And following the message
There is a need to remind ourselves of the wording of the Pakistan Resolution, adopted on 23 March, 1940. The Resolution underlined two elements which were to be the basic features of the Constitution of Pakistan. The first was its federal character with maximum autonomy for the federating units. The second was ‘adequate, effective and mandatory safeguards for the protection of the religious, cultural, economic, political, administrative and other rights of the minorities’. There is a need to remind the government that it has to strictly abide by the constitutional provision regarding the holding of CCI meeting within well-defined periods. The federation must avoid taking decisions impacting the provinces without mandatory consultation. While minor steps have been taken to ensure the rights of the minorities, a big stigma persists in the form of laws used to incriminate them. Unless the government either strikes them down or modifies them adequately, it will not be seen to be adhering to the promise made in Pakistan Resolution.
The customary military parade on Pakistan Day was suspended for seven years after 2008 on account of rampant terrorism. The revival of the parade last year was meant to convey the message that when the people and their armed forces stand together, they can defeat any threat to the security of the society and the stability of the country. Operation Zarb-e-Azb has managed to rout the international brigade of terrorists in tribal areas. It would be premature to claim that it has broken the terrorists’ back. The time has come to make a realistic appraisal of what the military operation has achieved and where more needs to be done by the civilian government.
It is now a priority task to eradicate the extremist thinking spread by narrow-minded clerics from the pulpits and seminaries which is now spreading to prestigious universities. As long as governments fail to take bold measures to promote liberal thinking fearing the clerics’ threats, there will be no dearth of recruits willing to enlist in the terrorist networks.