“How Can a House that Couldn’t Save Its Own Constitution Save the Palestinians?”
By Anila Ali
Irvine, CA
It was quite a day for two Americans educators from California to be sitting in the National Assembly of Pakistan on the day of President Trump’s historic decision on Jerusalem. Although the resolution condemning the US decision passed unanimously, the ruling majority party members were missing from the floor. The opposition called on the government to “immediately mobilize the OIC, Organization of Islamic Conference.
A well-spoken Speaker Ayaz Sadiq opened the debate and many members, mostly of opposition parties, made anti-American statements calling for the Ummah to take a united stand. We saw democracy in action in Pakistan and that was the most important takeaway for us.
Another observation was the active presence and participation of women in politics. The opposition party, PPP, Pakistan People’s Party, leading the head count for women members. PPP leaders, such as my friend, MNA Syeda Shahida Rahmani, Nafisah Shah and many others vociferously speaking their minds on the floor of the House demanding explanation for a government plane stolen by a German national.
On the one hand, you had members of major political parties showing anger against the decision on Jerusalem, on the other hand, you had a member of the Pakhtunkhwah Milli Awami Party, the more conservative party chief, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, claiming that the Assembly had shown haste in passing the resolution and should have waited for the OIC Summit to decide on the next steps collectively and that notably majority of the members of the House were absent for such a resolution. He also ridiculed and questioned how the House will save Palestine when it can’t save its own country’s constitution.
Later, we were greeted with such warmth and regard and shown the historic chambers by the amazing women of PPP, a party that gives its women power to lead.
My partner, an American educator, was a little apprehensive about the calls for protests around the nation she heard on the news later on but was most relived to see that most congregations were rushing to the mosque, for Jummah prayers and the one protest we saw on Karachi’s main thoroughfare was one lonely man, with one poster saying, “Protest.” Most of the protests in Muslim and Arab countries were nonviolent and insignificant. This doesn’t diminish an issue but shows that Muslims are using nonviolent ways to show indignation and protest which are the hallmarks of a civilized society, and calls for violence by the clerics was mostly ignored.
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