Dissent on the streets: Pakistani Shia Muslims protest against the killing of 19 Shias, who were killed in cold blood by men wearing military uniforms

Without tolerance, our world turns into hell” — Friedrich Durrenmatt.

A year ago on this day (March 2), Federal Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti was assassinated. His assassination took place less than two months after Governor Punjab Salmaan Taseer was shot dead by his bodyguard. Both of them were ardent supporters of minority rights. Both of them were vocal about the country’s archaic blasphemy laws. Both of them received death threats as a result. These threats were as real in Mr Bhatti’s case as they were in Mr Taseer’s. But both men were principled and fearless. In the end, both of them met the same fate. They were assassinated by fanatic butchers.

In an interview with the BBC after Mr Taseer’s assassination, Shahbaz Bhatti said, “I was told that if I was to continue the campaign against the blasphemy law, I will be assassinated. I will be beheaded. But forces of violence, forces of extremism cannot harass me, cannot threaten me.” The debate on blasphemy laws slowly died down with Mr Taseer’s assassination. Mr Bhatti’s murder sealed the fate of this debate. Now people are afraid to raise this issue. Aasia Bibi, the innocent Christian woman accused of blasphemy and whose case was taken up by Taseer and Bhatti, is still in prison. Unfortunately, nobody in the corridors of power is now willing to raise their voice for Bibi’s release after what happened to Taseer and Bhatti.

In this ‘land of the pure’, nothing is sacred — especially not human lives. Most of these killings are done in the name of religion. Religious extremism did not emerge out of a vacuum all of a sudden. It was nurtured, strengthened and supported by the Pakistani military and its intelligence agencies for their own vested interest.

Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) are just but a few examples of terrorist outfits created by the military and its proxies in the garb of ‘Islamic’ outfits. But in essence, these terrorist groups have nothing to do with Islam and its message of peace. They are serving their masters, i.e.
the military, while their masters allow them to do as they please. Shia genocide is another ‘mission’ taken up by the terrorist networks.

This week, 19 Shias were killed in Kohistan cold blood by men wearing military uniforms. According to the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC): “Though no militant organisation, who in the past were involved in killing the Shias, has claimed responsibility for the killings, the media has been accusing first one, and then another organisation in an attempt to cover up the alleged involvement of military men in the killings of members of the second largest sect of Islam. No statement of clarification has been forthcoming from the Pakistan Army about the men involved in the attack despite the fact that they were in military dress… The AHRC expresses the view that target killings give us a clear picture of the lack of accountability and transparency in dealing with the organised crimes done by militants organised backed by the intelligence agencies and law enforcement agencies.” This is an indictment and rightfully so. Banned terrorist outfits cannot work with impunity unless they have the backing of powerful quarters. In Pakistan, the most powerful institution is the military. Since these banned outfits serve the military’s purpose of jihad, cross-border terrorism, intimidation, harassment and whatnot, nobody bothers when they kill innocent Shias, Ahmadis, Christians, Hindus and Sikhs.

Pakistan cannot progress without pluralism. Religious extremism has gnawed at the basic fabric of our society.

To see lawyers showering a cold blooded murderer with rose petals or banning Shezan on court premises just
because Shezan is owned by the Ahmadiyya community shows how even educated people are turning into outright zealots. Add to it the military and its proxies, and we have the deadliest mix ever. It is time to roll back this madness. It is time to stand up to these murderers.

The writer is a Pakistani journalist. Reach her at mehmal.s@gmail.com

Source: Mid-Day

A comment by PejaMistri

کبھی کبھی اکیلے بیٹھے چپ چاپ سوچتا ہوں اگر سلمان تاثیر حضور پاک صلى الله عليه وسلم کے زمانے میں ہوتے اور کسی بد زبان تند خو بد اندیش منافق مسلمان کی کمزور یہودی یا عیسائی کے ساتھ دراز دستی کی خبر آپ تک پہنچتی تو آپ کبھی کبھی ضرور فرماتے کے آج تاثیر کو بھیجو – یہ نڈر بھی ہے ، راست باز بھی اور منافقوں سے ڈرتا بھی نہیں اور کمزوروں کا ساتھ بھی دیتا ہے . اور ہمارے مسلک پر عمل بھی کرتا ہے

…………………

It’s been an year since I wrote this. There is no one anymore in Pakistan who dare wipe Asia Bibi’s tears. A cold wave runs through my spine, when I think about that lady hearing the news of murder of Salman Taseer, by the jailer with a beard and wicked smile on his face. She must have resigned to her fate then and there.

After Salman Taseer’s death, there is no mention of Asia Bibi in any of the newspaper in Pakistan, one day in Jang I saw an article by “Munno Bhai” titled “Asia Bibi” without reading the article I saluted the courage of our great Munno Bhai but when I opened the link I found that he was talking about some girl named Asia Bibi of Mardan, I still salute him for his courage to mention the name of Asia Bibi, people might have asked him to use some other name but I am sure he would have stood his ground

—-

ڈر لگتا ہے
بہت سال پہلے جب میں پاکستان میں چھپ چھپ کر مارکس کی داس کپیٹل پڑھتا تھا . اور کہیں سے بائبل کا نسخہ لا کر پڑھتا تھا . اور انٹر نَشنل اسلامی یونی ورسٹی کے ہوسٹل میں شراب کی بوتل لا کر چھپ کر پیتا تھا تو مجھے ڈر نہیں لگتا تھا. پنجاب یونی ورسٹی کے ہوسٹل میں کمبل کٹ کھا کر بھی کوئی خوف نہیں آیا. اور ملتان میں تیس دن تک ڈاکٹر اسرار کا خطبہ سننے کے بعد ان کے ساتھ مذاق کرنے سے بھی ڈر نہیں لگتا تھا. نہ ہی ابو کے سامنے غلام احمد قادیانی کی کشتی نوح پڑھنے سے ڈر لگتا تھا اور نہ ہی محسن نقوی کی مجلس پر جانے سے ڈر لگتا تھا.

لیکن کل جب ایک انیس سال کے میرے رشتے کے بھانجے نے سلمان تاثیر کے “قتل” کی مبارک کا اس ایم اس بھیجا تو مجھے اسے جوابی تنبیہ کرنے سے ڈر لگ رہا تھا. نہ جانے کتنے غازی علم دیں شہید ہم اب تک پیدا کر چکے ہیں

 @Asma_Jahangir: Pakistan kaa masala kia — jeem jeem aur jeem (3rd January, 2012)

The murder of PPP Governor Salman Taseer came as a surprise for those elites who have no roots in the masses.  For the rest, it was another tragic reminder to the many Pakistanis who have suffered due to the military establishment’s policy of strategic depth.  This continued policy has been reinforced by Sherry Rehman’s JI report and directly leads to the patronage of extremist militants who are used as Non-State actors in Afghanistan and Kashmir.  They are also used as a street force for undermining democratic governments, especially the PPP.

As always, the two organs of the State, the media and the Judiciary, that are ideally expected to safeguard and protect democratic and progressive norms failed once again. In most countries, these two institutions have played a vital role in highlighting the ills of society and solving problems via the courts. In Pakistan, however, they are part of the 3-Jeem alliance that have, with a few honourable exceptions, always worked hand in glove with the military establishment.

Prominent journalist/analyst Nasim Zehra represents all that is wrong withPakistan’s media. In the weeks leading upto Taseer’s murder, the media played a vital role in galvanizing the rabid, right-wing Taliban apologists and providing their intolerant frothing fatwas with precious air time. Instead of educating the public on the developments that were taking place on the streets, as part of senior management at a major private corporate media channel, Duniya,  she was culpable in the the dangerous, misguided bigotry that lead to Taseer’s killing. After Taseer’s killing, Nasim’s channel Duniya  hired ex-Samaa employee, Mehr Bokhari.  This after her performance at the Samaa channel where she instigated for Taseer’s murder:

In a follow up show on DAWN, Nasim was unusually defensive and does her best to deflect attention away from the horrible role played by the media in Taseer’s murder. Instead she dishonestly blames the victim, the PPP, for the murder of their own senior leader. Blaming the victim tactic is a sure indication that in the absence of any arguement in defending the indefensible, Nasim Zehra dishonestly diverted the growing attention away from the media and onto the PPP Government which had just lost senior leader and Punjab Governor and which would go on to lose another leader and minister with the killing of Minorities Minister, Shahbaz Bhatti.

What Nasim Zehra and other journalists deliberately omit from this debate are the crucial developments that were taking place then.  Most crucial amongst these developments was the estrangement of both Brelvi (Kazmi) and Deobandi (Fazlu) clerics from the government coalition and their growing alliance with other pro-Taliban parties like the JI, JUI S, SSP/ASWJ, PML N, PTI. These groups were whipping up public sentiment against any changes to the blasphemy law.  Nasim then used the CFD platform to develop the dishonest “PPP-abandoned-Taseer” narrative even further.

She conviniently omitted the actual opposition to the Blasphemy Law amendment by other political and religious groups and shifted the entire blame of Taseer’s killing on to the PPP. In disaffected PPP MNA from a reserved seat, Sherry Rehman, she found a willing collaborator. On the CFD website and platform, only the PPP was abused and slandered as the party that was responsible both for Taseer’s murder and for failing to amend the Blasphemy Act. Omitted from this fake discourse was the crucial fact that PPP didn’t have the numbers and with the MQM backstabbing them yet again, were in real danger of being dismissed. What was also deliberately misrepresented was the lie that other parties known for their support to religious parties were going to support this amendment.

Using her media pulpit, Nasim Zehra was a central figure in distorting the entire scenario. The media first supported the violent religious groups in reinforcing their anti-amendment stance amongst the public. In the violent back lash that followed, they worked throught known establishment journos like Nasim Zehra in shifting the blame onto the victim.

Oh, yes, lest we forget, this elite segment of society equates Rehman Malik’s disgusting statement as representative of PPP abondoning Taseer; completely oblivious to what was said by PPP Co-Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Ofcourse, Bilawal is not an establishment-propped politician like Imran Khan and is already prepared for the same viciousness that was spewed against his late grandfather, his late mother and his father when they raised their hands for public office. However, coming back to Rehman Malik, one would wish he would be hauled before a court and asked to explain his disgusting statements. Here is the real rub though. InPakistan, the courts would have showered him with petals and treated him as a hero like they did with Taseer’s murderer; the coward Mumtaz Qadri who shot an unarmed man he was supposed to guard. In Pakistan, these same courts and most of these judges and lawyers have been venerated by the same media. And yet the blame the PPP.

“If you wish to be a ghazi, Take up your sword : Before killing the Kafir, You must slaughter the swindler.”Those were the times of turmoil and religious intolerance in Punjab when Bulleh shah emerged as a major voice against orthodoxy. A voice against the rigid and hardliner policies and views of Aurangzeb and Sheikh Ahmad Sirhandi who believed: “The non-Muslims should be kept at a distance like dogs. They must not be given any consideration or humane treatment.” As Bulleh shah started openly taking to the orthodoxy and clergy to the task, he was termed as heretic and boycotted socially. Bulleh shouted back: “A lover of God?  They’ll make much fuss; They’ll call you a Kafir, You should say -yes, yes.” For being an outright critic of status quo and shabby values of society Bulleh was refused by the mullahs to be buried after his death in the community graveyard. Mullahs were reluctant to offer the funeral prayers. Today, there are not even the ruins left of that community graveyard but the shrine of Bulleh attracts myriads from every corner of the region.

“The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways — I to die and you to live. Which is the better, only God knows”.  Plato refers to Socrates as the “gadfly” of the state (as the gadfly stings the horse into action, so Socrates stung various Athenians), insofar as he irritated some people with considerations of justice and the pursuit of goodness. Claiming loyalty to his city, Socrates clashed with the current course of Athenian politics and society. Rather than upholding a status quo and accepting the development of what he perceived as immorality within his region, Socrates questioned the collective notion of “might makes right” that he felt was common in Greece during this period. Socrates was condemned to death by drinking a mixture containing poison hemlock by the Athenian Ecclesia as a result of conspiracy contemplated by Oracle of Delphi. He was charged that he worshiped gods other than those sanctioned by the Polis. During his trial, as described in Apology by Plato, Socrates said: “For if you think that by killing men you can avoid the accuser censoring your lives, you are mistaken; that is not a way of escape which is either possible or honorable; the easiest and the noblest way is not to be crushing others, but to be improving yourselves”.

Matthew 26:63-66: “Then the high priest said to him, ‘I order you to tell us under oath before the living God whether you are the Messiah, the Son of God,’ Jesus said to him in reply, ‘You have said so. But I tell you: From now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.’ Then the high priest tore his robes and said, ‘He has blasphemed!’ What further need have we of witnesses? You have now heard the blasphemy, what is your opinion? They said in reply, ‘He deserves to die!”. Pilate seeks to release Jesus, the priests object and say: “Every one that makes himself a king speaks against Caesar . . . We have no king but Caesar.Pilate then writes “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” as a sign to be affixed to the cross of Jesus. Jesus was crucified. As of the early 21st century, Christianity has around 2.1 billion adherents. The faith represents about a quarter to a third of the world’s population and is the largest religion in the world, with approximately 38,000 Christian denominations.

“I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with senses, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use and by some other means to give us knowledge which we can attain by them.”- Galileo. “Eppur si muove” (And yet it moves) said to have been uttered by the Italian mathematician, physicist and philosopher Galileo Galilei in 1633 after being forced to recant his belief that the Earth moves around the Sun before the Inquisition. Galileo’s championing of heliocentrism (Earth and planets revolve around a stationary Sun) was controversial within his lifetime, when most subscribed to either geocentrism (Earth is the center of the universe). Galileo was found “vehemently suspect of heresy”, namely of having held the opinions that the Sun lies motionless at the centre of the universe, that the Earth is not at its centre and moves, and that one may hold and defend an opinion as probable after it has been declared contrary to Holy Scripture (Psalm 104:5 says, “the Lord set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved.”). He was required to “abjure, curse and detest” those opinions. On the following day this was commuted to house arrest, which he remained under for the rest of his life. His publications remained banned for many years to come. At last In 1939 Pope Pius XII had to confess: “Galileo was among most audacious heroes of research… not afraid of the stumbling blocks and the risks on the way, nor fearful of the funereal monuments”.

“If you do not recognize God, at least recognize His sign, I am the creative truth -Ana al-Haqq-, because through the truth, I am eternal truth.” Mansur Hallaj believed in union with the Divine, that God was within him, and that he and God had become one and the same. Mansur was cut into many pieces because in the state of ecstasy he exclaimed Ana al Haq “I am the truth”. He was executed in public in Baghdad at the orders of the Abbasid Caliph Al-Muqtadir after a long, drawn-out investigation. . His eccentric views were suspected as heresy by the hardliners of that time who believed in the literalist interpretation of religion. His method was one of “universalist mystical introspection: It was at the bottom of the heart that he looked for God and wanted to make others find Him. He believed one had to go beyond the forms of religious rites to reach divine reality. Thus, he used without hesitation the terminology of his opponents, which he set right and refined, ready to make himself hostage of the denominational logic of others.” (Massignon: “Perspective Transhistorique,” p. 76) Even beyond the Muslim faith, Hallaj was concerned with the whole of humanity, as he desired to communicate to them “that strange, patient and shameful, desire for God, which was characteristic for him.” His death is described by Attar as a heroic act, as when they are taking him to court, a Sufi asks him:”What is love?” He answers: “You will see it today, tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow.” They killed him that day, burned him the next day and threw his ashes to the wind the day after that.

“Kuj unj vee raahwaN okhyaN san, Kuj gal wich GhamaaN da tauq vee si; Kuj shahar de lok vee zaalam san, Kuj saanu maran daa shoq vee sii” (Not only, the path was full of obscurities. But also I had cross of anguish around my neck; Beyond just, city fellows were blood-thirsty.  I, myself, was benevolent to death) . The verses exhibit the traits of Malamtiyyas that were personified by the late Governor of Punjab, Salman Taseer. Against all odds, Taseer came out openly in defending a Christian woman, Asia BB, who had been booked under the notorious Blasphemy Laws of Pakistan. Despite having been come under the virulent criticism from most, if not all, factions of a hostile society, Taseer remained defiant until one of his own security guards emptied the magazine of gun in his body. Not far away are the times when history shall give her verdict about yet another Blasphemer. Here are some words from the blasphemer: “I was under huge pressure to cow down before rightist pressure on blasphemy. Refused. Even if I’m the last man standing”.

History dictates the human race on her own terms. The only enduring thing in the universe is the ‘change’ itself. Clinging to the decadent notions, exploited by the adherents of dark, ends up in complete devastation of civilizations – history is the testimony to that. Oracles may toe the lines of hierarchs, Churches may be subservient to oligarchs, Mosques may parrot the narratives of despots; but history has her own way to deal with the things. History hails those standing up to the values of hatred, bigotry and orthodoxy; and snubs those siding with the forces of dark and decadence. The blasphemers of status quo and darkness are the jewels of humanity – the pride of human race who exalt the Homo sapiens to humans.

Related post: They used a hanka to murder Salmaan Taseer

I consider it a befitting tribute to Salmaan Taseer to say a few bold, controversial things on his first death anniversary, which others may be reluctant to say.

1. Most of the tributes written in Taseer’s honour are lacking both in context and content, do not specify his killers, present a false right-wing left-wing binary, ignore the sinister role of the military establishment, blame his own party etc. Several examples come to mind but most promoted and most disappointing tribute is by Ahmad Rashid (published in Daily Times and BBC) which is both factually and analytically inaccurate.

2. Many of Taseer’s friends including some family members in the media are completely silent on genocides of the Baloch, Pashtun, Shia by army and proxies, which are urgent human rights issues. They are either in denial or resort to tokenism and misrepresentation. This is an insult to Taseer’e memory. (We have some painful examples of how some of them actually supported Deep State’s narratives on Balochistan etc, e.g., when one of them praised Cyril Almeida’s column in which he had justified the killing of Baloch Professor Saba Dashtiyari.)

3. In a macro-context, by providing diplomatic legitimacy to the Taliban, Pakistan (army) and USA are rewarding the killers of Benazir Bhutto and Salmaan Taseer. This is painful and unacceptable.

4. Contrary to urban myth, Husain Haqqani’s trial has not yet begun. He will earn respect only by following the examples of Benazir, Zardari and Gilani.

5. Salmaan Taseer violated the mainstream by taking a bold stance on a sensitive issue. This element alone is clearly lacking in many of his fans and the so called champions of his cause.

An extract from Faiz’s poetry as a tribute to Salmaan Taseer, a little prayer:

aaiye hath uthayen hum bhi
hum jinhe rasm-e-dua yaad nahin
aaiye arz guzaren ke nigar-e-hasti
zehr-e-imaroz me shirini-e-farda bhar de
wo jinhen tabe garanbari-e-ayyam nahin
unki palkon pe shab-o-roz ko halka kar de
jinka deen peravi-e-kizbo-riya hai unko
himmat-e-kufr mile, jurat-e-tehaqiq mile
jinke sar muntazir-e-tegh-e-jafa hein unko
dast-e-qatil ko jhatak dene ki taufiq mile

Salman Taseer stood against an unjust system. A system that was designed by the hounds, and vultures, thirsty for power in the pretext of a misinterpreted and manipulated religion—a religion which they also love to call , ironically, a religion of peace. How so? If only they could see how insulting they are to the name of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) by unjustly glorifying it through systematized exploitation and murder that they have defined through a law. ? Why is THIS not considered insult to Prophet (Peace be upon him) and how is this not considered as blasphemy?

For those who consider themselves righteous must also know that even Saudi Arabia, a country with most rigid laws that many adhere to spiritually, recognized Salman Taseer’s martyrdom against extremists and fanatics.

Perhaps an introverted spectra of how conscience is related to personal convictions depends on what do we hold more valuable to us.

It brings one down to shame to hear “we value religion more than conscience” whereas rationality holds no ground when one declares valuing conscience more because this makes them feel closer to a Merciful God.

Maybe, a very few people remain in this other “humanity first” spectra today like Late Salman Taseer, while others have tragically become mere non-thinking followers of more radical, mechanized version of Islam dictated by their hard-line militant interpreters.

Today is his first death anniversary, and despite complete silence over it by the state, the people of Pakistan, in particular the minorities will never forget the sacrifice of Salman Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti for giving voice to the innocent, helpless victims of our contentious laws.

Salman Taseer, you may not be with us today, but you left many of us with an inspiration. It was your resilience that gave us hope and restored conscience.

We are thankful to you and one day, history will look up to you as a warrior who fought for reason and justice, despite knowing the dangers involved. You never gave up for Aasia Bibi. May she, and countless of other victims of 295C laws receive justice with their human dignity restored. Rest in peace.

Poem: Resilience:

Resilience is beautiful.

My dear, you’ve got a beard and a bullet
in my name.

I have my voice and spirit
standing in the way of your
fatalism.

Do what you must do.

I’m just not going to go away
too soon.

A well planned and well coordinated hanka was used to murder the Lion of the Punjab.

Do you know about the ‘haka’ or ‘hanka’ technique used in colonial India to hunt tigers? That’s exactly how the Punjab Governor and PPP’s central leader Salmaan Taseer was killed by the right wing and (fake) liberal proxies and affiliates of Pakistan army.

For starters, the right-wing left-wing binary does not apply to the context of Pakistani politics and media. Similarly, the “Urdu press is conservative” and “English press is progressive” binary is equally misleading.

It is a fact that Pakistan’s almighty military establishment has its proxies and affiliates both in right wing and in the so called liberal class. (This article highlights that most of Pakistan’s liberals are lifestyle liberals instead of ideological or political liberals. http://criticalppp.com/archives/61839). Therefore, the more appropriate binary in Pakistan’s context is pro-army vs pro-people.

Through an intricate network (Teen Jeem (3 Js): Jenerals, Judges and Journalists), Pakistan army maintains its stronghold on Pakistani media and politics.

Coming back to the original topic, in a haka, a herd of villagers (beating drums, making noises) and cattle from different directions force the tiger towards a small corner where it is easy to control and kill him.

In Taseer’s case, both right-wingers (Ansar Abbasi types) and (fake) liberals (Mosharraf Zaidi types) worked as a coordinated haka to enable his killing.

Taseer took a dangerously bold and honest stance on Pakistan’s most sensitive and controversial anti-blasphemy laws terming such laws as Black Laws and a violation of fundamental human rights. This provided the righ wing as well as liberal proxies and affiliates of Pakistan army with an excellent opportunity to use the haka technique to corner and hunt down yet another PPP leader after the previous murder of Benazir Bhutto in December 2007.

It was clear that without due street-level support (through carefully planned and executed public awareness campaigns, open debates, reforms in the curricula and media, discussions in the parliament and legal courts), a public stance on the blasphemy law would endanger Taseer’s life. The haka masterminds clearly saw the opportunity not only to hunt down yet another central leader of a politically liberal party (PPP) but also thought of using this opportunity to gain at least two further goals, i.e., to reunite the majority Barelvi (Sufi) Muslim community with the more radical pro-Taliban Deobandi-Wahhabi community on a common agenda (the honour of the Prophet Muhammad); and to blame the victim, i.e., blame the PPP and President Zardari through the “PPP abandoned Taseer” discourse.

In his recent interview with Karan Thapar, Imran Khan pointed towards the danger of the same Haka when he refused to take a bold, clear stance against Lashkar-e-Taiba / Jamaatud-Dawa head Hafiz Saeed by citing the example of Mumtaz Qadri (the Deep State’s brainwashed footsoldier who killed Governor Taseer).

When Thapar asked him about militant groups and whether Khan would denounce them, he answered broadly in the affirmative. But Thapar is not the usually naïve and unabashedly sick-of-democracy Pakistani television anchor. He proceeded to ask Khan whether Hafiz Saeed and Jamaat-ud-Daawa would be specifically mentioned. “Look, I’m living in Pakistan. Pakistan at the moment is the most polarised country in the world. A governor gets shot, his assassin becomes a hero. There’s no point in becoming a hero right now in this country where there’s no rule of law,” he said, referring to the assassination of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer.(Source)

Taseer was much more brave and honest than Imran Khan and other (fake) liberals around him. It was, therefore, not much difficult to trap him.

The twin-wings of ISI’s proxies worked as follows: The right wing painted Taseer as the bad guy, a bad Muslim, by misrepresenting him as someone who was himself a guilty of the blasphemy of the Prophet (Tauheen-e-Risalat). The liberal wing, instead of advising Taseer to exercise caution and care, dishonestly cheered, encouraged rather forced him to make extremely bold and dangerous moves and statements (e.g., his visit to Asia Bibi in the Shiekhupura prison and hurried announcement of her pardon, his description of anti-blasphemy law as black law, his bold, anti-Mullah anti-fanatics remarks in various interviews etc). Of course, what was at stake was Taseer’s own life and the interests of his political party and family. None of his fake liberal cheerers ever accompanied him to visit Aasia bibi or cared to visit her after Taseer’s murder. In fact none of them cared to offer protection or support to the poor prayer leader (Afzal Chishti) who led Taseer’s funeral despite numerous threats to his life from radical right-wing proxies of the ISI.

The selection of Mumtaz Qadri as Taseer’s killer was not a mere coincidence. Many of his mates in the police in fact knew in advance about his plan to kill Governor Taseer, and silently stood by while Qadri emptied the magazine of his AK-47 into Taseer’s body; as Taseer collapsed, Qadri took further time to reload the rifle and sprayed another round of 30 bullets. This all points towards the fact that Taseer’s murder was not an isolated act of a lone wolf (as was suggested by a haka member in Pakistan’s media). Qadri was carefully chosen for this task because he belonged to Sunni Barelvi (Sufi) sect as opposed to more radical, pro-Taliban Deobandi or Wahhabi sect. Through Qadri’s selection (a violent Barelvi is a relative anomaly in Pakistan), the military establishment hoped to unite the majority of anti-Taliban Barelvis with the pro-Taliban Deobandis and Wahhabis on the common platform of the honour of the holy Prophet. By keeping a low profile in the aftermath of Taseer’s murder, the PPP largely foiled at least this part of the haka plan.

Finally, the same very people who got Taseer killed resorted to blaming his own party. That was the second, more important aim of the haka. Numerous articles were written by the (fake liberal) haka members in Pakistani and international media to defame the elected government by blaming the very party (PPP) which had lost yet another of its central leaders within three years of Benazir’s murder. It was alleged that by not taking a forceful stance on the blasphemy law, the PPP and President Zardari had effectively abandoned Taseer. The critics dishonestly hid the fact that the PPP needed 2/3 majority in the parliament to amend the constitution and that it currently did not have a simple majority. Moreover, it was conveniently ignored that such sensitive legal amendment could not be achieved overnight. However, the critics were not interested in facts, they wanted an ongoing haka to hunt down yet another PPP leader, something which they subsequently achieved through the killing of another PPP leader, Federal Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, a few month after Taseer’s murder.

Postscript: What we are currently witnessing in Husain Haqqani’s case seems to have at least some elements of a haka. Almost same set of people (flatterers and operatives) who steered Salmaan Taseer to his murder steered Husain Haqqani to ISI’s trap on every stage, right from the conception of the memo to an unnecessary public reaction to Mansoor Ijaz’s article in Financial Times, from over-focus on the memo to the mismanagement of the ISI-inspired petition in the Supreme Court. Those who steered Haqqani to a counter-productive public confrontation with Mansoor Ijaz and then to a demand of independent probe into memo were a part of the haka. The aim was to trap Haqqani, which was at least partially achieved the moment he landed in Pakistan.

Acknowledgement: Thanks to @Laibaah1 (Twitter) for the main idea of this post.

Source: Al Ufaq

I could hardly believe my senses as the news was unfolding itself in the most atrocious manner possible but sadly, it was. It started with a red ticker reporting an incident of loud gunfire in Islamabad. It then turned out that a VVIP was being targeted in the capital. Later it was updated that the person on the barrel end of the guns was none other than the Governor of the Punjab, Salman Taseer whose death had been called upon by thousands of Imams and Mullahs four days prior in Friday Sermons and post congregation rallies. A few more moments and I read with wet eyes on my drawing room TV screen the news that sent shivers down my spine.

Salman Taseer had been assassinated apparently by one of his guards who in his nonsensical mullah intellect accused him of blasphemy for his act of siding with a poor Christian lady Asia Bibi and for calling the draconian Pakistani Blasphemy laws as Black Laws. It was horrendous to visualize the scene in the mind’s eye – Mumtaz Qadri was spraying bullets on an unarmed Taseer upon whose security he was assigned. Several other guards stood like statues and did nothing to stop the aggressor’s hand.

With my heart hammering in my chest, limbs shivering and with a semi paralyzed brain I started to browse the Pakistani TV Channels where I found anchorpersons and newsreaders either applauding or justifying the barbarism. Similar was the case on my Facebook where one my closest friends had made a very derogatory and provoking remark about Mr.Taseer. An hour or so later it spread like forest fire and most of my friends were singing songs of glory for the inhumane beast, the assassin Mumtaz Qadri. Not just a few on the internet, the much learned and able lawyers who bang their chest. like Tarzans in claiming the credit of bringing democracy to the country also garlanded Qadri upon his arrival in the courts.

Frankly, I lost all hope in my people that evening. They were officially being the worst creatures under the canopy of the heavens now. The Islam being professed and practiced in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan had began to resemble the barbaric rituals of the pagans of Arabia and cannibals of Africa – actually this was even more barbaric and brutal.

Today as an year has drawn to a close, the man responsible to serve justice in the province that Taseer once governed is now defending his murder in the same courts. Asis Bibi continues to rot behind bars and Mumtaz Qadri has become the hero of the masses. While Pakistan is being ruled by the Mullahs rule via mosques and madrassas there is literally no hope left for sanity to prevail.

It is indeed a state of piety and shame, hopelessness and haplessness that the Judge who sentenced Qadri to death received death threats and had to be sent out of the country for security reasons.

This did not end on Taseer, Shahbaz Bhatti another sitting minister and the last voice against the blasphemy laws was also silienced by like minded mullahs in March the same year. Unlike Taseer’s , Bhatti’s murderer’s remain unidentified and undetected.

The assassination of Salmaan Taseer was a very emotional moment and as a poet it forced me to wet the tip of my quill and scribble a few lines that I read out in a Mushaira later. I am grateful to Atif S Ahmad who had added slides to the audio and has almost depicted what I had in my mind while writing.

May the soul of Salmaan Taseer rest in peace.

I leave you all with the video and best wishes for the New Year.

On the anniversary of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, December 27, 2007, I am submitting my first published essay in Let Us Build Pakistan. The article compared the recently murdered Governor Taseer, to Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s resolve for democracy.

Benazir Bhutto and Salman Taseer both respected and had just criticism of the U.S., but, both shared an admiration for the U.S. Constitution.

From the U.S. Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson :

“the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them…We hold these truths to be self-evident [“self-evident “ edited in by Benjamin Franklin], tht all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among those are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

We, in the U.S. took a long time to contend with the evils of slavery, and then Jim Crow, and finally Civil Rights, so it is a process and a tough journey. The forefathers sacrifices and Pakistan’s forefathers, Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Sir Muhammad Iqbal, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto sacrifices initially were those of liberty in much the same way, with the faults of men, but their intentions against all odds unrelenting for liberties, pluralism, and a reversal of restrictive laws from misguided interpretations from religious text- in our case, the witch hunts, in yours today, Blasphemy Laws, and other oppressions of minorities- must be rid.

Benazir Bhutto was a martyr of the true order of those that give their lives for their principles fighting against impediments to God-given liberties also reflected in our Constitution and Declaration of Independence,

Most of what I wrote a year ago, applies today, I repost it again lest we forget the sacrifices of Benazir Bhutto and Governor Taseer.

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Not unlike Benazir Bhutto, Governor Taseer was martyred because of his belief in a secular and democratic Pakistan – by Rusty Walker