians of that religion begins to drool. First they seek power then they snatch power. Beneath the garb of Islam, they continue to promote, justify and eventually sanctify their evil deeds. This is what theocracy and Mullaism is all about.

Best Regards
Nusrat Pasha

I love Nadeem Farooq Paracha’s articles and this one is another gem. I think these articles should be made compulsory reads for students in school, college and indeed universities.

“Religion should not be allowed to come into politics. Religion is merely a matter between man and God”,
Like majority of Indians I am in no way denying the sovereignty and freedom of Pakistan today. But can someone please rationalize Jinnah’s above quote and his act of demand for a separate country 1947 which was solely based upon the religion?

well done NFP. Keep it up.

The most important think we(Pakistani) need is now self-criticism & I don’t see any better & brave person then NFP for this difficult job.

Mr. Syed Afaq Anwer- You wrote: “Mujahideen in the whole world will never stop and will never give up until there is implemented God’s Will on Earth as it is in the heavens”
My question to you is: What do these Mujahideen exactly want? Will they keep killing and fighting till billions of Christians, Jews,Hindus etc. accept Islam? Do you want them to believe what you believe in by force? Second question to you, what do you think your religion would be if you were born in west to a family of Jews or Christians?

Well done Nadeem.
The problem is not entirely these taliban but also the ones who hail talibans as our ultimate saviour.

Asar Abbasi shoud read something before commenting on what Islam is.

Whatever TTP is doing cannot be condoned. These Pukhtoon tribes existed for centuries in this part of the world. But how come they started acting like this after the American invasion of Afghanistan. May be the answer lies in understanding the occupation of Afghanistan by foreign forces and Pakistani Government’s support for it.

On 11 August 1947, just 3 days before Pakistan came into existence, Quaid-e-Azam delivered a historical speech before the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. This address is a masterpiece of statesmanship, wisdom, pragmatism and foresight. The depth and vastness of this speech surpasses any speech by any political leader of our subcontinent. In this speech, lies the remedy of all the curses that afflict our dear country today. If anything, the text of this speech deserves to be the Preamble of the Constitution of Pakistan.

A very well written article! Kudos to you like kudos to Mr. Zardari. As Pakistan, I think Zardari is the most courageous person ever to have come to power. Why do I say this? Because it is easy to continue in the fool’s paradise created by the past governments and continue with eyes shut towards the violence perpetrated by agencies and other Pakistani elements in neighboring counties including Afghanistan, Iran & India. But to acknowledge for the first time that Pakistani elements have been involved in planning attacks in neighboring countries and candidly standing up to the past mistakes is the 1st step towards correcting them now. He could have easily continued with the populist agenda of the past governments and not risk his image.

I also strongly think that it will be NO WRONG if Pakistan ‘apologises’ to India for any harm done in the past by these tactics and extends a TRUE hand of friendship. I have no doubt that it will be reciprocated. There is no harm in saying sorry for your mistakes. There should be no ego if a peaceful region is truly desired. Imagine what a combined South Asia can do in the world. Europe has combined. The west is one when it comes to even the slightest harm done to them, then why not us. We are one people, one race – same color, same language, same problems. Ask any overseas person, there can be no true friend that a Pakistani to an Indian, and vice-versa in a sea dominated by racist people.

We as a nation are guilty of shamelessly disregarding the words and the will of the father of the nation. The following words are virtually the words of a dying father “But make no mistake. Pakistan is not a theocracy or anything like it.”[Jinnah, Message to the people of Australia, 19 February 1948]

Kimi says:
” before America was not in this region there was no TTP in Pakistan, no suicide bombing. There was no killing of innocent people.”

That is right. All that was happening in Afghanistan and Kashmir, exported by Pakistan.

People like Kimi are ok as long as others are getting killed, when Taliban start killing Pakistani’s, suddenly the the bad guys are Americans, Israel, India, Afghanistan, Russia, etc and no Muslim can do this.

Where have you been for past 20 years ?

After reading many comments, you can easily understand how perfect Nadeem’s analysis is.
Here also many people blaming outside forces like US,India and Israel.

Some people like Abdul Mazid has gone to an extent of blaming Black Water. Can anybody explain me what problem US and Israel might have with Pakistan when they do share any boundary or any type of dispute with them. Instead US have always helped Pakistan with many things.
Some people blame US for creating Taliban. But it was not US alone who created them Pakistan was an equally guilty party. US want to keep its influence in the region.

US left after 25 years. Was the time not enough for recovery. But it was Pakistan who kept Taliban alive for their own benefit. It was Pakistan who supported Taliban govt. Today’s TTP is just an extension of same Taliban.

We can not keep blaming US for something they did almost 25-30 years back and if happens then whole India and Pakistan should go to UK for revenge. Whole Europe should fight Germany for what Hitler did to them and whole Japan should fight for what US did to them.

Pakistan should come out of denial that it was a mistake to encourage terrorist for their personal use.

It seems that we as society have our daggers drawn at each other. There is no doubt that so called TTP (mostly illiterate young zealots) is one of the major causes of mayhem in our society. However without going into details of who actually was responsible for nurturing those people I would like to emphasize that there is nothing wrong with religious symbols such as Hijab or Beard. Criticizing these things which are symbols and not true depiction of your thoughts, beliefs or motives, would certainly bring even more Mayhem rather than relief. Mr. Paracha certainly wants to criticize society but I’m afraid instead of convincing people to rethink their planned acts he is alienating everyone by using words such as pathetic. Even the topic of the article is quite appalling. Maybe he will be more careful in his next article as criticism is easy but guiding people on the right path is difficult. But that’s the approach we all should adopt if we want to bring a positive change in our society.

Weird direction taken by Mr. Nadeem, as usual. When will this guy stop misinterpreting Islam. I guess never.

This is not a matter of just few months or years. Its a matter of a half century. It is the nation who voted these people who are not capable to enough to run this country. And the country is being bounced in the same hands again and again one after the other. We lack a true leadership. Who can speak up and protest like India did in Bombay attacks. If we would have to mend ourselves, these people are among us and they cant do anything if our people don’t support them. All the factors like poverty, lack of education and development result in the indulging of peoplel in such activities. Unless these factors are got rid of. It will go on like this and may b even more.

Good article. And judging by the posts no we aren’t going to wake up.

“Pakistanis routinely continue to deny the fact that the monsters who are behind all the faithful barbarism that is cutting this country into bits are the mutant product of what our governments, military, intelligence agencies, and society as a whole have been up to in the past 30 years or so.”

You said it all NFP!
Pakistanis simply can’t let go of the blame-America indulgence which is the most convenient thing to do over every thing.

An insightful article, very impressive and very brave. I hope the Mullah Terrorist nexus will fall and bring peace to your land and the world. Thank you for asking Pakistani’s to wake up and march toward progress.

Taliban are the poorest people on the earth. They fight the war between the haves and have not. Americans instead of helping Pakistan with aid they should spend this money on Taliban. When these poorest people become rich with dollars in their pockets they will think one thousand time before blasting their selves. They would prefer to enjoy the pleasures of life over guns and battles. But unless and until they remain without foods, clothes and shoes they will fight.

A masterpiece article. Hat’s off to you

Religion should not be allowed to come into politics. Religion is merely a matter between man and God”. [Jinnah, address to Central Legislative Assembly, 7 February 1935]

What an enlightened man Jinnah was. Why his thought are not shown to the nation on electronic media.

I will be very proud that day, when a Pakistani woman will be the commander of a space shuttle and bring it safely back to earth.
If on the same day her sister will receive a noble-prize in medicine or natural science or economics I will be even prouder.
Please let the girls go to school and prevent them from being attacked with acid in their faces.
This attacks are not from CIA, not Mossad not Germen secret service or whatever people might think.
Peace to the world.

I was one of the protesters in the rally. We had slogans against the KL bill mainly because we think its basically American who has created the TTP. And again they are the one who created the KL bill for which we have many objection’s and reservations and many people here said that religion and politics should be apart. I guess they shouldn’t. We as Muslims take all of our teachings form prophet Muhammad (PHUH) in every aspect of his life, even as the head of the state all of his actions were according to Islam. Many Indians here said that where we are and see where you are left. The answer is we had some of the most pathetic, most corrupt rulers ever in the modern history. I have visited many countries basically people there don’t care about who’s governing them mainly cause they get most of their daily living needs so they don’t need to care about who there at the top. But here in Pakistan we have bulk of problems everywhere, in every sector of life. I guess that’s the main reason of our much more interest in the politics. Someone said that people point their fingers towards America. that’s right. because they know that before America was not in this region there was no TTP in Pakistan, no suicide bombing. There was no killing of innocent people. I am not saying that its all due to America or any foreign country but they do play some part. offcourse they didn’t came here only to give Afghanistan democracy, they r not so kindhearted, not so innocent. Its not as simple as they say.

The root of the problem lies in our system, in our politicians, in the corruption we have, the lack of governance and commitment in our leaders.
long live Pakistan and Allah bless Pakistan

Right said NFP as always. I am you biggest fan

I hope the fate that befell other fascist societies will not happen to Pakistan.
It would be dreadful if, like Italy, Germany, and Japan, neighbors gang up and go to war to attack the fascists and fanatics directly. After running out of patience with the sleep walking Pakistani Government

Perhaps the nation would like to reflect over these profound words of its founder Jinnah : “Religion should not be allowed to come into politics. Religion is merely a matter between man and God”. [Jinnah, address to Central Legislative Assembly, 7 February 1935]

Religion and state affairs must be separated from each other.

You are right but the question still remains who is funding these Taliban? yes they are wrong but the people funding should be uncovered as well. If you have so much insight on the events you must also know who is funding these terrorists.

The article has one basic flaw – it equates these barbaric people of TTP with a religion. NO.

Such people have been around and were around earlier. Most should have been in mental hospitals or jails, but were instead “shown the light” by misguiders.

The misguiding revolutionaries have used religion, race and want other things. TTP has used religion.

The issue is Pakistani civil society seems not to care. It if did, the streets would be full the entire last week demanding an end to the daily bombings. To the blasts. To answers on what is the military trying to do “strategically”? Will it end the cancer or is it a surgery of a body part – S.Waziristan – to improve their hold on their “good” taliban?

Till civil society does not have guts to walk on the streets, nothing shall change.

A masterpiece article. Hat’s off, NFP saheb.

So wonderfully written. It gives hope that all is not lost in Pakistan and there are level headed intellectuals in the country who can think daringly & differently.

To blame everything about the religion is not the solution, what need to be understood is that the religion, how so far good is a matter of personal choice and practice and cannot be used as a means of governance.

Sharat – India

It’s funny seeing the reactions of some Indians here who seen to be under the impression that they aren’t facing insurgency or social problems. I ask our media for openly discussing these things. Like most Pakistani’s, I am alarmed and upset by the current scourge of violent terrorist attacks. But we are still very much proud to be Pakistani and proud of the legacy of Jinnah Saab and the founders of this great nation. We must tackle the militancy and support the Armed Forces. Here in Peshawar, things have gotten bad. But we still go about our lives after brushing off the dust from our shoulders. Pakistan is the greatest and most resilient nation in the world. We must unite against all our enemies. TTP is a foreign funded anti Pakistan group. It has nothing to do with Islam. Pakistan Zindabad. Long live Armed Forces, long live Jinnah Saab’s Pakistan.

Good article. Other day I called a friend in Pakistan he asked is kerry logan bill going to be approved?. I had no idea what was kl bill he said common man everyone in Pakistan is talking about it. Then i called another friend to catch up with him he also asked about kl bill. I live in Texas I do not know what is the name of any senator from Texas. Other day i went inside a gas station and the person behind me in que was the mayor of my city. Pakistani cashier at the gas station told me so but no one else seemed to have noticed who he was. In Pakistan we are too much into politics. Why don’t we leave the politics to politicians and rest of us do our jobs like students study. When I visit Pakistan in every gathering there is only one topic. Politics. Pakistani society is so politicized that political views play part in who are our friends, who do we hangout with and sometimes even who we marry.
The writer is accurate to say nation of sleepwalkers ,we have one of highest rate of infant deaths, our education system is in ruins we have no health care. Yet we want to bring khilafat back and convert the rest of the world into Islam.

I couldn’t agree more with the article but I think the majority of the blame lies on the shoulders of these so called anchors who are definitely working on a specific agenda and for me that is to demoralize the people of Pakistan to an extent that they them self would start asking dismemberment of the country.

I have spoken to a number of people of Swat about their conditions after operation and almost 90% of them have expressed their gratitude towards the armed forces but strangely I haven’t seen a single news channel giving their prestigious space to such low lives.

To Muhammad Ali Khan Niazi,

Your comments about Zia ul Haq make me sick. It is really sad that people like you still think that he did something good. He was behind the creation the sectarian movement sipah e sahaba that created hell in our country.

Your comment about Afghanistan is totally wrong. In fact, it was the question of American supremacy in the region and to keep the Russians away from having another access to the sea. The whole West got together and aided massively Pakistan to cater the needs of refugees and to train mujahideen. Mujahideen is the older version of Taliban. They were trained by Pakistani forces and the agencies. You cannot hide these facts.

Wonderful thought Mr. NFP. Every time, a new article from you also tells me that you are still alive. God bless you…

The problem in Pakistan lays on the system governed by Islam. This is present in most Islamic countries. See Somalia, part of Nigeria, Algeria, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq etc… Read the Holy Quran and in Arabic please and you will see everything you have to see. I know most of you haven’t read and understand the Holy Quran completely. and please do ask questions even if its forbidden.
India and Pakistan got their independence at the same time. See India today and see Pakistan. The second richest man in India is a Muslim and he is richer than the top 10 richest man in Pakistan. Constitutional differences: India choose to serve its people while Pakistan choose to serve Allah. Pakistan, please start to love all human beings equally and you will see that goodness is only a breath away.

Nadeem,
The present condition of our nation is consequence of how our generations have been treated. The vast difference in social status and educational system (of course, backbone of any society) has divided us in many parts. Why our govt has not educated these fundamentalists, apologists or whatever you call them? Our society is bipolar since the birth of this country, scholars and molvies, confronting with each other. External forces are playing their role in disintegrating our society by manipulating our own people. To the rulers, Nation is like a child who is taken care and brought up very carefully. There should be made vital changes in educational, social and economic system to make the nation march in one direction as a single unit. this is an illusion till the people friendly leadership sits in the house.

I am just wondering how there could ever be peace between Pakistan and India

a) Pakistan is a Muslim country which considers all other religions as lower. India is a secular country which cannot promote Hinduism

b) India does not want to give away Kashmir, because it wants Hindus and Muslims to live peacefully with each other. Pakistan wants Kashmir solely on the basis of religion

c)The Taliban or the passionate Muslims within Pakistan, want to Islam to spread in whole India. I am not sure Indians would agree with this plan.

So based on points a), b) and c), it is anybody’s guess that two countries based on two totally differing concepts wants to live and peace with each other?

Firstly, I am a Canadian and while I have an interest in Pakistan and her future I am not an expert on your country. Nonetheless, I offer the following comments and apologize in advance if any of them give offence.

Nadeem, I think you are mostly correct, as are a fair number of those commenting.

However, I would go further. On religion – Regardless of what faith – humans must accept only the things from their religion that are obviously good, just and kind. They must reject everything that is hateful, hurtful and can be interpreted in any way that gives rise to ungood, unjust and unkind actions – even if those interpretations are seen as being misinterpretations by others in the faith.

In other words – every human – must use their religion as a guideline not a goal post. If we give up rational just thought and delegate it to any book or teacher – no matter how well intentioned that teacher may be – we set our self up for failure.

Development, progress, liberty and freedom all come from the minds of rational thinking humans – not humans that derive their thought from reciting phrases from thousands of year old texts written by illiterate, tribal, ignorant, foolish people.

This obviously applies to all religions.

Peace, and may Pakistan prosper.

I am totally in consonance with Ullas views and am 100%confident that what we are reaping today was sown by Gen.Zia in 80s.

Zia’s plans to prolong his illegitimate rule made him crazy to interfere in Afghanistan and to invite US and her allies to the region at the cost of our country sovereignty and security. Though he got retribution of his evils but we as a nation are still suffering.

There is a world of difference between getting a ‘qualification’ and ‘education’.

By the way, you sound more and more like an American and Indian these days.

I commend NFP for his thoughtful articulation of the problems facing Pakistan. It is high time that the intellectuals, educationists, leaders in politics as well in religions, stand up and speak loud and clear to the terrorists in the nation and outside the nation. Tell them that Islam does not condone their thoughts and acts. What they are doing is criminal and anti Islamic. Let the nation stand united with one voice that Islam is religion of peace and rejects any notion of violence and terror regardless of justifications. Let the madrasas of the nation teach young minds respect for life, care for others and acceptance of diversity. After all they are part of this diverse world and must learn to coexist. The time is running out for muslims to recapture their respect and dignity among people of the world.

In India, we have similar feelings towards Pakistan.

After going though the posts it only strengthen the opinion.

Pakistan is a minimum of 20 years away from solution. The problem had just started.

Regards

Its high time we Muslims start looking at ourselves more clearly.

Agreed that 99% of the Muslims today are not terrorists, But 99% of the terrorists today are Muslims.

Dear Mr. Paracha, once again u continue to disappoint us with your Articles.
First of all the students were not pelting stones on Police but rather at Mr.Rehman Malik and it was rightly so for no security for students and people in Pakistan but the elite of our so called democratic System, enjoy greater Security Webs, additional personnel, cars ad so on Just answer this question .

” Are their Lives more superior than any of those who have died cause of security negligence?”. If yes then carry on writing or Vice Versa get some sense in it and start being a PAKI for Once
May ALLAH guide us all to the true path

So true. When will we recognize the real threat to our sovereignty and country?

I don’t blame the students for pelting the stones, what do you expect from people who just saw their colleagues die in front of their eyes? Its bound to drive anyone into hysteria.

Hello,
As a Muslim from India, reading NFP, and watching the goings on in the land of the pure and the reaction to them from ordinary Pakistani’s, it seems to me the only solution that will halt Pakistan’s accelerating sprint towards self-destruction is ending any kind of madrassah education forthwith for everyone between the ages of 8 and 80.

If Pakistani’s work up the courage to do this they will be back to being an ordinary run-of-the mill nation like the rest of us.

Diversion of attention is a big tactic being used by our politicians/governments in the past in order to achieve their gains.

There is a perception that government wants to divert the attention of public from KL Bill by the suicide attacks… And “may be” our agencies are involved in all this!!

No wonder, the timing of KL Bill issue and Series of Suicide Blasts matches!!

I have no idea how much truth lies in this fact but the history of our governments leads us to consider this possibility at least.

Malik Akif

Absolutely true. I once again suggest that you should tap the power of electronic media and let your sane voice heard to millions. It would be a favor to millions like me

Current situation is the beginning of the end of Gen Zia’s era and what him and his cronies rammed down the minds and hearts of Pakistani’s. Other nations involved or prompted the Gen to perpetrate an ideology into Pakistani’s might have realized their mistakes like Pakistan’s middle class does today but still there is a supply line which needs to be cut-off. Pakistani’s must focus inwardly to change themselves to force the change in the outer world which, according to some of them, support terrorists for vested interest.
A change of mindset, which has started happening, would absolutely change agencies and institutions to match people’s requirements.
Media has to continue playing their role in nurturing this change.

You are right NFP that there are people who think that ‘no Muslim is capable of inflicting such acts of barbarity.’ Long time back I believed in this as well. But alas our people still believe in this even after the Pakistan Army has found in a raid in SW just few days ago paper and passports liking to the people 9/11 attackers. It’s high time we point the finger on ourselves. It is the Muslims causing the unrest in the world.

@ Ullas
The capable Army that we have today is because of Gen. Zia-Ul-Haq. I know there are some mistakes he made, e.g. the education system disaster, but most of his decisions were good and very intelligent. Taliban was a necessary evil, Pakistan would have been destroyed if Afghanistan had fallen. So try and look at the bigger picture, he was a good leader. Ask any average poor man, he would tell you that in Zia’s time his family would at least go to bed with a full stomach. We are quick to blame Zia because he was a dictator.

Is any body listening to you Nadeem. The whole world reads your blogs out side Pakistan and appreciate your views and look at points made by you with concern.
But my question is why more and more educated people in Pakistan don’t seems to either understand or care?
Mr Paracha, keep on the crusade to save Pakistan and shake every Pakistani to wake up from this awful dream where India/ Israel / USA are out there to destroy them.

I started reading the article and then after few lines realized “My God I know who has written it” and sure enough was not disappointed Mr. NFP. I don’t know why every one is so adamant to call these people Muslims anyway. They are pure and simple criminals and Terrorist nothing else and as for theory about raw/mausad etc, well they are getting resources from somewhere aren’t they or do you think these guns,explosives grow on trees.
As for the kids throwing stones. It’s the same kind of stone throwing one does when a loved one dies on operating table and we rant against the doctor who was operating. I think even you would want to throw stones in angry frustration when you see someone close to you dying in front of you.
So please think (sensitively) before looking down on people. After all every body is not as perfect as you.

People here in this country on one hand favour ideas of obscurants and take pride on them as their national heroes but on the other hand show concerns on the consequences being brought by teachings of these extremist and obscurant ideologists.

Great effort done by NFP. You have exposed people supporting these fascists in the robe of religion.

Great article. I was wondering if any scribe in Pakistan will have the guts to write the obvious. It shows you truly care for your country.
Amazing how much damage self serving army generals and deluded politicians can do to a country over a few decades.
Every country goes though this at some time in its history. It is unfortunate that Pakistan is having going through this in the 21st century versus standing shoulder to shoulder with India as an emerging power.

As a separate but related thought, I ask all reader if European countries that have fought 2 world wars can form a Union, why not India and Pakistan. I have many Pakistani friends and we enjoy each others company so much. I guess it takes reasonable people to do that and there is a definite shortage on both sides of the border. I’m hopeful though.
Keep up the good work!!

Not only common people are divided and confused, Law enforcement agencies also have no clue and direction about the situation. As far as I know, out of thousands of terrorists, who were held during last few months, none have been charged and brought before court of law.

Its amazing to see how blind Mr. Paracha has become in his rebellion to religion and God. Why does he not blame our leaders who are being dictated by the others and are the most corrupt and irresponsible people in the world. Cant u see what is driving these people to do what they are doing? The way they are being pursued and killed, do you expect flowers from them in return? We want them to stop their terrorism, but who is gonna stop our own terrorism ? Are they not human beings themselves or are they just ‘barbarians’? It is a pity what you have become Mr. Paracha and on the day of judgement you will bear the burden of all those you are misleading through your ‘intellectual’ articles. Islam is a religion of justice and just because some people are misunderstanding or misusing it, doesn’t mean that it is wrong itself, and you have no right to make fun of it like that. Try reading the Holy Quran yourself and try connecting with God for once. You will realize that you can never run away from your creator and when you will die you will be presented before him for judgement. His laws are just and true and their application in the true spirit will only bring us more peace. The application of sharia is the only solution to Pakistan’s problems- there’ no doubt about that. May Allah guide us all to what is true and right.

“Nation of sleepwalkers” couldn’t agree more. The first step is to identify the problem but where do you go from there? The greatest disappointment comes from the ‘educated’ people, who are sympathizers. If education isn’t doing the trick, how do you wake up a country? If logic isn’t good enough to change a persons opinion, where do you go and what do you do?

My friend there is no type of ” Merciless Servants Of God “. There was a time when this problem was with the Jews, then came Christianity who broke all records against other denominations now the final assault is from our brothers Muslims. I think we all need to understand that killing the human race in the name of Allah is wrong, Its HE who himself created us as helpers of each other.

Mr. Paracha I dont think u have any idea about human psychology. apparently you need to widen your horizon and not under estimate human emotions and over estimate religious emotions. You seem to ignore all social injustices by the ruling elite and look at the things via tunnel vision. kindly stop thinking like a moderate fascist. Its not about hoor’s of paradise everytime.

“Every time the barbarians set themselves off taking innocent men, women, and children with them, these apologists suddenly emerge explaining the intricate ‘ socioeconomic problems ’ that are turning men into terrorists.”

Sounds as though you are describing Washington and the mainstream American Media. I was hoping we were the only ones so deluded. My condolences to Pakistan.

It is heartening to see so many people recognizing the truth of NFP’s statements. Ofcourse some of the responses are really surprising.

For years Pakistani people have been fed with false stories like Foreign hand is involved in every terrorist act in the country. This mysterious foreign hand never comes to light , so every Pakistani can once in their lives see it. Unfortunately its a simple way of denial and live in fantasy world that nothing is wrong within Pakistan, every evil has to come from foreign soil. Pakistan army is fighting Taliban’s every day and number of soldiers are martyred every day yet the propaganda machine of Pakistani turn their face to the other side when told look your army is fighting an enemy within the country not from outside, but they this nation Taliban’s are not involved in this terrorism, suicide attacks, fight with Pakistani army its got to be others.

Obsession with national pride and security are enviable traits. What is wrong is lack of justice in the society. Basic requirement is education and freedom of expression in every segment of society. Unless we realize the right of every religious group for freedom of practice and profession of their faith we will not be able to contain the present situation. Those who think that present military offensive is the solution to our misfortune are grossly mistaken. Aftermath will be even worst.

I also saw this video in which students were throwing stones, and I saw the complete picture! The next day of this attack on Islamic University, internal minister Mr. Rahman visited the university. He had of course a huge number of security people and cars around him. Students were angry at our government and were throwing stones at the minister for his governance.

Please don’t make our youth look so ignorant. They’re looking forward to a revolution and want to get rid of the corrupt politicians. But how is it possible for you to see that youth which is tolerant, intelligent, visionary, and ready to face reality?

Dear Paracha,

Bang on article. But I see the same kind of penchant for denial from Indian Muslims as well.

Now My question is “Is there anything structural about Islam religion which leads to this denial. Something like if one mistake is admitted, the whole religion will collapse or something?.

Would like you to write a piece of the root cause of this denial mentality.

Regards

Naveen
Bangalore

When it comes to Islam, it seems like people close their eyes in Pakistan. What the media spoon feeds us is the lie, its just what they want to hear. Like the kerry luger reference, maybe people haven’t heard this phrase but “beggars cant be choosers”. I love this article, its truthful and smacks some sense into a thinking head.

Thumbs up Mr. Nadeem, people like you need to be cloned and planted into all four corners of this beloved nation.

Dear Mr.Paracha:

Once again an excellent article exposing the real state of affairs in the land of the “purest”. I definitely agree with you that once we stop playing the blame game of involving Moosad, Raw, CIA, KGB etc. things will definitely take a positive turn.

Paracha you definitely rock !!!!!!!

A sensible article. Truly, you have explained the state of Pakistan and Pakistani’s in the real sense. Hats Off to you.

I would really like to question where these “TALIBAN” are getting their arsenal to fight the Pakistani security forces from?. We all seem to understand that they were supplied weaponry by our previous governments & agencies but now I ask who is helping them fight one of the region’s most organized armies. I do agree that Pakistani’s have to come to terms with the fanaticism that lies within our every day culture and our limitations are sometimes drawn from our misunderstanding our faith. But I do believe that such acts of terror cannot happen without an organized effort which is well funded and has a decided agenda of destabilizing Pakistan.

There is no logic for our agencies to continue funding them and providing these TALIBAN arsenal to fight them. Where as these TALIBAN have grown stronger over the last year and challenged our agencies and we are unable to understand the source of funding and the design of these mercenaries who have no religion or faith but follow an agenda for a price. These forces within Pakistan are following an agenda to create differences between our ethnic communities and cripple our economy. Our ever changing governments who are always trying to pass some sort of NRO are avoiding the basic issues of power and sugar are continuing to hide and not face real challenges let alone provide guidance to the 180 million people of the country.
Pakistani’s need to face their own challenges and start from themselves by beginning to questions their own ethical and religious stands. Do we pay taxes?, Do we pay our electricity bills?, Do we not discriminate among the ethnicity in Pakistan?

Great nations emerge when their leaders have the right vision and their people are honest. I hope and pray for Pakistani’s to start looking within and correct themselves and slowly this will turn into a revolution of change and Pakistan will emerge.

This country is destroyed by Mullah and Military. If you say anything about Islam (discuss) then you are a Infidel. If you say anything about the Military then you are Anti Pakistan (Ghaddar).

This article, and the majority of responses from Pakistani’s, can be be likened to the first eyelid flicker of a person regaining consciousness.

There are strong, able hands, eager to lift you up but it’s up to you to reach out.

Finally a good article.

I am an Indian and feel proud of my country. Can a Pakistani say the same about his country? No is the only answer. And I will tell you why even though both countries got independence together. Education. That’s the way forward.

Agree with you 100% we need more moderate Pakistani’s like you.

Great article I agree 100% with you. Pakistani’s must wake up and realize that Pakistan’s enemy is not India or USA but it is our so called Muslim brothers “TALIBAN”. Our nation should wake up and finish all these Taliban.

For me it’s a great relief knowing that some people like yourself Nadeem are sensible in Pakistan. Good on you!
as per Faiz Ahmad Faiz
“Hum perwarish e loh o kalam kertay rahain gay”

I wont call you article brilliant because the points you highlight are obvious to any average minded person anywhere in the world but Pakistan.

You mention “educated” students etc behaving irrationally and denying the obvious but you overlook the fact that the standard of education in Pakistan leaves a lot to be desired.
I was amazed to see prominent religious leaders defending the antics of Lal Masjid clergy and portraying them as victims. The fact that Lal Masjid students were vandalizing music shops for months and the occupants of the mosque were armed with such heavy armaments that it took Pakistani commandos days to dislodge them was conveniently forgotten by these people.
I suppose they felt they were “defending Islam” by shamelessly telling blatant lies.

They seem oblivious to the fact that the Pakistani Army is fighting a war with heavily armed militia known as Taliban in Swat and South Waziristan.

Why would a Superpower like USA have to resort to pathetic suicide bombings to destabilize a destitute country like Pakistan when they could eliminate the country within days if they were that way inclined.

Very insightful and thought provoking , provides food for thought not only to Pakistani’s but also the rest of the Muslims around the world who are sleepwalking.
Good to know such clarity exists in Pakistan, there is hope.

May the waking up be a quick one.

There should have been more professionalism and less emotionalism when discussing such a sensitive issue. I agree that the people need to mobilize and fight the causes of extremism in our societies.

Until the government becomes transparent and has the resources to conduct thorough investigations into these attacks there will continue to be confusion as to who is behind them. Agencies have been active in Pakistan in the past, how can we prove or deny their role today without clear evidence?. In any case Pakistan needs to seriously strengthen its counter-terrorism apparatus against anyone who tries to bring instability into this country.

Murali

Please be more concerned about what is happening to India. Stop be worrying about Pakistan. Let Pakistani’s sort out their own problems. We are better off without India. I reached to this conclusion after visiting India last year.

Mujahideen in the whole world will never stop and will never give up until there is implemented God’s Will on Earth as it is in the heavens. Truth shall reign and falsehood shall perish. May Allah help and protect us from enemies of Islam.

Mr.Nadeem, you have a good name but you speak in the same tone as local & international presidents. Open your eyes and repent!!

Peace be upon he who follows the Guidance.

Wow. Excellent article I ever come across. Last 8 years are the golden years in this 21st century. Only few countries missed to take the opportunity. They are Iraq, Afghan and unfortunately Pakistan in our region. Pakistan missed just because they are in illusion. Rather than improving economic position of poor, the government did something else which resulted in poor eduction, Poor people, unemployment etc. The final result of all these aspects is Taliban.

I think all the baseless and useless urge to believe in the most simple conspiracy theories is based on the fact that our people have way too much time on there hands. Especially our youth. If we had a better economy where our national work force would be fully employed then such scenarios would not be there. Ignorance is always stronger where there is abundant poverty. Our top priority should be to Create jobs, jobs and more jobs. Our armed forces are dealing with this menace and they will defeat it InshAllah.

Hi Nadeem,
How are you so sure that our neighbors are not planting the bombs in these attacks? Our Home Minister clearly said that who is behind every attack, Please read the newspaper daily.

I hope Pakistani’s will find a way out of this nightmare. I too have read and heard this again and again – ‘they are not muslims’.
If they are not muslims then what is the problem in finishing them?

Great analysis – We are really a nation of delusional sleep walkers. Very well written.

Excellent article.

I hope Pakistani people understand the true enemy before it is too late..

Mr. Nadeem Paracha, If you stop writing such articles the world would be a much better place, I can say 90% of Pakistani’s will celebrate if you stop giving your point of views.

Actually the students were stoning Rehman Malik and his security entourage. A well known show host played the footage on his show. Stop hiding what happened and try sticking to the truth for a change, you only expose yourself as a pseudo writer.

These days, the population of INDIA (Hindustan / Bhaharat) is approaching approximately 1.2-billion people.

Now, if supposing un-partitioned, pre August 14th, 1947, INDIAN subcontinent.

Juxtaposing, approximately, the Muslim majority populations of Pakistan (180-million) and Bangladesh (220-million).

Nowadays, the combined population of the Indian Subcontinent would be approximately 1.6-billion (1,600,000,000) people; give or take a few Talibans (Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, other mischief making groups).

Let’s do the math.

Supposing:

Out of the 1.6-billion population of the Subcontinent, in this scenario, the “Muslim” population will be approximately 600-million (600,000,000 MUSLIMS)!

Approximately close to 40% MUSLIMS!

Obviously, there will be struggles by the indigenous groups for the corresponding geo, socio, theosophical, economic political PARITY in all its manifestations, within the undivided territories!

Under these PROJECTIONS, through socio-economic interactions including inter-marriages, other composite factors, and conversions of masses of Hindus and other sects into ISLAM, the portrait of the INDIA, by now, in present times, might very well be a decisively substantial muslim majority India on the Subcontinent !

at 63% MUSLIMS!
at 32% HINDUS.
at 05% OTHERS.

VERY INTERESTING!

INDEED!

Thank you for being honest and pointing towards the real issues of our country. As a Pakistani it’s a shame to see our politicians, civil society, educators and mullah’s (hypocrites)etc silent over the situation. Even when they condemn these events it’s no different than one of their political statement with an attempt to buy a few more votes. Can someone ask Asma Jhangir where she is now? She was very visible against Musharaf and against Aafia case but when it comes to these fanatics she goes silent. How can people like us go to sleep at night when we know who is behind killing these thousands of innocent people. Even in our media we have people who try to defend these fanatics? I think we should only try to become humans first. Religion should come after we have established a true identity as humans.

What happened to those teaching (Rights of Allah and Rights of people). Where are those rights now? It should remain between the person and God and he is the only one with right of punishment or reward. Some bearded molvi’s (regardless of the length of his beard or the weight of his turban) can never be allowed to enforce their form of Islam on anyone.
Keep writing brother and you will find like minded people that can one day get together and get rid of these peoples from our societies.

Super Stuff NFP. I am new to Dawn Blogs, the more I read, the more I get fascinated by columnists like you. A very hard hitting article. You have shown that the world needs more of level headed action oriented men than mere onlookers. There is absolutely no justification for killing of innocent people. Unfortunately, commoners like us normally react a tad too fast based on what the media & the establishment feed us. History is there for us to learn from the mistakes that were committed and not to commit fresh ones in the name of the ones earlier committed.

Manish

An utterly true and intellectually honest analysis. Pen is more powerful than weapons. May Almighty give all power to your pen. Acceptance of truth and past mistakes is the starting point for betterment of the situation. Acceptance of the truth is no dishonor. On the other hand it is liberation. Truth liberates and untruth enslaves. The Choice is obvious.

What an accurate analysis of Pakistani psyche. Growing up in Pakistan, I also had typical Pakistani mentality. Everything was a conspiracy by some “foreign hands”. However, when I was able to emotionally detach myself from Pakistan after moving to the USA, I realized that all Pakistani wounds are self inflicted!

Take it easy Mr. Paracha. I am sorry to say the disdain you have shown in the article towards the so-called nation of 150 million people tells nothing more than that how disgusted you are with this lot. To me you sound as intolerant as the extremists you blame for the state of affairs we are faced with today. In terms of attitude I see no difference between those who are committing such terrible crimes against humanity and those who claiming to be on the other side of the divide. Both the people want to see each others face. No conflict on earth can be resolved unless both the parties start listening to each other – not talking at each other.

Is there any forum / society who is actively doing something like processions, seminars against these literate illiterate supporters of Talibans?

How can we show them that we have power n vision better than them?

Mr Paracha writes, and a hundred Indian appears, pat him on the back, and drawl about ‘failed state’ and ‘flawed partition’. No matter how bad things are today, we are many times better off than when we were with India. Look at Gujarat, look at Indian Muslims in general. The fact that they find NFP so interesting robs his arguments of any weight in my books. Because, in the end of the day, the ‘Taliban’ are little more than opportunists, mostly adventurers pirating a trademark, a passing phase. We survived much worse. Most Pakistani Taliban have nothing to do the Afghan Talibs, and half the time they are at cross-purposes. The Swat Talibs were not even Talibs to begin with. As one can see the situation is as clear as mud, and our media don’t help clarify things. The only thing people have to go by are the rules of thumbs which have seen them through so far. We know we would not be in this mess if it were not for the establishment looking for ways to con money. We know we are unsafe while the police, CID, MI, ISI, IB FIA etc are all safe guarding the Establishment. We know that things are going to get much worse. So why shouldn’t people be angry with government, the army and the police. As for the Talibs as long as foreign hands are next door, it will be hard to mobilize against them. After that, they wont last very long.

NFP,

I wonder how careful you are not to get yourself harmed for writing such bold and insightful articles.

For the one questioning where Pakistani Taliban’s resource come from?. Millions of dollars worth of drugs are sold by Taliban every year. Do they need any other source?

What about local taxes they impose, what about extortion? All are sources of money. But most importantly, what about all the charity money that comes from others and Pakistani’s themselves.

I think Pakistan does not have a monopoly over thoughtless acts. There are far serious problems the world faces. Of course Pakistan faces a more urgent one. The confusion among her people is only understandable.

“Two things are infinite: the universe and human error; and I’m not sure about the the universe.”

Well, your analysis is incomplete if not profoundly mislead. When people of Pakistan claim that agencies etc. are responsible, they never disagree it is the taliban who are formulating the current chaos in the country. It the roots of these groups that they are pointing at. If you indeed attack the root, you shall get some results. Everyone agrees that the taliban in Pakistan are destroying civil order just to weaken the link between the state, the army and the population, as if it needed more distance considering how much corruption we already have.

You being a sensible man, as I perceive you are right to point out that extremist following of a religion that in itself state that “No compulsion” and “intention matters” is absurd. But are you unaware of the fact that the people ruining the name of the religion and doing all this are not the major problem. The fascist backing them and funding them are. Don’t you see the money trail and how it leads to our enemies now making us fight amongst ourselves not obvious to you ?

Indeed you are just one of those liberal modest muslim who intend to think they see the world in the new light, though all you point out is the facade, not the truth behind the curtain.

Nice critic a news paper like this is needed in a country with problems.

If we just look back and see how Pakistan formed we can understand the reason for this. Pakistan was a by product of a people who shared power during the period British left India, while both Congress and Muslim League fought for freedom the idea of Pakistan was non existing until last few years. Jinnah knew he could never become a PM because Hindus would never vote for a muslim man and the country divided if it was a region divided there would have been no problem but people are divided on the basis of religion. If it was muslim interest he could have got safe guards placed for minorities within the constitution. At last this made Pakistani’s at large to prove that they have best interests of muslims, they have to be muslim country without which there is a identity crisis. This lead to a self destructive behavior, while we have our own set of self destructive people both hindu and muslim but people at large don’t share the same ideology.

Don’t we already know the answers to the points you are raising?

When the local land lords keep education away from their constituencies on purpose just so masses work at their fields, continue to work there after many generations.

I am saying again we have been lied to in our schools when we were told why we struggled for a separate country.

The sinister plan behind the partition was for the landlords to keep their lands some how and they did not see that happening in the new India therefore they opted for Pakistan.

This country was formed to serve the few. What the is a Kerry Lugar Bill? Just a shot a keeping military away from civilian affairs and we think it is matter of our sovereignty.

Bravo, a brilliant analysis of the situation. Instead of sleepwalkers call them hypnotized by illiterate Mullas. They must be taught that Jehad is not only to kill those who do not agree with your Islamic views, it entails other things such as jehad for literacy, for agriculture, plantation of trees, for building the land where you live and and and.
Having long hair and uncontrolled beard is not Islam. Teach these brain washed people the very ideology of Islam.

I can only wish that from this mayhem, the Pakistani middle class and the civil society will wake up to protect their country, against the people and the barbarians who are insulting the meaning of the word ‘Talib’ and pushing the country to peril.

Nadeem, at any rate there does not seem to be a way out for pakistani’s. Current population can be helped to get better and as Hillary said, yes there can be nothing that can stop Pakistan’s growth. Pakistan’s growth is limited by the religious minds of its significant majority.

Everytime there is bomb blast, a civilised society attempts to see a root cause but looks like this country sees sinister designs. Thats exactly where the real problem stems from. Somebody said honesty and acceptance are vital for progress. Yes- does Pakistan have guts to say honesty and humanity are greater than religion and that religion can mislead people? Every religion has made progress and readapted itself including Islam in some developed states like Malaysia. Acceptance of mistakes is fundamental for progress but can Pakistan do it? It has no role models.

Every event has a time line, including the students pelting stones at the police.

Millions upon millions of ordinary tolerant secular Muslims remained in India, while considerably fewer fled to the Land of the Pure.

As Maulana Azad once asked “Does this mean the rest of the world is impure?

So, isn’t the current situation entirely predictable if we look at the trajectory of Pakistan’s national history?

An entire generation of Pakistani’s have been brain washed by Maulvi’s and Hindu-hating.

Unethical means serve unethical ends.

However the ordinary people of Pakistan can still triumph, even though they have been misused and abused by their own leaders.

Nadeem, U need to Tweet on regular basis. Please.

Owais- “Please write about something else for a change.”

Yes, Paracha, please write about more important issues faced by Pakistani’s, such as Meera’s torrid love affairs and of course, etc.

Very bold and courageous analysis.

NFP,

Once again you are on the spot!

My questions to all the conspiracy promoters: Did India attacked themselves in Bombay/Mumbai? I think they have no interest in attacking Pakistan or supporting Pakistani taliban.
Stop blaming others and start looking at yourselves. Your religious fanatics attacked them.

I do not mean to say that the arguments you put forward are by any means incorrect. However, on the other side, due to the fact that people don’t trust the government and the establishment it is not easy for people (including myself) to evaluate how credible a phone call being made from an unidentified location by an unidentified man (who claims he is from TTP and claims responsibility for the attack) is credible.

TTP is indeed a problem which needs to be taken care of but aerial bombings, social injustices, and activities of the mother of all agencies will only create more terrorists. The fact that army does not allow media and aid agencies to areas where operations are being conducted does not bring them more trust, but more suspicion.

Please try to understand these points.

So here’s a question for all – Is Pakistan a failed state? Was the Quaid-e-Azam’s logic for separating from India, in hindsight, a flawed one? Had he known that Pakistan would fall into such a state of dysfunctionality, would he have still insisted on a separate state?
Murali

No actually that’s a self fulfilling prophecy. Jinnah’s logic was very sound.

India would not have been able to handle a larger, and hence more vocal, Muslim minority harmoniously, sooner or later cracks would have appeared.

There is nothing wrong with the Idea here, it’s more an issue of execution (post Jinnah). Even then the mistakes made are not enough to warrant a rethink on this nation state.

Mr. Parcha you have vented your frustration.

Philosophically I see Pakistan is showing an extreme of human nature.

We are driven by passions. The passions can be channeled through skeptical ideologies like science or totalitarian ideologies. Quintessential totalitarian ideology is religion which unfortunately sways (which I do not understand why it is so) lot of people.

Pakistan is an extreme case suffering from this totalitarian disease.

Well Mr. Paracha. It’s not too hard to understand their reaction once you understand where these Pakistani Taliban get their resources from, and i am talking about the real root here.

NFP you have become just like famous tv guy, but in totally opposite direction. You are both no different , one accuses foreign and you accuse domestic.

I am reading your articles since early 90s but off late you have become totally one sided and one dimensional – all your articles have the same theme.

Please write about something else for a change.

You can’t get rid of these Non-Islamic ideas that easily. For the last 30-40 years, these ideas have being slowly taking hold on all levels in the Pakistani society.

Nadeem,

Bravo!

Once again you have pointed your finger at a sensitive issue and I do appreciate the quality of your analysis.

The root problem in our country is the education of course but unfortunately it will take us a few more decades in-order to attain the ratio of 85/90 percent. But the present situation of the country needs some drastic measures from the government.

I sincerely think in a country where literacy ratio is hardly 40 percent, and especially when our army is fighting those barbarians, it becomes the “moral obligation” of journalists to explain and unite the nation behind this great cause which is eradication of talibans. You the journalists have power in your pen. Please do continue your efforts for this awareness campaign.

Fact of the matter is that the internet is used by a very small minority of Pakistani’s. When we compare it to the TV watched by a big mass of population, the impact is not the same. What to do?

God bless Pakistan

So here’s a question for all – Is Pakistan a failed state? Was the Quaid-e-Azam’s logic for separating from India, in hindsight, a flawed one? Had he known that Pakistan would fall into such a state of dysfunctionality, would he have still insisted on a separate state?

Awesome, Mind blowing blog, Keep it up, Keep on shaking conscience of this nation; don’t lose hope, one day we will defiantly “wake up”.

The sum total meaning can be drawn from your excellent thought, thus, a Nation is built not created. Bit by bit, every Nation goes through that organic process, except, Pakistan. You should spread your message, right on!

Only armed with non-religious “building materials” you can develop a new stable country. Simply put, Pakistan has exceeded all limits of balance.

There is a news article in today’s Dawn that “Pakistani Taliban had ordered attacks in Barcelona” and the plan was foiled at the last minute by the Spanish authorities. This information has presumably been obtained from the would be perpetrators.

How do the sleepwalkers explain this.

But seriously, the way I see it, not too far into the future other nations would simply not allow a Pakistani into their country & pretty soon all muslims would face the same fate.

It has never been easy to avoid your columns. Another provocative one. This vicious cycle of rhetoric-insecurity-conspiracy theories is feeding many big fishes and they will make sure the cycle goes on and on. In the short term, I see only one solution- A strong politician should emerge with a clean background who can take on the mullah’s. Somebody who need not feed on this vicious cycle.

Dear NFP

Your post is really a big slap on all Taliban supporters !
While watching the TV Talk show you referred to in your post I had similar thoughts and believe me the most disgusting figure on the site of Peshawar blast was none other than the Moulvi of the mosque which was destroyed in the blast and still that Moulvi was supporting Taliban !
No doubt we are ‘A Nation of Sleepwalkers’

Well done Mr Piracha. You have the courage to call a spade a spade. Undoubtedly Pakistani society at home and abroad is living in denial. After the WTC event of 9/11 my younger brother a graduate did not believe that it ever happened and he still believes the same.

When our army started Swat operation, there was a demonstration by students of the Peshawar university condemning them. They did not condemn the atrocities committed by the Islamic zealots on Swati people.

Some comments have suggested that Mr. Piracha is insulting Islam. These persons are unable to face the reality of the cancer eating the society. Although Beard and hijab are symbols but usually people wearing these look down upon the other muslims who do not wear these symbols. Therefore Mr. Pracha is correct.

These taliban, they just don’t let the person live his own life.
I just hope that they get busy with something else to an extent that they completely forget about us. Without them life will be so peaceful. In fact we should all start feeling the happiness we will get by getting rid of taliban for I have read that when you think positively the powers in your surroundings responsible for bringing about a positive change in your life start functioning. No harm in trying.

I think Pakistan started its descent into this black-hole with the regime of Zia-ul-haq. This misguided man incorporated terror into state policy to help the US defeat the Russians in Afghanistan and to needle India into giving up Kashmir.

In Afghanistan it got rid of the Russians but ended up creating a bigger monster – the Taliban.

Continuation of Zia’s methods by subsequent regimes has made this state policy a state-of-mind for Pakistan. When the govt repeatedly justified its methods the people started believing them. So much so that middle-class, educated boys and girls (who in any other country will be at the forefront of freedom and liberation struggles) feel sympathy for these “defenders of Islam”.

Your article is a rare but refreshing cry from the heart that shows that maybe there is still hope for this large nation of 150 million people.

I appreciate the honesty with which you have addressed the current state of affairs in the country. However, I would request you to research the last bit that you have mentioned about the Lums student. Its an issue that has been blown out of proportion due to the reactionary mindset that you have highlighted in your article and hence does not reflect the truth.

I would like to see someone suggest something concrete to deal with this.

Actually we can not believe that a taliban will act as barbarically as now they are doing. In our mind a talib is a pious person which is in search of implementing islamic laws. Even my own family still are not believing that they are slitting the throats of not only jews or christians but even muslims. If our media just change the terminology for these peoples and for example just call them the Mehsud Group or some thing else than the thinking of the common people can be changed.

Im amazed at people who still believe that ‘no muslim can indulge into such activities’.We’re being bombed on almost daily basis – Whatelse do they need to wake up I wonder.

A good article.

I used to be from the “Muslims can not do this to another Muslims” crowd, than I got exposed to the Jihadi literature, that was the day I realized these Taliban creatures are full of nothing but complete and utter hatred. They will destroy kill anything. I think we need to carefully expose this Jaihadi material to the people at large so that they realize what kind of thinking they are up against.

Very true. Unless we wake up from this stupor, we will be mired in confusion. If the anyone can convince the muslim suicide bomber to commit suicide and kill other muslims, isn’t the problem is of the weak mind of the bomber?

The sad fact is that we are simply refusing to look at ourselves in the mirror.

Nadeem,

What a brilliant piece, true sketch of our society. We are in absolute denial mind state, and you’ve rightly pointed out people like Ansar Abbasi who are pouring their contribution without wasting of anytime of making this already confused nation in a state of blur. Our so called leaders who are champions of democracy need to be stirred up. One wonder when they will wake up and stand with the nation and would tell them that we will fight this war till the end and take them out from any confusion.

Very appropriate analysis. I could never see the thought development process in Pakistan’s education system. Our education system only produce sheep who follow the trends and of course trend is to discuss politics not the causes and effects of terrorism. Are we afraid to discuss terrorism and are thinking like pigeons as if we will close our eyes, cat will not eat us?

“However without going into details of who actually was responsible for nurturing those people” – I think the time has come when you need to get into these details “honestly”.

Mr. Paracha writes in his lats paragraph: “Of course, the same lady’s ‘concern’ and righteousness ends at becoming a self-appointed paparazzi for the reactionaries.”
Brilliantly put, sir.

I agree with the above writing of the author that really our students are doing as they are illiterate. They don’t know that what is happening just protesting towards the attack. Title is really appropriate for the above the concern topic.

The analysis and comments from Irfan and Abdul Majid – all were great. I agree with at least 75% of what NFP says. We don’t understand that it is our own people doing all this. However, like Irfan says we should not be “liberal extremists” and also like Abdul Majid mentions we cannot totally ignore intentions and activities of some companies like black water. The point is we should have an open mind, a healthy debate and we should be able to live with a difference in opinion.

There should not be any room for extremism in our society, religious or liberal.

As far as I Know TTP/Taliban demented any involvement in the Peshawar blasts. But I guess that won’t fit into your agenda. Your article is really superficial and demonstrates very well that there exists a “self-imposed elite” in Pakistan that desperately tries to associate themselves with the West and blinds themselves to any criticism. So who are the sleepwalkers here????

NFP you are as usual brilliant, blunt and bold. What you say is so correct. There are five steps with majority of all of us, when something wrong is done.
1) Denial.
2) Rationalization.
3) Blame.
4) Shame.
5) Acceptance.

I only hope & pray that by then it is not too late.

Accurate analysis. Typical Paracha article: Strong points and observations punctuated with potent tongue-in-cheek humour.
I am in agreement with most of his ongoing articles about the modern Pakistani culture, especially its so-called educated middle class slowly evolving into a blind fascist society.
Well done once again Mr. Paracha.

what you wrote was definitely very elaborated. I am really grateful to you for stressing a point “the mayhem caused is definitely by a person of another religion and not by a Muslim”. How on earth they can give this reason? fact can not be denied that there are several malicious intended people from many other states who try their best to dismantle our state. However, they got this space only because of Talibans. Its high time we should realize that we are surrounded by a chaos and its only us who are going to get all the mess straight.

Moreover, its a shame for all those anchor persons who asked such questions to the people who were the victims of that attack and what they want is not questions but “Solutions”.

I hope that this sleepwalking and delusional nation wakes up before crossing over the precipice. Hats off to your courage NFP for calling it as it is. Keep it up as it might open up some closed minds.

This is one of the most thoughtful pieces I have ever seen in the Dawn.
Pelting stones at policemen who are putting their lives on the line for you every day requires a special kind of thoughtless act that Pakistani’s seem to have mutated into. Blaming someone else for our ails may make us feel better for the time being but really Pakistani’s have to look inwards and fix their own issues.

Mr Paracha, first of all please don’t mock religion of Islam. You might be whatever you are but you hurt us. Most pathetic argument I have ever heard.

Hi,
Fantastic article, straight forward and a true reflection of the current state within the region.
I am from India and I understand(I think!) and share the feelings of truly concerned Pakistani citizens. Why is the society(at large) in a denial mode to some facts that seem so obvious. I fully believe that these so called “byproducts” and other similar senseless organizations were created and nurtured to aggravate the abhorrence feelings against the neighbors.

I am an optimist and I feel the best days would only come when people within the region unite (by forgetting all the unfortunate and widely confusing past) and start leading a fresh life based on mutual respect, peace and collective progress. Why get stuck on differences created 50 years ago while we can join hands and work to have a better 500 years ahead of us! I do understand it is easier to say than done but doesn’t all the revolutions begin this way?

Why let countries (who are most often working with their own personal interests) dictate what we should and shouldn’t do in the region. Historically, we were people with similar thoughts and strengths. Why not come together and become a global power ourselves.
I reject to believe that it is not possible!

I agree with NFP. Its sad to see a senior journalist walking in the street and talking to people who to blame.

NFP is not aware there are many dictators sitting in the west wearing a cloak of democracy but his silence on this is deafening

we need to be united as one. I don’t know how but we all should try even the youth, but we cant successfully do that without any political flag and just under the flag of Pakistan.

It seems that we as society have our daggers drawn at each other. There is no doubt that so called TTP (mostly illitrate young zealots) is one of the major causes of mayhem in our society. However without going into details of who actually was responsible for nurturing those people I would like to emphasize that there is nothing wrong with religious symbols such as Hijab or Beard. Criticizing these things which are symbols and not true depiction of your thoughts , beliefs or motives , would certainly bring even more Mayhem rather than relief. Mr. Paracha certainly wants to criticize society but I’m afraid instead of convincing people to rethink their planned acts he is alienating everyone by using words such as pathetic. Even the topic of the article is quite appalling. Maybe he will be more careful in his next article as criticism is easy but guiding people on the right path is difficult. But that’s the approach we all should adopt if we want to bring a positive change in our society.

It is simple – there is lack of education and what ever education they have it is from Madrassas. They are supposed to think independently.

The other brainwashing is been done by the so called experts on TV who have answer for all the activities and they speak as if they were part of the terror planning process

This will lead to denial, because that the least controversial thing you can do. Moreover the fear of speaking out means death for some who can’t afford to save themselves with the kind of security required.

People of Pakistan need exposure to education, democracy and freedom to think independently. Untill and unless this happens the denial will continue

Hey Man,

I think you are a smart scribe trying to stir up u some kind of national response to occurrences within your country.

I think your country is not ready for a revolution, however your grand kids could surely see one.

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”

I’m surprised a ’senior columnist’ is not aware of its presence in Pakistan and their history of causing mayhem wherever they go i.e. Iraq. Who am I talking about:Black Water
I would advise that you research this organization and make people aware of its deviant intentions.

Nadeem,

Your analysis is amazing and you describe the situation very eloquently. Unfortunately, I do not see any hope for Pakistan and this county will only descend into further chaos. We protest against KLA but we also accept money from IMF. What we must accept that as a nation we have no honour.

I don’t have words, we are so divided as a society its unbelievable. The literate too have such closed minds, isn’t education supposed to open minds?

I agree with Mr. Javed our education system needs a major overhaul and it has to start with the teachers who desperately need to change the way they teach.

You are the Man, NFP very well written and thought provoking article but for only those who already know the situation, the rest will continue to sleepwalk but i do appreciate your courage in taking up this issue which is very real and the government nor the media is doing anything to stop us from where we are going. I hope more and more people realize this problem.

Super stuff, NFP! As usual bold, honest and powerful. I too saw that Kerry-Lugar Bill protest and I too wondered what has that got to do with the university bombing.
You are right to ask that if it is really the facist tendencies in the Pakistani society that is giving these animals the space to spread hatred and shed blood.
Jeetay raho, NFP. You’ve GOT to keep on going.

I think our society has gone far off and that we are not ready to open our eyes and see truth. And one big thing our education system needs a major overhaul because what is identified could rightly be defined as ‘deficit education’ where so called literate are acting as illiterate.