On corruption and Da’ish
Perhaps Sirajul Haq’s attempt at political relevance might have been better received if he had been more prudent in his choice of metaphors. Granted, few outside the two main parties would deny that PPP and PML-N style democracy has done more harm than good. But implying that Da’ish poses no risk, instead Da’ish style ‘political terrorists sitting in power corridors’ are a bigger threat, loses direction in the current context. And it’s not as if his party’s hard-right core has not gone out of the way to sympathise and empathise with the extremist enemy.
Of course, Siraj didn’t inherit the Jamaat in its most pristine condition. Munawar Hasan seemed to revel in provocative controversy, which the party had to later defend needlessly. His sorrow over Hakeemullah’s droning, not to mention his own personal opinion regarding the military’s martyred, proved to be the last nail in his coffin as amir. The party defended him once again, to the point of locking horns with the military, but then politely sent him packing. Since then, Siraj has done a stand-up job in mainstreaming the party once again; forging alliances, taking positions and keeping pace with developments.
This latest government-bashing is a continuation of the same exercise. With half the political cycle over the next major stop will be the next general election; and taking potshots at the government is already all the rage. That the government’s own scorecard does not help its case much is another matter for the time being. But except for the routine criticism, Siraj offers little that can be quantified. Slogans like Jamaat e Islami and its Sharia law alone can ensure justice, democracy and prosperity have long since stopped selling. And joking away a threat that may well snowball if not taken care of immediately also betrays a stark divorce from reality. The nation needs a narrative that can pull the collective conscience from the far right to somewhere around the centre. If JI can play the bridge between religious extremism and moderation, it may once again find relevance. Short of that Siraj, or any amir for that matter, can make little difference to the party’s overall trajectory.