Pakistani streets and social media sites are jammed with people and their messages condemning Israel’s recent attack on Gaza strip. Don’t take me wrong; I am totally against Israeli aggression against helpless civilians, who are forced to live in the world’s largest open-air prison, with nothing but a bleak future to look forward to.
My question to those countrymen who are now at the forefront of blocking roads and crashing websites with condemnation messages is: Where can we find you when fanatics go on killing spree to eliminate religious and sectarian minorities, you just keep counting the numbers as goals scored in the world cup. When mosques, shrines, churches, temples and other places of worship are bombed and burned, we see no effort to catch the culprits hiding among ourselves. We see no protests against innocent people being targeted under blasphemy law and family honour customs; even rape victims are condemned for inciting the heinous act and are asked to bring witnesses as proof.
We see no religious party openly rejecting Taliban, Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, ISIS, Al-Shabab; even if they do under public pressure, it is overloaded with ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’.
Therefore, first things first – come clean on what’s happening within few kilometers of our residences rather than shouting hollow slogans for Gazans living thousands of kilometers away.
Remember, charity begins at home, otherwise it’s just a show-off business.
MASOOD KHAN
Jubail, Saudi Arabia