Even if one didnt like him, one still had to appreciate and acknowledge Salmaan Taseers courage of conviction. And in these times of live telecast followed by endless repetition, in his last few years as the governor of Punjab, he gave one ample opportunity to take delight in his acerbic wit. Those at the receiving end though were definitely not amused by it. So he got as well as he gave, but he still could never be accused of pulling any punches or shying away from a verbal brawl.
Undeniable charisma, a confident demeanour, well-honed business acumen and knowledge of high finance were his other attributes. With not much more than his brains and hard work ethic to draw on, he built an empire that would be the envy of many.
But other than the political wrangling, the stand-out feature definitely was his loud and clear stand against the forces of militancy, bigotry and intolerance. In a country where those who take refuge behind an all-pervading expediency predominate, his frankness and raw courage was refreshing.
Taseers disdain for bigotry did not stem from its dissimilarity to his world view or lifestyle, but because it had already taken the entire polity and society hostage, and because its narrow interpretation of Islam was intended to eliminate whatever little space was left to other liberal points of view.
Beware of the mullahs. They have to be confronted or they will take over our lives, he is quoted to have said on the climate of militancy and fear that is menacing us.
Aasia Bibi may have committed blasphemy or she may have been framed by the perpetrators and consigned to the fate that has befallen her since. But Salmaan Taseer never committed blasphemy. He only spoke out against the inequity of these laws and their abuse being invoked in cases of personal vendettas or property disputes against the weak. That when these laws are man-made must one make a distinction and as such are liable to contain a flaw or three.
From a purely humanitarian angle, he made a most visible attempt to extend Aasia some reprieve after the sentencing brought her prolonged plight and extreme discrimination in our society and justice system in sharp focus.
Not many would have dared it. Taseer did. And for this he was framed as a blasphemer. In the eyes of the agitated bigots, with their habit of acting for so long as judge, jury and executioner, this was enough to condemn him, even barbarically put head money on him.
When he was sprayed with more than two dozen bullets from a deadly weapon in broad daylight, none from the posse of the commando-trained elite police force raised a finger to stop the killer. It later transpired that many amongst them, if not all, were in the know that a murder most foul was about to happen. Yet they did not breathe a word about it nor did anything to get the murderer apprehended. Instead they all chose to become an accessory, facilitating him in his task, in return with a pledge that he would surrender afterwards.
This raises many questions. Most importantly, in the context of this incident alone: why the security escort provided to the governor was not vetted properly? Deliberate or otherwise, there certainly was negligence, of the criminal hue. Was it that due to the Punjab governments differences with Salmaan Taseer? Babar Awan, the federal minister known for going for the jugular, has dubbed it a custodial murder.
Be that as it may, the larger, more alarming question often raised but not answered with enough assurance by any quarter is related to the extent of infiltration of the police and security services by the extremists and hardliners.
The rightward turn that Gen. Zia took in the seventies infected the security agencies and armed forces in a manner that it would be difficult in the extreme to screen, identify and weed out these wildly irrational, and trained and armed to boot masquerading as soldiers but taking their orders from elsewhere.
Would the Frankenstein that our Deep State unleashed in the late 1970s, avidly sponsored through the 1980s and 90s under various guises, and (sponsored (continued to sponsor it) in the 1990s and) even after being committed to the so-called War on Terror during the Musharraf years would ever be contained and tamed? Would this murderous frenzy ever be controlled? Has indeed a sincere effort been made to do that?
To the utter dismay of those in this country who are not consumed by bigotry, and who want normalcy to return to this land, these questions remain unanswered. And the silence from the concerned quarters is deafening. But until these are, our polity and our society will continue to remain hostage to the militant mullahs, their henchmen and their criminally silent sponsors until their diktat destroys whatever remains of this country, including the slight hope for redemption.
The writer is Sports and Magazines Editor, Pakistan Today.
