This is with reference to derogatory remarks made by Zulfiqar Mirza about Rahman Malik being what he is, because he belongs to a family of barbers. Nobility or uprightness and human intelligence are not acquired through accident of birth, but are acquired by an individual. Unfortunately, living for centuries in a Hindu dominated environment, we have forgotten that Islam does not subscribe to human beings classified according to their pedigree, but according to their personal virtues, integrity and acts.
I am not an admirer of Rahman Malik, who certainly is a controversial man. Perhaps, Mr Mirza is unaware of the fact that one of the most prominent journalists of Pakistan came from a small town in Punjab, where his family had humble beginnings.
When Pakistan was created, it became a land of opportunities and there were many who overnight acquired assets through fake claims or forcible occupation and today claim nobility as a hereditary right. What we have forgotten is that Einstein or our own Abdus Salam were not sons of geniuses, but worked hard to develop their god-gifted extraordinary mental capabilities through sheer hard work, commitment and dedication.
It is unfortunate that we fail to recognise the ground realities that most downtrodden and deprived people come from places in interior Sindh, Balochistan, South Punjab and parts of KP, which are politically dominated by scions of former pirs and men who led their life by personal example, but their scions lack the character and integrity.
These areas are deprived of education by design so that they could be politically exploited by these merchants of doom. Look at the lives of former pirs and makhdums who stood up to fight for independence and the despicable debauch lifestyles of some of their grandchildren or scions. If this country had been run in accordance with the vision of Allama Iqbal or Quai-e-Azam, Pakistan would have had leaders like Obama, a man born in a poor family, but who has become the president of a white-dominated super power nation.
RASHID ORAKZAI
Quetta