Hina Rabbani Khar: An angel or a disgrace?

I do not write on a subject not worthy of being written upon. Naturally one which is centered on a woman, except for one whose credentials or actions discussed are highly influential and acknowledged. This article too is one of the debated issues, which I feel is to some extent of a considerable value.

It was a month ago when I came to hear about Hina Rabbani Khar who now runs Pakistan’s foreign office as the country’s first female and youngest foreign minister and was about to visit New Delhi a week after. The very moment I came to hear it, I wondered who is this woman? Where did she come from and when did she get this appointment as Pakistan’s FM? The day passed and I busy in my daily life forgot to find the answers to questions just clicked that day. Then almost a month before now, I saw this so-called, first-ever”bombshell” FM of Pakistan in newspapers and TV channels. According to Dr. Danish of ARY Television Network Pakistan she is the least qualified foreign minister from anywhere around the globe. Aged just 34, Hina has none qualification other or higher than some degree in Hotel Management. Good God… Indian FM S. M. Krishna is aged about 80 years; an active politician since 1962 and a parliamentarian since 1968 he is a double graduate (one of these two degrees is in Law) from Bangalore, then another graduation from Texas, US plus a Law degree from Washington DC following a Fullbright Scholarship he won.

For those who adore Hina Rabbani Khar, her so-called striking beauty and her so-called enchanting success during her visit to India, I must say “be reasonable yar and talk sense”. According to analysis and what I myself and Dr. Danish also believe that she is no match for any FM or diplomat from anywhere in the world… India’s Krishna then is out of question. There have been hootings, whistles and more awful comments about Pakistan’s new FM, just happens to be merely a super model laden with millions of Rupees worth glamourous jewellery, designer-clothing, watches, goggles and handbags. In my personal view, to add shock to the public at both sides of the border Hina Rabbani is often discussed by the state, the government and the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party she represents for her taste in fashion and appearance as an attractive young woman.

Nobody except serious thinkers and professional diplomats think about what is going on? Hina Rabbani Khar, a very young woman aged 34 and with no credentials to fit for a representative of a state… what is she all about? People who care about professional diplomacy remember Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Agha Shahi, Benazir Bhutto, Dr. Maliha Lodhi, Khurshid Mahmood Qasuri, Tasneem Noorani, Nawabzada Shahryar Muhammed Khan, and Shah Mehmood Qureshi pretty well; and they wonder “isn’t there anybody sane enough in Pakistan to fill the vacant FM post or at least somebody to chose the right person for the job?” in papers and on TV channels of the both sides the coverage of our beauty icon in her early 30s with her irresistible charms trying smart to win over Krishna, an old fogy in his late 70s has caused great panic among the public of both sides. Perhaps she has done it; she has won over the Indian ministers and diplomats by smartly playing the game of fame and coverage. But by the review of so many who see no good made out from all the drama the two parties have staged, this is all ridiculous; they often mutter “what about the agenda the Pakistani FM has brought with herself if she has brought one indeed? For what reason should the media cover young Hina Rabbani’s beauty or her exotic jewellery and clothing instead of highlighting her face to face talks with the Indian foreign minister and others?” There have even been some nasty comments given over Hina Rabbani Khar’s exposure on naturally rival Indian soil; but what I personally believe it was a likely reaction to what she did there. TV video footages and stills show her wearing or carrying very inappropriate clothing and extra glamour. Video footages aired even in India show her dressed in a way what nobody thinking of a Muslim foreign minister of a third world South Asian state can digest easily; skintight jeans and jersey has been a hot debated issue on Pakistani media and through those footages of shocking display of eye-catching body hugging clothing, the television and internet lobbies have depicted Hina Rabbani as “provocative”, by some “fetish”. Many conservatives have harshly cursed her for her “unislamic” handshake with Indian Krishna and other men.

Macleans of Canada in its article “Pakistan’s weapon of mass distraction” dated 16 August said

The new foreign minister is young, female and stylish—cause for celebration and controversy

During her first official visit to Delhi last month, part of the new efforts to revive relations between the long-time foes, the press had little to say about Khar’s political skills. Instead, the media gushed over her black Hermès Birkin bag, Roberto Cavalli sunglasses, and classic strand of pearls, comparing her to Michelle Obama, Carla Bruni, even Kate Middleton. One columnist referred to her as Pakistan’s “weapon of mass distraction.” It’s not the first time the press has seized upon her image; pictures of her in trendy slim-fitting jeans have raised eyebrows throughout Pakistan, prompting traditionalists to question whether the co-owner of Polo Lounge, a trendy restaurant on downtown Lahore’s polo grounds, is out of touch with the conservative—and poor—country. Regardless, she now helms one of the most volatile relationships in world politics.

Indian Daily Bhaskar says

Too sexy!!! Don’t let her return from India, exchange her for Sania Mirza

Another comment to above said

Pakistan must take our Manmohan Singh and give us Hina for permanent peace

Another comment dated June 16 2008 from some woman to The Pakistani Spectator published back in June 2008 said

I really smile after seeing her head covering status in simple shalwar qmeez as I have seen her many time in Emirates flight where she just wear tight jeans and mini t shirt. After seeing her typical low grade political character we should blame our selves as a part of nation of fools who are accepting her as and where basis.

The Telegraph in its article “Pakistan appoints 34-year-old woman as its new foreign minister” dated July 20, 2011 said

President Asif Zardari said her promotion from junior minister to the cabinet was a tribute to her skills. A picture of the young mother-of-two wearing a tight pair of blue jeans published in local newspapers raised eyebrows in a country where most women are expected to wear loose clothing that hides their curves. 

Neha Sharma in Hindustan Times dated July 27 said 

Pearls, Roberto Cavalli shades and a Birkin bag, speculated to be worth Rs 17 lakh — Pakistan’s youngest and first woman foreign minister, Hina Rabbani Khar has got people talking about her impeccable style sense during her ongoing Delhi visit.

Delhi’s fashion circuit and even Twitter was abuzz with style talk about her on Tuesday. “I love the understated pearls. The bag gives a formal and crisp flavour,” says designer Nida Mahmood. “Hina Rabbani Khar is the newest stylista in India,” tweeted  Himanshu Parmekar. Meanwhile, all the talk about her fashion sense made some wonder if the focus is being taken away from what she’s in India for. “If Hina Rabbani were a male foreign minister of Pakistan, would she EVER be deconstructed in terms of look and dress?” tweeted Barkha Dutt, Group Editor, NDTV. “Not too many cute male ministers around, yes?” wrote back Twitter user Nishant.

The Economic Times quoted Mumbai Mirror and The Times of India in its article “Hina Rabbani Khar: An instant hit with Indian media and masses alike” dated 27 July as following 

“Pak Puts On Its Best Face,” noted The Times of India, the biggest-selling English-language daily, while mass circulation Hindi newspaper Navbharat Times said India was “sweating over model-like minister.”

“Pak bomb lands in India,” joked the Mumbai Mirror tabloid in a tongue-in-cheek reference to the history of wars between the countries and attacks by Pakistani militant groups on Indian soil.

Pakistan is going through her darkest days; death and bloodshed is everywhere. Hunger, poverty and hatred in eyes of an ordinary Pakistani towards the elite and the government is evident. Country has no honest leadership at all and people are starving from hunger and floods. No electricity, terrorism, illiteracy and price hikes has made being in Pakistan as “being in hell”. Apparently and for all for sure, this country has no future so has people who live in it; even I myself has no trust in it sometimes. As soon as a person gets an opportunity to run away just to save life and live in peace, he or she runs out of this mess without looking back. Everybody except for those who have unavoidable interests or benefits in Pakistan wants to get rid of this country just to save future and to live and die in peace.

I think in contrast to the brief situation of the Pakistani society stated above, the issue of this article has no priority at all. When Pakistanis can have and tolerate “Mr. Ten Percent” as the head of the nation, then debating his new darling Hina Rabbani Khar is nothing but wasting time and effort. I leave the conclusion to the reader of this article.  

Can waves from Egypt wake Pakistan up ?

A few days ago while taking my morning breakfast at Café Mazda, I read in newspaper a quote of Pakistani prime minister Yusuf Raza Gillani which said that situation in Egypt or in Tunisia is incomparable with that of Pakistan; reasoning that in contrast Pakistani democracy is restored in peace and all institutions are working to their best. Mr. Gillani’s Q & A session was held after some comments were made by US Vice President Joe Biden last week over the Pakistani situation in US view. Indirectly, Mr. Biden opined that Egyptian revolution is caused by similar turmoil as Pakistan is experiencing and Pakistani government will sure face similar public uprising.  

On the other hand, on 31^st January I myself attended a gathering of more or less a million men arranged by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) in which its chief Altaf Hussain vehemently warned the elite and the government of Pakistan that if Pakistanis are raised against the country’s failed system they can fight for the right in much better way than the Egyptians. MQM is the largest party in the urban Sind and second largest in the province after the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) of which MQM is a coalition partner in both provincial and federal assemblies. The latest move made by Mr. Altaf Hussain is as an addition to the already going on struggle by country’s majority of politicians against the (PPP) government and its corrupt bureaucracy. There is no doubt that Pakistan is going through her darkest days and her situation at both international and domestic theaters is out of control. The government is corrupt and incompetent and countrymen do not want it to continue anymore. Insecurity, inflation, terrorism, poverty have caused so many regretful incidents and loss of countless human lives. All political parties in the country have expressed their rage and condemned the dishonest hierarchy of Pakistan, however in my personal point of view and of many others, if we look for honest and trustable leadership then regretfully there is hardly any party in Pakistan with such naturally rare things. People of Pakistan are desperate and wait for a miracle to change their fortune.

As far as Joe Biden and his notion are concerned, Egypt is somewhat far more than a match for Pakistan. For thousands of years North Africa has been an international destination. From the Alexander the Great then Julius Caesar to the Arabs, Ottomans, Napoleon Bonaparte, the British and then Nazi Germans under Adolf Hitler, every power in the world’s history vested its utmost to win Cleopatra’s Egypt and to hold her. It’s an ideal venue and one of my personal favorite regions in the world. Strategically, Egypt has a significance of her own; situated at the junction of the Middle East and North Africa and Southern Europe through Alexandria. In other words, together with Libya, Egypt is the heart of Arabia-Africa.

In Pakistan, Egyptian unrest and public revolt against President Hosni Mubarak is seen especially as a lesson to learn. Together with Altaf Hussain’s MQM, more political parties have begun to align together against the government here. The National Assembly sessions are full of discussions and evaluations from the situation in Cairo. Many intellectuals and opposition leaders in Pakistan have expressed their wondering and have questioned the nation that why should not or can not Pakistanis set an example equal or bigger than the Egyptians’ as Pakistan is suffering the worst while their malicious Zardari-led government has become a misery. Gillani’s ridiculous statement that Pakistan has a fully functional democracy and institutional system hence no need of unrest is the latest in a long list of overstatements, lies and bluffs to the Pakistani nation. It is quite pertinent to know that Joe Biden’s statement reflects the official US views about the economic and political situation of Pakistan. Americans have denied Mubarak, their once trusted partner and ally when his rule over Egypt has marked its 30^th year. Opposite to independent Egypt’s militant and hostile role since the birth of the her Jewish neighbor Israel in 1948 and more fiercely after the General Jamal Abdul Nasser’s revolution in 1952 and onwards throughout Anwar Sadat government until the famous non-aggression pact was signed in 1979, Hosni Mubarak rule over Egypt has been effected with quietness with Israel under Sadat’s peace treaty of 1979 and eventually reinstatement of Egypt in the Arab League in 1989.

Egyptian uprising is a threat both US and Israel cannot ignore. It can put in danger the whole Middle Eastern peace and of the entire world. Egypt has had a hostile history in the region and a dramatic change can bring her in conflicts with Israel and the Americans once again. US concerns over the situation are very high as they see the strategically most important Middle Eastern partner falling into fundamentalist Islamist powers’ grip. The main tension is internationally known and most influential Muslim Brotherhood Movement already banned in Egypt by Mubarak reign for decades which has just turned active in its explicit role during protests in Cairo these days. The movement allegedly has deep links to several banned Islamist Jihadi organizations not only in Egypt but in Syria, Libya, Sudan, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon; on top is the Al Qaeda of which top and most wanted leader comes from Egyptian origin namely the feared Ayman Muhammad Rabaie al-Zawahiri.   Americans believe that if and when Egypt falls into such group’s control or of any other fundamentalist Muslim movement aiming towards the so called unity of the Arabs or the Muslim World, the whole Middle East would be certainly in flames and subsequently would throw Israel and her interests in the region into danger.

In contrast to the views expressed by the US on February 3^rd over Egyptian revolts that US has concerns what is taking place in Cairo and the government and the opposition must immediately negotiate, America fears that losing the longstanding trusted Hosni Mubarak would be unbearable and under a new possible fundamentalist Muslim rule a magnificently supplied Egypt would directly go with political and military stands against US and Israel and can influence other Arab states.  President Barack Obama has stressed upon the peaceful political reforms in Egypt immediately to avoid any violence and loss of human lives. Daily Jerusalem Post reported following on January 28^th also,

WASHINGTON — The United States says the situation in Egypt is of "deep concern" and is calling on Egyptian authorities to enact reforms and allow peaceful protests and open communication as anti-government street protests swell.

State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said Friday that Egypt must respect the "fundamental rights" of its people and avoid violence. He also said reform is vital to the country's long-term stability and security, and urged the government to view its people as a partner and not a threat.

So… this is the Egyptian story; and what about us??? Sure America cannot afford to lose Pakistan also as a trusted strategic ally in the South Asia. Though Joe Biden’s comments have sparked a new idea and hope; but there is no way to compare Pakistan with Egypt not by the way Gillani says but by my personal analysis; the crippling fact that unlike the Egyptians we are divided, illiterate, frightened and impractical people without a honest leadership to mobilize us as one entity “Pakistanis”.

Pakistan: A Boiling Cauldron

It came to me as great shock when I heard the news of Pakistani Punjabi governor Salman Taseer’s death. He was killed by his own bodyguard. Taseer’s death is the latest in a long series of killings and the second greatest of any big shot in the name of Islam after Benazir Bhutto in late 2007. At a posh and busy neighborhood of the Pakistani capital, Mumtaz Qadri who was Taseer’s guard from the elite commando police service shot the governor with a burst totaling 27 rounds from his service assault rifle because he wanted to avenge Taseer’s blasphemous act(s) such as campaigning to save a Christian Punjabi woman who is sentenced to death by a district Judge in Punjab for blasphemy also, and demanding country’s government to revise the said law and for other legal protections for minorities in Pakistan even Taseer’s comments “black law” for Pakistan’s blasphemy law. Subsequently to the governor’s intervention, the case has been held with High Court in Lahore.

The woman’s case has been very controversial for past recent months after Taseer began personally taking part in its conclusion. There had been a strong opposition against Taseer in Pakistan by a majority of people disagreeing his motive and demanding the blasphemer woman hanged. For so many times Taseer had been threatened by different religious factions in Pakistan that if he doesn’t stay away from the case or to try to save the accused woman, he was to be killed as by doing so he himself would be treated as a blasphemous offender. As the destiny would have it, the determined and outspoken Salman Taseer paid for his so called “blasphemy” with his life just in line with the so called “blasphemy law” Section 295 C of the Pakistan Penal Code.

It is reported that the “killer guard” named Mumtaz Qadri, after shooting the governor down, dropped his rifle and surrendered to the stunned fellow guards on duty at the crime scene begging to not to be shot on the spot but to be caught alive. He looked very confident, calm and above all proud. Facing the television cameras while chained under custody he frequently smiled like a victor and was not looked uncertain about his future. Quite regretfully but not surprisingly this tragic incident and the result subsequent to it is joyously appreciated by a majority of ordinary Pakistanis, the Mullahs and other forums. Almost all religious factions in Pakistan have hailed the killer as a hero of Islam and are active to save him from any secular judgment and have him clear from the court. Not only Mullahs, but thousands from other groups such as lawyers, police, students et cetera want Qadri be released immediately. Many lawyers have offered to defend him during trials for free. He was celebrated and welcomed by lawmakers when arrived for first appearance before the judiciary. While the state authorities seem to have no personal or official effect of the governor’s murder; as evident from the silence of the most, a halfhearted interest and reaction to the incident however the country’s hierarchy is much disturbed about the security of the others. Many politicians have changed their security details and replaced those guards found with least Islamic posture mostly the bearded men. When I stepped into a mosque in Karachi’s Saddar area for this Friday prayers, the first instance there for me was the voice of the Imam over the loudspeaker addressing to men there the issue of the blasphemy. Some points of the Imam were,

“Those who commit any vulgarity towards the Prophet Muhammad must be killed, and killing such blasphemers is commanded by Prophet Muhammad himself. The liberals are not right to call us illiterate and extremist. Whatever done (with Governor) or to be done with the (Christian woman) is right by the Islamic laws and we must do the needful at any cost.”

Hearing such typical provocative notions I was not moved by any means because nothing was new to me. In Pakistan, everybody is free to say and do anything; and the law only affects the poor. This is a country where from top to bottom majority is corrupt and except a very few, those who are not corrupt… haven’t had a chance to go! In such an environment most of things happen badly. Uncertainty, poverty, oppression and insecurity have caused mental frustration and above all have sparked a tendency of intolerance. This kind of restlessness is the reason behind all of today’s troubles destroying the trust and image of Pakistan in international view and in view of most of Pakistanis also. There has been a trend developed among the people that to make the others feel and to draw attention, one has to act really odd. Those who are to rise for the right have found a much effective way to make an impact upon the society by violent reactions. Riots and killings have become a weekly event and a slightest undesired thing is enough to invite a big disaster. There have been many incidents in past recent times regretfully happened in Pakistan’s once calm society. Though these are cruel and deserve no reiteration but it’s necessary to remind the reader of such crimes identical in nature and causes.

1:      Wednesday, September 03, 2008; KARACHI: People captured two dacoits in Buffer zone area of Karachi, brutally thrashed them and set them on fire and according to Edhi sources, both were dead on the spot.


2:      Saturday, May 17, 2008; KARACHI: People captured two dacoits in Five Star Chowrangi area of Karachi, brutally thrashed them and set them on fire. The police saved the dacoits from the angry mob and transferred them to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.


3:      A brilliant and vibrant women right activist and sitting Punjab provincial minister Zille Huma Usman was assassinated by a fanatic Mullah during a public meeting in Gujranwala in 2007. The culprit was caught and produced on TV later; stating that he killed the woman because she was dressed inappropriately and also said that women should not be involved in politics.

The man had earlier murdered seven women described in the press as ‘call girls’ in Gujranwala and Lahore. He was arrested once and confessed to killing the ‘sinful women’; he was let off after one year because of lack of evidence but, more accurately, because of religious support. His patrons, according to the police, had “paid off” the relatives of the killed and been reprieved under ‘Islamic’ laws. There is nothing new in this. Anybody who knows the decade of religious mayhem in Karachi knows how criminals are protected from punishment by powerful patrons. He was previously held in 2002 in connection with the killing and mutilation of four “prostitutes”, but was never convicted due to lack of evidence.


4:      SUKKUR: A woman in Sukkur was tied to a tree and her father-in-law and brothers-in-law set the dogs on her over allegations of “karo kari” or defiled family honour.
 

5:      In Sialkot, Pakistan, people tried to take justice in their own hands by teaching a lesson to two brothers, a bit too brutally, for injuring four people at a cricket match.

The incident took place when two brothers ended up in a brawl in a local cricket match and they ended up injuring four people. The charged mob got out-raged and started beating the two brothers. The beating got so brutal that the two brothers lost their lives and all the people of Sialkot considered it a lesson well taught. There was even a police officer present at the event but he did nothing to stop the beating. 

6:      From The Guardian, Monday, September 1, 2008:

“Three teenage girls have been buried alive by their tribe in a remote part of Pakistan to punish them for attempting to choose their own husbands, in an “honour” killing case. After news of the deaths emerged, male politicians from their province, Baluchistan, defended the killings in parliament, claiming the practice was part of “our tribal custom”.

The girls, thought to have been aged between 16 and 18, were kidnapped by a group of men from the Umrani tribe. They were driven to a rural area and then injured by being shot. Then, while still alive, they were dragged bleeding to a pit, where they were covered with earth and stones…
However, six weeks after the deaths, no one was arrested amid claims of a cover-up. According to several accounts, Baluchistan government vehicles were used to abduct the girls, and the killing was overseen by a tribal chief who is the brother of a provincial minister from the ruling Pakistan People’s party. Some reports said that two older relatives of the girls had tried to intervene, but they too were shot and buried with the girls while still alive…with a presidential election on September 6, one in which Baluchistan’s provincial parliament would be strongly relied on to deliver votes, action that would antagonize the region’s politicians was highly unlikely. In Pakistan’s national parliament, an MP from Baluchistan, Israrullah Zehri, said on Friday that “this action was carried out according to tribal traditions”, a view backed up by some other male lawmakers, who attacked a woman senator who had raised the case. Umrani, a provincial minister, has admitted that the girls were buried alive but denied the involvement of his brother. An editorial, published in Pakistani daily The News said: ‘surely, the government should be seeking the murderers, not protect [them] through some dark conspiracy of silence. The fact the act was ‘kept quiet’ means the government sympathizes with such doings.’”


From The News, Thursday, January 01, 2009:

The year 2008 also saw two cruel incidents of violence that included the burial of five women alive in Nasirabad district of Baluchistan and throwing of Tasleem Solangi, an eight-month pregnant woman, in front of hungry dogs in Khairpur district of Sindh.

While with many advantages of the rapid growth of the media in Pakistan there have been many drawbacks of it as the media has been inflicting anguish upon the people namely it has caused great terror, depression and hatred to the people’s mind. The media in Pakistan has failed to perform responsibly and with ethics or limitations of public broadcasting. Most of the people depend upon television news slides updating every minute hence clips and photographs of bomb blasts, firefights, killings, corpses, blood and riots leave behind a great fright and mental frustration. The government has not yet made or enforced any regulations for media broadcasting of such sensitive content.

Another recent shock was a typical cleric in Peshawar who offered Pakistani Rupees 500,000 to anybody who kills the blasphemer woman Aasia Bibi during an open public rally. The news arrived on all Pakistani media with video clips of the scene in which the said Mullah cleric made his speech vehemently. An article by Akhtar Amin on allvoices.com said,

PESHAWAR: A Jamaat-e-Islami-affiliated cleric on Friday offered Rs 500,000 reward for anyone who kills Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy. “I will give Rs 500,000 to a person who killed Aasia,” the prayer leader of the historic Masjid Mohabbat Khan, Maulana Yousaf Qureshi told a JI protest rally organised against calls for amendments in the blasphemy law and Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer’s struggle to have the woman pardoned. The cleric also appealed to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to kill Aasia. He asked the group to carry out the killing instead of bombing other places. “To kill the woman is a service to the religion in a real,” he said.

Governor Salman Taseer’s tragic death has also caused a strong wave of criticism and opposition against deadly Islamic extremism in Pakistan which has already taken so many lives. The responses from local and international sources are with strong grief and condemnation of Pakistan’s helpless government, lawless environment plus an awfully illiterate and devastatingly Islamist society. It is quite shocking for me to see that no proper response by the government or the intellectuals in Pakistan is made in Pakistan. Many are unwilling even to say something about Taseer’s case and the fate of his assassin. All the Imams and other Islamic scholars had condemned Taseer, had refused to lead Taseer’s farewell (funeral) prayers and warned those who have some sympathy towards him; even the Christian federal minister of minorities of Pakistan named Shahbaz Bhatti is not spared by Islamist groups. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) reports the following,

Terrorist Groups Raise Aim: “Eliminate Minister Bhatti” 
 
ISLAMABAD/Pakistan, Dec. 06, 2010, 09:30 Hrs: (Agenzia Fides)

The Islamic terrorist organization “Lashkar-e-Toiba”, one of the largest in Southern Asia, and other Taliban groups have launched a “fatwa” (an official proclamation) against the Minister for Religious Minorities, the Catholic Shabhaz Bhatti. Reliable sources in Pakistan inform Fides that the minister is now being targeted by militants. He has become a “legitimate objective” and “may be killed for being an accomplice to the blasphemy.” The proclamation is motivated by Bhatti’s commitment to the revision of the blasphemy law.

The Minister had already received warnings and threats. The radical organization “Majlis Ahrar-e-Islam”, in recent days had told him to “keep your mouth shut and do not criticize the blasphemy law.” Months ago, the religious leader Ahmed Mian Hammadi had accused him of blasphemy and threatened him with “decapitation”. The position of the Minister in the case of Asia Bibi and his real effort to carry through a draft revision of the law have generated, in a growing climate of intolerance, the new “fatwa” by Taliban terrorist groups.

We Pakistanis live helplessly in a lawless country. Our government is corrupt, people are bitter and hostile. Nobody trusts nobody and Pakistan is defined by extremists, outlaws and power-hungry politicians. And in my personal view, if this anarchy continues to flourish even Pakistan’s armed forces’ integrity is in doubt when guards have become assassins. The dangerously growing Islamic extremism and societal disorder is enough for thinkers to alarm the explosion of a “time bomb” one day surely and anybody can be a victim. In my view this constantly growing anarchy in an illiterate society is a gathering storm inevitable to unleash one day and Pakistan’s rotation could possibly be worst than the bloody French Revolution of 1799.

Only history will be able to define Salman Taseer’s case and its consequences truly. Adil Najam at pakistaniat.com “Deadly Intolerance: Punjab Governor Salman Taseer Killed (1946-2011)” posted on January 4, 2011 has said the following very appropriately in his article,

Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri may have pulled the trigger but let us all hang our head in shame today because Salman Taseer was killed by the intolerance, the hatred, the extremism, the vigilantism, the violence and the Jahalat that now defines our society. He was killed by the unchecked abundance of false sanctimony where custodians of morality have been breathing fire and instigating violence. Each one of us, including his own party, should be ashamed today for having tolerated the pall of intolerance that has eventually gunned down this man. Today’s Pakistan is defined by Mumtaz Hussain Qadris. They exist all around us. And it is all of us who tolerate them and their intolerance. It is this tolerance of intolerance that kills.

Today, it claimed yet one more victim.

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