Whether somebody wizened him up to it, or whether it came from deep within, is irrelevant. Bilawal Bhutto-Zardaris speech at Salmaan Taseers memorial at the Pakistan High Commission in London is significant for its impact and import and its timing.
In the superbly crafted statement, delivered with passion and equipoise that belied his years, Bilawal gets straight to the heart of the matter: the assassination of Taseer is not about the liberals versus the conservative or moderate Islam versus radical Islam. It is about right and wrong. It is about the real Islam and a fictional Islam funded from abroad and espoused by violent extremists.
Moving on, he promised to stand up to the dark forces of extremism, intolerance and bigotry intent on devouring our country and our faith. Pledging unequivocal support to the countrys minorities that feel most threatened from this wave of radicalism, Bilawal said: those who wish to harm you for a crime you did not commit will have to go through me first.
This is stirring and reassuring at the same time. More so as it comes from the chairman of a party that since its inception had championed liberal, secular principles and values but which in recent times had deviated from these moorings.
Quite strangely, the PPP had refrained from taking a clear cut ideological stand in the aftermath of the Taseer assassination. Rehman Maliks remark made one think with friends like these, and even the gladiator of the party, Babar Awan sang an appeasing tune.
The partys apparent policy was to abandon the intent to amend even the discriminatory parts of the after all, man-made blasphemy laws. And the alacrity with which Sherry Rehmans private bill, which was one such attempt, was disowned by the PPP reflected that the party had no intention of going within a mile of this hornets nest.
This sitting-on-the-fence policy of expediency however was immensely disturbing for the minorities and also the large majority of civil society, the very segments who looked up to the PPP as the standard-bearer of the liberal-left. And it also went against the partys vibrant Jiyala culture that its rank and file take immense pride in, not without some justification, for perhaps it is the PPP workers whose sum of sacrifices for democracy and a progressive, just society is far in excess of any other political entity in the country.
Regardless of the partys policy, its chairman came out with all guns blazing. Bilawals speech in which he boldly portrayed Taseer as one of the few heroic politicians left in the ever-depleting pool of Pakistani politicians was a most welcome deviation from the considered stance of the party that he chairs, albeit from a distance.
There are some who would venture that Bilawal may not have shown the courage that he did by speaking out in a manner so forthright had he not been ensconced in England, where her Majestys government spends one million pounds over his security.
Though Bilawals speech was closer to the ethos and historical worldview of the PPP, the question remains: will his party and its leadership back home show enough spine to adopt this spirited stance, or will this cry for reason be consigned to the wilderness? Would it not galvanise the largest political entity in the country if it became more reflective of liberal sentiment and spoke out without flinching against the fascist tendencies threatening our society?
These are important questions, especially in the backdrop of the political forces from the radical right closing their ranks under the banner of Tehrik-i-Namoos-i-Risalat, which practically revives the MMA.
Having already captured space disproportionate to their following, the militant, radical right feels this is the moment to push for more. The disturbing happenings, the unabashed sprinkling of flowers on the killer, the endorsement of the murder by the rightist political forces in the aftermath of the assassination underscored that ambition.
It was also a stark reminder of how far removed we were from the Pakistan envisaged by its founding father.
The children of Zia will continue to throw tantrums as we the children of Bhutto continue to work for the resurrection of the Quaid-e-Azams Pakistan, said Bilwal. The words are apt, the sentiment noble. But would these only remain words or is his party willing to court the risks involved in joining the battle?
The writer is Sports and Magazines Editor, Pakistan Today.
