Living In Pakistan

Ghazala Minallah from Islamabad sent the following letter to a local English language daily, urging the government to take action against hatemongers like Zaid Hamid.
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“There are a lot of tongues wagging these days about Zaid Hamid. With his western dress, red cap and a modern singer and dress-designer on stage to try and convey that he’s not an extremist, I am afraid every word he utters reeks of extremism. He is addressing the youth of this country, and considering what the nation is going through already, he is preaching hatred and violence. He talks of the Muslims of Pakistan being the ‘chosen’ race.

“That the survival of Islam is in their hands, and that they must prepare to conquer Delhi and Israel. He preaches arrogance and contempt for all other religions and races. He ridicules democracy and there are blatant pro-army undertones. He distorts Muslim history and speaks of Gen Zia with reverence. He twists Iqbal’s poetry and the Quaid’s ideology to give credibility to his anti-state propaganda. He mentions the coming of a leader and whether this saviour comes through the use of force by the army or through a religious uprising, ‘we’ (they) would welcome ‘him’.

You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know who is pulling Zaid’s strings. If he is a true patriot and had an ounce of compassion for this country he would be preaching peace, tolerance, respect for the rule of law and the constitution. In fact, he preaches the total opposite. He reminds me of the FM broadcasts by Fazlullah in Swat who used religion to win over the illiterate masses. And what did the state do while this was going on? Nothing at all; and the rest is history. Let us not make this ridiculous mistake again. I urge every patriotic Pakistani, in particular the youth, to only use their commonsense. I request everyone to read the last speech our Holy Prophet (PBUH) made after the conquest of Mecca. And I urge everyone to study the ideology of Mr Jinnah.

As a concerned citizen I want to know why such anti-state elements are not tried for treason, and also why such rubbish is being promoted by the media. And before anyone mentions ‘freedom of expression’, let me clarify that even in countries with a good track of fundamental rights, such rhetoric would not be protected. Those who protect and patronise such elements need to be questioned as well.”
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Very well put by Ghazala, also do check out my post on Zaid Hamid. I would welcome your comments on Zaid Hamid who has indeed been able to build a huge following, but what is his agenda ? My main beef with Mr. Zaid is that he talks against the state, apart from spreading hatred against other nations… and the government, media have given him a free hand.

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