There is no doubt that Pakistan is facing a myriad of problems from all sides – economic, social, political, and militant. It is the times such as these that try men’s souls, that show the world what a people stands for, and perhaps more importantly, what they stand against.
We have seen truly altruistic expressions from Pakistanis, from the support of women’s rights, to the nation-wide attention paid to the story of Shazia Masih.
However, the sad truth is a much more powerful and ugly attitude seems to be gaining traction. That would be the constant cry of “We are the victims!” We have heard this from the pundits and now it seems to be seeping into the public consciousness.
The fact is, that is nothing short of a tragic attitude. With that sort of mentality, how can we progress as a nation? How can we tap into the hope children are born with instead of telling them that nothing will ever go right? There is so much potential in Pakistanis that the world ought to see, and this attitude is just a shame.
Take for instance the fact that we can explain everything away via conspiracy theory. Indeed, it would appear that there is a conspiracy theory for every incident in our history.
Another glaring hypocrisy comes to mind. Pundits are infuriated at the West’s policies of screening people from Pakistan at their airports. We hear screams of racial profiling, anti-Islamic sentiment, and grossly unfair treatment. We hear the demands that Pakistan be taken off such a program immediately.
While the demands of nothing short of the royal treatment for Pakistanis abroad are all well and good, it cannot be ignored that Pakistanis accept even encourage sectarian violence in domestic circles.
A handful of clerics have been whipping up a storm of hostility towards Shiites and Ahmedis, the latter in particular. The well-known televangelist Aamir Liaqat essentially declared the murder of an Ahmedi Muslim to be perfectly right. Ahmedi schools are shut down, Ahmedis themselves are gunned down in hit-and-run accidents, and the whole nation sits mute. The attacks on Shiites – on the religious days of Ashura and Chellum – showcase the cancerous hatred Sunnis have for the second largest sect.
The two are absurdly contradictory. How can there be calls for justice for Muslims – a minority abroad – while we assent to an open season on Shiites and Ahmedis at home?
We have to be reasonable with what we call for. We must demand parity abroad and practice it at home. Anything different would be hypocritical and unjustifiable in Pakistanis.
Contradictory Attitudes
There is no doubt that Pakistan is facing a myriad of problems from all sides – economic, social, political, and militant. It is the times such as these that try men’s souls, that show the world what a people stands for, and perhaps more importantly, what they stand against.
We have seen truly altruistic expressions from Pakistanis, from the support of women’s rights, to the nation-wide attention paid to the story of Shazia Masih.
However, the sad truth is a much more powerful and ugly attitude seems to be gaining traction. That would be the constant cry of “We are the victims!” We have heard this from the pundits and now it seems to be seeping into the public consciousness.
The fact is, that is nothing short of a tragic attitude. With that sort of mentality, how can we progress as a nation? How can we tap into the hope children are born with instead of telling them that nothing will ever go right? There is so much potential in Pakistanis that the world ought to see, and this attitude is just a shame.
Take for instance the fact that we can explain everything away via conspiracy theory. Indeed, it would appear that there is a conspiracy theory for every incident in our history.
Another glaring hypocrisy comes to mind. Pundits are infuriated at the West’s policies of screening people from Pakistan at their airports. We hear screams of racial profiling, anti-Islamic sentiment, and grossly unfair treatment. We hear the demands that Pakistan be taken off such a program immediately.
While the demands of nothing short of the royal treatment for Pakistanis abroad are all well and good, it cannot be ignored that Pakistanis accept even encourage sectarian violence in domestic circles.
A handful of clerics have been whipping up a storm of hostility towards Shiites and Ahmedis, the latter in particular. The well-known televangelist Aamir Liaqat essentially declared the murder of an Ahmedi Muslim to be perfectly right. Ahmedi schools are shut down, Ahmedis themselves are gunned down in hit-and-run accidents, and the whole nation sits mute. The attacks on Shiites – on the religious days of Ashura and Chellum – showcase the cancerous hatred Sunnis have for the second largest sect.
The two are absurdly contradictory. How can there be calls for justice for Muslims – a minority abroad – while we assent to an open season on Shiites and Ahmedis at home?
We have to be reasonable with what we call for. We must demand parity abroad and practice it at home. Anything different would be hypocritical and unjustifiable in Pakistanis.
It is no secret that Ahmed Quraishi hates America, but now he has started to insult the military too. His latest article on his web site is nothing but 
