The
London Conference
By Dawar Naqvi
Torrance, CA
Our opposition parties - PML-N, JI, JUI, PPP
and others - arranged an all- parties conference
in one of the most expensive cities of the world,
London, to pass a resolution against General Pervaiz
Musharraf and his government’s coalition
alliances.
Why did the opposition choose London as the venue
of the conference, where a person who had committed
blasphemy against the Prophet, was recently knighted
by the British government? My question is especially
directed to our religious leaders - Qazi Hussain
Ahmad, Mulana Fauzul-ur-Rehman et al - who attended
the conference in London without any reservations.
During the deliberations they did not issue any
fatwa against Western culture or Western society
nor did they make a call for boycotting the West
and the USA!
Then there was Imran Khan. Back home, Imran is
unfailingly dressed up in shalwar and kameez and
preaches religious values, but he was elegantly
dressed up in a Western suit in London.
Like him, most opposition leaders were immaculately
dressed up in dandy Western suits. Yet they did
not hesitate to criticize Mushrraf for ushering
Western culture in Pakistan!
The host Mian Nawaz Sharif read his speech, which
surely someone wrote for him, in English. Mulana
Fazlur-Rehman surprised every one when he asked
him to translate an important passage in URDU
for a fuller comprehension of the text. I did
not understand, anyway, why the final speech was
delivered in English.
Another aspect of the conference was especially
painful. We talk about poverty. We are conscious
that we are a Third World country. Yet the MPC
leaders preferred to meet in London. Most of them
stayed in five-star hotels. This was done at time
when floods and rainstorms have ravaged several
parts of Pakistan. I wish the leaders had spent
their money on the affected people and devastated
towns of Balochistan and Sindh instead of squandering
it in London.
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