News
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Bilawal breaks silence
By Eraj Zakaria
In one single stride, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the chairperson of the Pakistan People’s Party, has clinched the issue and made it abundantly clear that the young and upcoming leadership of the PPP will bear no truck with forces of obscurantism and bigotry. He emphatically points out that the supporters of Mumtaz Qadri were in fact blasphemers and not the slain Salmaan Taseer, whose body had been pumped with 27 bullets and consequently left to die in a pool of blood. Young Bilawal has single mindedly emphasised upon the entire West about the direction and bearing the PPP leadership intends to take in the immediate future. Bilawal’s statement has come at a time when eyebrows had begun to be raised regarding the PPP’s silence on the vital issue of Taseer’s assassination. He breaks the silence not only at an appropriate time, but also in an ambiance where his life and personal security could be at stake. Bilawal aptly diagnoses that Taseer’s assassins are the very forces who killed his mother, Benazir Bhutto, and later did not spare Taseer’s life. Bilawal rightly points out that Taseer’s murder is symptomatic of a typical mindset. It is not the act of an individual, but the collective disposition and fanaticism of a certain section of society. Bilawal’s resolve that the blood of the outspoken Salmaan Taseer would not go in vain, must be a matter of solace for the West which views Pakistan’s future as uncertain and rocky, though Bilawal emphasises his viewpoint at peril to his life. As it is, there is no dearth of hotheaded bigots. Regardless of one’s political disposition about Bilawal and irrespective of the fact whether one is at tangent or even diametrically opposed to his views, one has to grudgingly concede to Bilawal’s gumption and gusto. While Asif Ali Zardari has condemned Taseer’s assassination, he left it to Bilawal to take the lead in this matter, since he is the future torchbearer of the party.
Bilawal’s rejoinder to Pakistan’s religious forces, professing that they would defend Mumtaz Qadri, is a reminder to the religious forces that they will be vehemently resisted by the liberal, progressive and democratic forces of the political bazaar. Bilawal’s gutsy statement in an ambiance of terror and fear is like a beam of light at the end of the tunnel. It has warmed the hearts and blood of those who were awaiting the PPP to break its silence on the issue of Salmaan Taseer’s death and had in fact begun to lose heart. Bilawal’s statement in London condemning Taseer’s murder and standing by his cause has returned life to the rank and files of the PPP. If the obscurantist forces have to be defeated, the battle lines have to be demarcated by the forces of vision, tolerance, amity and accommodation. If Bilawal’s statement would not have been forthcoming after Taseer’s assassination, an enormous gloom would have set in and the liberal and progressive forces who would have been cowed down by the brazenly absurd behaviour of retrogressive forces. It would be instructive to note that the political leaders of all hue and shade, minus religious parties, were avoiding an emphatic statement regarding Taseer’s tragic death. Bilawal’s audaciousness has enormously helped to clear the air regarding which side the PPP stands on. Young Bilawal has stood tall and resolute and denied space to the opponents who desire to drag and take Pakistan back to medieval times. The academia, intellectuals and the incumbents would do well to study the punishments extended out regarding cases of blasphemy by other Muslim countries and arrive at an imminently sensible decision. Otherwise the world at large, and specifically the West, would prefer to remain ex-communicado rather than interact with Pakistan. Bilawal has put his foot down and clearly stood for the rights of minorities whose lives have been in dire states in Pakistan. Taseer’s murder amply demonstrates the dominance and application of violence over dialogue. His death emphasises that a barbaric section of society wants to have a field day. Rose petals were showered regardless of the fact that Qadri had shot Taseer in broad daylight under the glare and vigil of his companions. Clearly the blasphemy law needs a restudy.
Bilawal has stood out against the forces of oppression and tyranny and reached out to global intelligentsia, press and academia, emphasising that the progressive and liberal youth of Pakistan will not cast its lot with the forces of oppression. His statement has been timed to set aside the world’s fears and anxiety about the ever-growing religious extremism and terrorism. US Vice President Joe Biden has aptly commented that those societies who do not condemn gruesome incidents like Taseer’s murder, ultimately get consumed in their own fire. This is an incisive comment, demanding careful study and introspection.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk