What is it to be a Pakistani, by Col Riaz Jafri (Retd)
I am 84, was 17 and a first year student when
Pakistan came into being. Took part in Pakistan movement, saw, heard and even
photographed Quaid e Azam (and Miss Fatima Jinnah) when Quaid addressed us the
students of Edwards College Peshawar on 18 April 1948 and the next day at
Islamia College (now Peshawar University). I was a proud – nay - a very
proud Pakistani then. In 1950 joined army when I could have easily become an
engineer, a doctor or a Civil Servant in a new born country with abundant opportunities
in all fields, but no, army with much lesser pay and many a hardship was the
profession for the proud to serve the nation. Fought three wars, became a
POW, but still was very proud of being a Pakistani.
Then things started to happen. On September 7, 1974, in order to
appease and placate the maulvis, ulema and mushaikh, Bhutto got the
Ahmadies declared non-Muslims through an act of parliament. Imagine whatever
the reason the ba w! azoo and ba shariat sacrosanct politicians giving a purely religious
edict on Islam by simply voting as to who could be a Muslim and who could not
be!!
Friday was declared a close holiday, only to be annulled soon
later. Alcohol, gambling and races were banned, but in reality all were and are
still available aplenty. After Bhutto Zia tried to Islamise Pakistan
further but did more harm than good to Islam. In the process he sowed the
seeds of venomous sectarianism in the country that has divided the nation into
Sunnis and Shias and Sunnis and Sunnis.
If you ask me today after 67 years what it is to be a Pakistani,
believe you me I am one hell of a confused person. First of all, I am not so
sure of my real heritage, identity and history any more. On 14 August 1947 all
my cultural heritage and ancestral roots were severed off from my past. Most of
our elders, not in the very distant past either, were non-Muslims and, like it
or not, cremated on ! the bank of some river of Hindustan.
But soon after partition ! anything pre-partition was Indian and
sort of unpatriotic to associate with. So much so that even the
everlasting pre-partition songs of Noor Jahan (Awaaz de kahan hai – Duniya mere
jawan hai) who was
born, bred and now buried in Pakistan were tabooed as Indian songs and not to
be broadcast by Radio Pakistan.
Not that we divested ourselves from the rich cultural and
historic heritage of undivided India only, we also refused to own the past
cultural heritage of the land now Pakistan that fell to our lot and which is
spread over the centuries - starting from the pre-historic times to the present
day. It comprises of the most ancient Indus Valley Civilisation, the Gandhara
Civilisation and the Pre-Islamic Period. The world famous primordial cultural
treasures of Taxilla, Mohenjo-Daro, Harrapa, Takht Bai (Mardan), Pursh
Pura (Peshawar) the city of flowers and capital of Emperor Kanishka and the
Kafirs of Kalash (Chitral) are all alien to us.
Somehow o! ur history halts at 14 August 1947 and there from
jumps straight to Muhammad Bin Qasim (710 AD) leaving a chasm of almost twelve
centuries in between. From there we bypass all the Ummayads, Fatimides,
Abbasides and connect ourselves to the Khulfa e Rashadeen. Naturally Holy
Prophet (SAW) is the ultimate but the period before him (SAW) is Zamana
e Jahliat and we have
nothing to do with it either. Thus our such self proclaimed and acquired
history with gaps and yawns is only 15 centuries old whereas the historians and
the archeologists rate our region (Pakistan) as one of the most primeval historical
lands of this globe. Then, am I an Arab, an Ajam, a Semitic, an Arian, a Mongol
– ooops Moghal or a crossed Dravidian? At least not an Arab as the Arabs
simply do not accept a miskeen Bakistani to be one of them. So far for
the history, culture, civilisation and the identity.
Next, I am not very sure of my religion either. Am I a
Muslim or not? According to Justice Munir report of 1954 all 40 ulema
belonging to different sects, who appeared before the Inquiry Commission
declared every other sect Kafir and that his sect alone was the only sect that
was Islamic. Well, that was then. But nothing much seems to have changed
even now after more than half a century, that is six decades. Enforcement of the
Islamic Shariah is being demanded not only by the Taliban, extremists and the
terrorists but also by all mainstream ulema and mushaikh too. And, one of these
days imposed it shall be. But which and whose Shariah, that no one knows?
This reminds me of a published article by Lt Col. Moin Rauf a few excerpts of
which are reproduced here:
QUOTE:
1) According to mainstream Islamic Scholars, the Punishment of
Apostasy ( Irtadad – reversion to Kufr from Islam) is death. Since every other
sect of Islam considers the other as Kafir, every Pakistani citizen would be
liable to be killed in the eyes of the other Pakistani.
2) Under the Shariah Law, the punishment for theft is the
severing of the hand. In Pakistan, only 0.9% of the population pays taxes,
which indirectly means that 99.1% of them are tax evaders in one way or the
other. Since tax evasion is a form of theft against the government,
Pakistan should get ready to chop the hands of 99.1% of the population.
3) According to the chief of Jamat-e-Islami and a large
percentage of Muslims, the only way a raped woman can convict her rapist(s) is
by producing 4 eye witnesses to the act. Now, unless a woman would have 4
witnesses which is probably only possible if she gets raped in a market, she
should remain quiet. Or, she herself would be stoned to death for making the
confession.
4) Since the punishment of blasphemy of the Holy Prophet
(S.A.W) is death according to mainstream Islam, and apart from 1.4 billion
Muslims, all other 5.6 billion humans consider him (SAW) as (Tauba Naoozobillah)
untruthful and wrong, (or else, if they take him (SAW) to be true it would be
tantamount to their saying Ashhado anna Mohammad ur
Rasoolillah and
thus accept Islam), therefore, it could be
obligatory upon us to wipe out all such blasphemous Non-Muslims from the face
of the Earth. What greater blasphemy could there be than considering the
Prophet as a (Tauba
Naoozobillah) liar? UNQUOTE:
My oh my -- which one sect out of the 72 or 73 shall go to
Jannah and the rest to Hell? Pray tell me please and I would not waste a moment
and without a second thought jump in to join it. I am sure so would all others
do and that would weave us all into a one nation of 200 million strong.
Well, well ..... untill then, I would request all especially the clergy to
please spare us for a while and abide by the Quaid’s well considered advice of
11 August 1947 that he gave in his official capacity of the President of the
Constituent Assembly to the first ever Constituent Assembly of
Pakistan. He said, “You
may belong to any religion or caste or creed – that has nothing to do with the
business of the State..... ,because that is the personal faith of each individual”.
Along with it I would love to see my very dear country making great strides in
leaps and bounds in the economic field and turn herself! into an economic
giant. For, if money is there so will be there everything else – be
it the welfare of the masses, the healthcare, education, communications,
roads, bridges and buildings, Travel, Airlines, Shipping and ship building,
industry & engineering, trade & commerce, science and technology, art,
sports and culture, food and agriculture – you name it – would ALL be there for
ALL proud Pakistanis to enjoy to their heart’s desire. And who knows with such
abundance we also become more tolerant and compassionate towards one another.
Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd)
30 Westridge 1
Rawalpindi 46000
Pakistan
E.mail: jafri@rifiela.com
E.mail: jafri@rifiela.com
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