Pakistan can not come out of its present turmoil unless its society and polity are organized on genuine democratic and secular values, declared the members of Forum for Secular Pakistan on Sunday.
“We wish to emphasis on secularism without which even democracy does not bear fruits,” said Senator (Retd) Iqbal Haider, president of the Forum while reading out a “Declaration” to a briefing at Karachi Press Club.
Quoting the August 11 (1947) and April 1957 speeches of the founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah and then Prime Minister Husseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, who, he said, were the proponents of secularism, Haider stressed the need for a concerted effort to take educational and constitutional reforms in the country to ensure equality of citizens in Pakistan.
He said it was unfortunate that the pronouncement of Mr Jinnah were easily ignored by his successors who in fact moved in quite an opposite direction making Pakistan an obscurantist, clergy-driven and non-democratic state.
The wrong policies and priorities set by the successive governments of past he said had made Pakistan a security state which, he said, was fast degenerating and falling prey to the forces of religious extremism.
He also flayed the past rulers for a failed strategy of indulging the country into so-called Afghan Jihad and creating the Jihadi outfits to pursue the Kashmir policy. “These did ruin the socio-political fabric of Pakistani society,” said Haider.
“Today the society is highly weaponised, instead of creating a culture of dialogue there has emerged the language and uproar of weapons,” he added.
The former senator said religion today was being used by anti-social elements to spawn their respective militant/terrorist groups to serve as magnets to attract the poor and unemployed youth into its fold.
In a bid to clarify misperception about the term secularism, Haider said the past governments had done the worst thing by presenting secularism as “ladinyat”. Instead, he said, secularism stood for acceptance of all religions to their adherents. “Instead of harming religions, secularism secures state,” he explained.
He said his side was proposing the establishment of Forum for Secular Pakistan which would be a democratic and non-party platform to promote secularism in the country.
“We would promote the right sense of secularism,” the Forum’s president said.
Others who spoke on the occasion include Sherbaz Khan Mazari, Javed Qazi, Hasil Bux Bazinjo, Zubaida Mustafa, President KPC Tahir Hassan Khan.
Justice (Retd) Fakhruddin G Ibrahim who was to attend the event could not show up due to what Haider said illness.
It's high time people stopped believing in fairy tales.Imaginary friends are acceptable in childhood,not in adult life.
People should keep their religions private between them and their God. I am sure God will understand.
Pakistani flag has white for minorities for a reason. Respect everyone, treat everyone the same, regardless of their religion, cast, color, otherwise, you are going against the very concept of the flag. Secularism can fix many errors and Pakistan can start to go upwards, instead of downwards, as it has been since it came into being
BAat Tu Sucha !
to anyone who is foaming at the mouth over the "threat of secularism", I kindly suggest them to look up and read the 1954 Justice Munir Report to understand why it has always been in Pakistan's best interest to keep politics SEPARATE from religion.
Mighty right. Secularism does not mean LADINYAT. It means to show tolerance for other faiths. It implies moderate behavior which is guiding principle of Islam. By making a state religion you tend to malign others who do not follow Islam. But there is no place in Islam for compulsion in matters of religion and that is what is secularism. I hope someday my country is liberated from the illiterate clergy who do not even understand the purpose of this religion ( Islam ) bestowed on humanity for its betterment. They only believe in killing any one who does not believe in Islam. Try to follow Hadhrat Mohammad Mustafa ( Peace of Allah be on him). Try to see and follow how he used to behave in Makkah and in Madinah and you will make Pakistan a better place. But if you try to keep inventing a new branch and meaning of Islam every day then Allah will keep on punishing us with earth quakes, floods,mullahs,merciless rulers,disease and the like. Choice is with us.
Comments are closed.