About secular, liberal ‘forces’
As if the national narrative about progressive, regressive, liberal and conservative trends wasn’t confusing enough already. Now Maulana Fazlur Rehman, of the JUI-F, has decided to add his bit to the mix as well – not that his position on the matter was not already well known. But he has felt it necessary now, for some reason, to warn the military chief that “secular forces which now seem to be close to him will never come to protect the country”. He seemed pretty certain, instead, of “bearded men wearing turbans” fighting “shoulder to shoulder” with the army in time of need.
The Maulana was not too happy that the prime minister called the country “liberal” recently either. Many share Fazl’s concerns, of course. Not very long ago JUI-F’s cousins on the far right, the jamaat (JI), was urging the prime minister to keep similar secular forces at bay. Again, while the jamaat’s conservative credentials are already well known and documented, it is the timing of these statements that raise concern. These are times of unprecedented rise of the extreme right in many parts of the Muslim world. In the most extreme cases, militant organisations are routinely indulging in savagery and international terrorism, provoking a sharp rebuke of conservative tendencies.
The Pakistani government, on the other hand, is still without that crucial national narrative that was supposed to be the main driving force behind the existential war. The PM’s ‘liberal’ position, though a step in the right direction, is still too little too late. The battle for hearts and minds is the civilian government’s responsibility, not the military’s; and progress on this front has not been much to write home about. The army bit the bullet with Zarb-e-Azb. It is about time that the civilian government made some impressive progress too.
