- It’s shameful that PPP has used the rhetoric of progressiveness and inclusiveness to project an image of the liberal and secular party
A few days ago, Qamar Zaman Qaira, the Pakistan Peoples Party’s Punjab president, while addressing a political gathering accused the country’s Ahmadi community of unnecessarily politicising the issue of Khatam-e-Nabuwwat (PBUH). Moreover, Qaira said that the country’s ruling party was responsible for the recent instability in Pakistan which he believed had its rationale in the latter’s attempt to politicise a religious issue which should not be a part of any discussion, to begin with.
Qaira with his conciliation of conservative voters may have been able to win some right-wing support. However, by publically addressing a controversial issue, he only proved that his party, which prides itself on being the most civil, most plural, and most progressive political organisation of the country, was not any different than an opportunistic party which can go to any lengths for electoral gains.
While PPP may have been a liberal and progressive party in rhetoric, in reality, the political group, since its founding, has always given in to radical Islamist’s whims and pressures, if not to secure vote than to sustain its regime. While Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was a secular person, he gave in to the Islamists demands to exclude the Ahmadis from the Islamic fold. Bhutto’s contribution to turning Pakistan into an intolerant society, especially toward minority Muslim groups, is distressing. While the project of Pakistan’s radicalisation began right after the country was founded, it was Bhutto’s party, PPP, which actually laid solid foundations of a Pakistan which has not only marginalised space for Mulsim and non-Muslim minority religious groups but has also offered radicals Islamists space when it comes to appeasement for political and electoral gains.
Many can argue that the party just elected a Hindu woman as a senator to make a case for its progressive and pluralistic policies. However, the promotion of women as a senator from a community which continues to suffer in the hands of Sindhi feudal lords doesn’t prove that PPP as a party believes in a wholesale change where it’s willing to clamp down hard on cultural, political, social and ideological constraints to ingrain its so-called progressive project. The choice of a Hindu women senator was made because it comes across as a ‘feel good story’ which can be highlighted as an effort to sustain PPP’s pluralistic image. While it’s a positive sign that there appears some space for people of Minority religious backgrounds in the country’s top legislative bodies, Hindu community is the one which continues to suffer greatly in the province of Sindh due to the provincial ruling party’s apathy toward their social, political and ideological concerns.
Last week, a Hindu lawmaker in Sindh assembly gave a passionate speech where he highlighted the plight of the country’s Hindu community. The lawmaker pleaded that the government in Sindh province was not doing anything more than offering rhetoric to ease the community’s decades-long cultural and political suffering
Last week, a Hindu lawmaker in Sindh assembly gave a passionate speech where he highlighted the plight of the country’s Hindu community. The lawmaker pleaded that the government in Sindh province was not doing anything more than offering rhetoric to ease the community’s decades-long cultural and political suffering in the hands of local feudal families. It’s a known fact that dozens of Hindu girls have been forced to convert to Islam in Sindh. Moreover, Hindu girls in the province’s urban and rural areas continue to be kidnapped, raped and abused. A few days ago, a Hindu teenager was reportedly raped in Sindh at the hands of a PPP senior leader’s son. The father of the victim reportedly said that the perpetrator “held his son hostage, took them to their otaq (compound) in Darro town, sodomised him and video recorded the entire ordeal.” The party is unlikely to take any action against the perpetrator for doing so would mean the loss of precious votes and that too when the next general elections are only months away.
It’s shameful that PPP has used the rhetoric of progressiveness and inclusiveness to project an image of the liberal and secular party. While on the other hand, the party remains as predatory and opportunistic as any other radical Islamist group which can employ religion to incite violence or appeases its electorate to secure its electoral constituency. In the coming weeks and months, the party is going to placate Islamists in Punjab more openly to compensate for its corrupt governance practices which have isolated the party’s presence in Sindh only. While it’s unlikely that the party can make significant inroads in terms of securing a substantial number of votes through its opportunistic policies, attempts to make electoral gains over an issue which has already marginalized a community only proves that there is no difference between PPP and party which have been termed as proscribed organizations. It’s unclear if PPP can win the general election but what’s clear is that the party has further reinforced its credentials as being political groups which don’t see beyond its narrow political interest.
The next general election is likely to see all major political parties appeasing to Islamists which is, unfortunately, going to offer more space to the latter and will only complicate the country’s counterterrorism efforts.
