Firstly, a larger picture of the Pakistani society as exhibited in the ongoing political turmoil is very grim. Large number of people gathering and responding proactively to the unconstitutional calls of their pied-piping leaders proves that the main problem lies at the core of the society. It stands clear that the politicians, despite their belief in democracy, have failed to establish democratic norms in the society, educate common Pakistani of his democratic duties and responsibilities, and ensure democratic rights for each and every individual.

Majority of the mainstream political parties are rightfully condemning and criticizing Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri but, they should also realize that the democratization of the society is their duty. American civil rights leader, Timothy Thomas Fortune, once famously said, “Mob law is the most forcible expression of an abnormal public opinion; it shows that society is rotten to the core”. This quote perfectly befits our society. Once this turmoil gets diffused, our politicians should turn to the problems that lie at the core of our society; democratization of the society is much needed.

Secondly, it is showing how immature, undemocratic and unprincipled Imran Khan’s politicking is; as he has amassed his supporters and sympathizers for an unconstitutional act. His bandwagon appeal and political opportunism has further defamed the Azadi March. His tactics to topple down the government give rise to a pressing question i.e. what sort of ‘true democracy’ he wants to establish through his undemocratic and unconstitutional means?

Moreover, in a genuine revolution, class difference between the leadership and party workers diminishes but in Khan’s revolution, it does exist and it is obvious by the fact that the entire leadership resort to their lavish retreats in their shiny SUV motorcades leaving supporters stranded on the road. How can a leadership that has failed to eliminate class difference within its own party promise the welfare of middle and lower classes of our country?

Let us for the sake of argument agree that Imran Khan sincerely wants true democracy in Pakistan in which true representatives of the masses will be part of national assembly, but what about an extra-constitutional precedent he is determined to set by toppling a democratically-elected government? Even if he successfully manages to overthrow Nawaz Sharif’s regime, he will surely face the same threat to his own government in the future as well because his power play is not only imperiling his own political career but, also stigmatizing Pakistan and the domestic politics.

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After the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire, Middle East witnessed a number of conflicts among the Arab states, but after the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, Arab-Israeli conflict stole the limelight and shaped the entire regional politics with directly influencing international politics as well. Since 1948, there have been more wars and armed conflicts between Arabs and Israelis than among the Arab states. But after recent developments since the Arab Spring, Muslims have found more reasons to fight with each other as the regional politics has undergone a paradigm shift.
In the Arab spring – a series of uprisings which were instigated against dictatorships, monarchies and political corruption – protesters who demanded more political rights were tried to be quelled. The situation went out of control in some states in which the repressive rulers were either ousted or dragged on the streets of their own countries. For instance, leaders of Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen were deposed and in Libya, Gaddafi was killed by the rebellious masses. The uprisings in two states – Syria and Bahrain – radically altered the dynamics of regional politics. The uprisings, which were originally against the ruling elites, were molded into an all-out sectarian conflict between Shias and Sunnis. Particularly in Syria, this transformation took place when Iran and Saudi Arabia shadily and actively intervened to hijack the genuine revolt that was initially led by the Free Syrian Army (FSA). Hence, a proxy war has been initiated in which private militias and jihadi terrorist groups are still being heavily funded, and both states are pursuing and advancing their political interests at the cost of human lives. Outrage of western powers over the alleged use of chemical weapons by Assad compelled him to surrender his weapon stockpile. Plus, gave an apparent reason to the western powers to back out from the Syrian crisis with a superficial victorious face.

Resultantly, militants flexed their muscles and this caused a spillover in Iraq as well. Also, internal differences and infighting led some jihadi groups to act independently. The most prime example is that of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or also known as Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (ISIL). This group used to operate under the umbrella of al-Qaeda but not anymore, because the group leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, rejected the orders of Ayman al-Zawahiri to operate only in Iraq and, currently, it continues to operate both in Iraq and Syria. The extremity of ISIS can be evaluated by the fact that after a power struggle between ISIS and al-Qaeda the latter had to dissociate itself from the former. Moreover, parts of northern Syria are already under the control of ISIS and, with the US troops withdrawn, weak Iraqi government and military, ISIS rebounded with robust force taking over Mosul, Tikrit, Falluja along with many other cities seizing massive caches of arms, ammunitions, large amount of money and laying siege to Iraq’s largest oil refinery. According to the sources, ISIS has now become the richest terrorist group in the world.
Such advancement has not only raised eyebrows in the Iraqi political circles, but in the White House as well. Iran has already expressed its will to assist Iraq while, on the other hand, the US is mulling options which includes airstrikes and support for the Iraqi military or Kurdistan’s army, the peshmerga. Moreover, clerics are also playing an active role in the conflict. In Iraq, Ayatollah Sistani issued a call to take up arms against ISIS militants whereas, in Syria, the Grand Mufti announced that voting for Assad was commanded by the Prophet. Since, ISIS’ militants are adherent of Sunni Islam, so once again the fight is being dubbed as a sectarian conflict between Shias and Sunnis. And, such statements by clerics will only add more fuel to the fire; let the political forces handle the crisis.
The ongoing crises in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq, bears two lessons. First, for the West; peace cannot be attained just by replacing one political actor with the other as the problem lies deep within the minds. Afghanistan can be the next Iraq. Second, for the Muslims in general, separating religion from politics will save the former, before power politics, in the name of religion and sectarianism, destroy religion. Unfortunately, a region that only had one main conflict to deal with i.e. the Arab-Israel conflict, has now fallen into an abyss of its own homegrown conflicts.

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Furthermore, in our country many leaders have organized long marches to achieve their objectives. During the last few years, two significant long marches took place. One was for judiciary’s restoration and the other was for the reformation of the governance system. Former was successful while the latter was a failure but, notably, Pakistani media covered them vehemently. It seems quite difficult to comprehend the main reasons which attract maximum media coverage. Is it the SUV(s) and motorcade(s) which they are eager to show on their channels? Is it the number of participants? Is it the display of wealth and power? Or, is it the self-serving policies of various media houses? It is more of a conundrum for me but let me attempt to make sense of it.

In my personal opinion, glittering wealth and deceitful power are necessary elements to get media attraction because presently a handful of people (including women and children) from Balochistan led by Mama Qadeer Baloch, a 72 year old man, are on their way to Islamabad to seek justice for missing persons but media rarely reports about them. The headlines hungry media which has reported on Veena Malik’s piety, Meera’s silliness and things such as falling of a boy in a manhole as breaking news, has turned a blind eye to the cause of Baloch people. Perhaps because they are covering thousands of miles — from Quetta to Islamabad — on foot instead of SUVs and they do not have wealth and power to display lavishly. They are on foot, nonviolent, poor and an epitome of misery. Surely, they do not have any attractive element to draw some limelight on themselves.

All blame cannot be put on the media because there is another entity which is the most powerful and responsible i.e. the state. In international relations, state can be defined as: a legal/political entity that is comprised of the following: a) a permanent population; b) a defined territory; c) a government; and d) the capacity to enter into relations with other states. Fortunately, our motherland perfectly meets with each criterion which is needed to be recognized as a sovereign state. Since, it is imperative for a state to establish its authority and exercise the rule of law in order to govern; it becomes obligatory to deal with sedition against the governing bodies.

Likewise the state has conducted many military operations against the perceived threat of Baloch separatists. Military operations may result in a short term dissuasion of critical situations but in the long run it leads to further problems. The issue of separatism must be positively addressed by giving equal rights, provincial autonomy and by developing the affected people and areas.
Earlier, US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher had tabled a resolution in the US House of Representatives for the recognition of Baloch right to self-determination. It should be noted that the global human rights regime has now become very powerful, and in many ways has also transcended state’s authority. Therefore, human rights violation is a major excuse for intervention by another state on humanitarian grounds.

It is high time that government should dispense justice and fulfill the rightful demands of Baloch people under the constitution of Pakistan. If the government can enter into talks with barbaric TTP, who not only murdered thousands of people but have also defamed our country as well as our religion, then why cannot it negotiate with the Baloch people?

The daunting reality of our nation becoming unscrupulous and indifferent towards the miseries of others is appalling and pressing. What makes the aforementioned examples of Mao and Gandhi prodigious is the overwhelming support they both received from public. That is why Gandhi’s Salt March is still remembered and often talked about event from the past despite the fact that he had only covered 390 km, while Mama Qadeer with his group has travelled more than 2,000 km until now. Shamefully people are not paying any heed to these activists, except few who show up to express solidarity. Some politicians also show up for photographing and then fade away just like their empty promises. I am afraid that the names of these courageous and undeterred Baloch activists would soon be forgotten. Lastly, pity the nation that does not respond to the misery of fellow countrymen.

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Unfortunately, the people of Sindh are giving mixed opinions about Sindh Festival. In spite of the fact that the celebration is unprecedented, it is being subjected to harsh criticism mainly because it is being backed and organized by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) which does not maintain a good reputation in urban parts of the province, particularly in Karachi. Many make fun of the brother sister duo namely, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari without giving any rational argument against the two. Instead, they resort to passing on remarks about their personality traits ignoring the merits of their initiative. Too many people seem to have a problem with them but I wonder if similar cultural celebrations were announced by Imran Khan in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, the same chattering class would have joined him ecstatically.

There are other critics too with more convincing arguments such as bad governance by PPP as the province has not undergone significant development under PPP’s rule. But the problem with their rationale is that they commit the mistake of comparing development with cultural celebration. It is an obvious fact that PPP’s track record has not been satisfactory but using the argument of poor governance to discredit this cultural initiative is illogical. Moreover promotion of culture is also a part of ‘governance’.

Some also argue that the festival is a pretext while the real agenda is to strengthen political support plus political grooming of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. It sounds appealing but why would PPP need to strengthen its position where it already wears the crown of biggest political stakeholder?

There are numerous reasons to support this initiative. First of all, a province which is divided along ethnic lines critically needs a uniting force to harmonize different ethnicities. A sizeable faction of the population lives with a mistaken identity and do not own Sindhi culture. It is imperative to own the identity of the land you have been living on for generations. Also, there also exists an urban-rural divide and cultural heritage can play a proactive role in bridging this gap.

With our traditions, norms and values being under threat from rising extremism, owning and celebrating the plural tradition of our culture would definitely promulgate a message of peace and harmony. It should also strengthen our resolve that we will not let barbarism erase our history and values. It is time to find commonalities and unite rather than to criticize endlessly and stay divided. Culture is one of the strongest forces which bind people together; give cultural unity a chance and most importantly, give brotherhood a chance. Pakistan Paindabad, Jiye Sindh!

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