We’re witnessing phenomenal changes in the world today. From the uprising in Tunisia to the revolution of the masses in ousting Hosni Mubarak, to capture of Libyan capital by the rebels and to constant instability in Syria and Yemen, the Muslim world is not the same any more. Things are changing, and more so for the better. The age of secular liberal dictatorships and liberal democracies is fast approaching a degenerative dead-end.
The rulers of Pakistan, the establishment in particular, and the bureaucracy in general, need to take note of these changes. These changes can only be viewed under two perspectives. One perspective would be to view these changes as being cosmetic and as a result of foreign influence, and another perspective, a rather solid one in terms of the ground realities, would be to see these uprisings as the awakening of a sleeping giant; the awakening of the youth for their God gifted rights.
We can never be certain whether Pakistan will be immune to these uprisings or not. It is therefore of utmost importance for the establishment to take note of these dramatic and radical changes occurring in the Muslim world, and note that the underlining reasons of these uprisings – tyranny and oppression – are to be found in Pakistan as well; and that they need to decide now, and not later, what the masses really wish for. Do they wish for a secular liberal Pakistan, or don’t.
A N TAQI
Lahore