Saman Hamid
Pakistan is one of the most liberal countries in the world; people are able to exercise their right to express a little more than many other countries of the world. Whether it is attacking the country’s Defenses and attempting to malign its sovereignty by “leaks” or delivering hate speeches in political rallies, the so called “liberal elites” take cover in the ability and right to express and the nation is quick to forgive and forget. One of the most heinous assaults on Pakistan came from a group of Pakistanis recently who gathered in London under the banner of South Asians against Terrorism and Human Rights (SAATH). The conference “Future of Pakistan 2016” was held on October 28-30. Co-hosted by Hussain Haqqani and Dr. Muhammad Taqi, around 70 prominent “liberal and progressive Pakistanis” gathered for the occasion namely; Haqqani, Awami National Party Senator Afrasiab Khattak, columnist and author Dr Ayesha Siddiqa, ANP’s Bushra Gohar, journalist and activist Rashed Rehman, Marvi Sirmed, Beena Sarwar, Saleem Javed , Asma Sherazi, Murtaza Solangi, Umber Khairi, Babar Ayaz and many leading journalists. Security risks were cited the reason to not hold such an event in Pakistan but perhaps the following official statement will clarify the real risk of not holding such a hostile stance against Pakistan’s sovereignty as on our soil it would have equaled treason. Disturbingly Indian media’s fields’ day with this conference is reverberated on some quarters of our local media highlighting a strong need of accountability of anti-Pakistan forces within Pakistan. Encapsulated by the phrase; “controlled demolition” of the army’s role.” Hindustan Times summed up the proceedings of this event and the true intent of the participants who could not have been more explicit in their desire to malign Pakistan. Hussain Haqqani opened the event on a light note and emphasized to purify Pakistani well from the dead dog, garnering applause from the audience. If the intent of the former envoy to US was still unclear to anyone his statement to Hindustan Times highlighted his loyalty a bit more than intended; If Pakistan wants to avoid big pressure from the rest of the world, it has to change from within. The current narrative of the establishment is untenable. Participants such as Farheen Rizvi (MQM activist and blogger) and Anwar Solangi painted a picture of misery suffered by Balochistan, Sindh, Karachi at the hands of Punjab, terming it “Punjabi majoritarianism”. Dr Ayesha Siddiqa remarked, “We all know who the dog in the well is; however we are all part of the problem and need to peruse the goals of the conference with consistency and vigor.” Shahjahan Baloch insinuated reservations as a Baloch liberal against CPEC, falsely blaming recent terror attacks on the project that somehow implying that the development brought by the project has led to increased terrorism in the province, his rhetoric resonated with that of people like Bramdagh Bugti. The declaration of the conference seemed to be penned by “anti-Pakistan”/ Indian propaganda moguls, stating that;”Pakistan risks “global isolation because of widespread obscurantism, growing intolerance, lack of rule of law, along with official support for extremism and general disregard for human rights.”These statements clearly resonate with the Indian propaganda, perhaps the media was too busy covering the financial crisis that they called for help. This is more explicit than anything that has ever come out of Pakistan. It is unfortunate that the human rights atrocities in Kashmir were invisible to the participants. Indian assaults on Pakistani soil openly accepted by Indian authorites including the Kulbhushan debacle were absent from the agenda, perhaps the participants excluded Indians from the list of South Asian countries. This narrative comes at a time when we need to be untied the most. This is a rarity that the armed forces of any country in the world are displaying the level of restraint that Army and ISI are. This only goes to establish our high level of tolerance. History will assimilate Troy’s Torjan horse with the efforts of Mr. Haqqani and Dr. Muhammad Taqi. If a real solution is desired by anyone then groud realities must be examined and one’s own personal interests should disappear especially with respect to the stature of these personalities. Pakistanis with a lingering literacy rate of 59*% and with inflation on the rise and menace of terrorism, care must be taken by those expressing their intentions as the only memory the people will have is that these specific people were not with us and ultimately it is that perception that is of importance.
