Arun Joshi
Multiple churches in Jaranwala, Faisalabad in Pakistan’s Punjab province have been burned down by a frenzied mob that took upon itself to punish the alleged perpetrators of an act of blasphemy from Christian community. This is yet another, rather horrific evidence of how minorities in Pakistan are treated. It’s clear that minorities, be they Hindus or Christians are living in perpetual fear and an era of uncertainty. Pakistan is courting a disaster for itself, and the time is nearing that it may become a pariah state.
Reports emanating from Pakistan show that how the mobs armed with rocks and sticks, ran toward churches and the areas where Christians lived, attacked the places of worship and set afire a number of churches. The flames leaped out of the buildings and Christians felt helpless against the mob fury.
The mob was enraged by an alleged act of desecration of the Quran. As the news of the act of desecration spread like wildfire, the mobs gathered and torched the churches and homes of Christians. And the authorities, it appeared were either helpless or complicit in these acts of arson.
What happened in Pakistan on Wednesday is symbolic of combination of so many ills plaguing Pakistan- a hatred of the minorities, fueled by violent extremism, and the failure of the system to counter the violent extremism. The minorities in Pakistan are the foremost victims of the violent extremism. Hindu girls were abducted, forcibly married and made to convert, with law enforcing agencies looking other way. Sikhs, too have suffered a lot, their women, and places of worship too have been targeted in most brutal ways. The mobs have stoned Gurdwaras and even set these place of worship ablaze The Christians have suffered no less tense moments and fear. It’s not the first time their homes and churches have been targeted. They have been the victims of Islamic extremism for long, now it is becoming a recurring feature.
This menace of violent extremism in Pakistan is clearly linked to its environment of extreme hate for anyone who is not Sunni Muslim – there have been countless incidents of massacres of Shias, destruction and bombing of their places of worship, especially during Friday congregations. Now the things are worsening with violence against minorities rising with the tacit approval of the authorities, what else can be expected of the country where the fault lines are increasing by day. The violent extremism is the new religion of Pakistan, in which barring Sunni Muslims everyone else is at receiving end.
The violent extremism in any country is unacceptable, for it destroys peace, stability and the social fabric. Pakistan had a lot to learn from the mistakes that Taliban committed in Afghanistan, saying no with violent means to anything that did not sit with its extremist ideology, in which the non-Muslims had no rights, and even the Muslims had to follow a particular pattern of life, in which right to dissent, women’s education and human rights had no space. Despite the aid being sent to Afghanistan from all quarters in the world to help it stabilize, it continues to be in trouble. Extremism is a killer of civilized society. It holds true everywhere wherever the extremists think that they alone have the right to live and impose their ruthless will on others. Such actions wreck the image of the countries, which cannot be rectified even if they are strategically located, or the nuclear power.
The world, particularly the western powers like the United States, have dual standards. They think that mere issuing a statement of speaking to condemn such incidents in the most diplomatic language, they have fulfilled their duties. It is not. What is happening in Pakistan calls for censure is very clear terms, and followed by actions. The religious fanaticism has no place in the civilized world.
The burning of churches in Pakistan has given credence to the nations in Europe suffering from Islamophobia.
It’s time for Pakistan to rectify its fault lines, otherwise there is a possibility not a remote one, the country falling apart in all senses of the word.
(Arun Joshi is author of “Eyewitness Kashmir; Teetering on Nuclear War and senior journalist based in Jammu and Kashmir, writes on South Asian affairs)
Disclaimer: This is the personal opinion of the author. The views expressed in this write-up have nothing to do with www.prameyanews.com.
