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Government fails to counter oppression

It is the responsibility of every democratic country to act as a guardian of its citizens. In many western democracies, the state provides more than basic necessities of life to its countrymen. Jobseekers allowances, Maternity allowances, state insured pension funds and many other financial and non-financial services are common which the citizens consider their right. While we realize that Pakistan is a poor country and cannot provide such aid, we still expect our government to ensure our right to live; unfortunately our state seldom cares about innocent blood.

During recent days, two instances of sheer horror have taken place yet we have still not been disgusted. Yesterday, a Christian couple was burnt to death in the most gruesome way possible by a religious frenzied mob, which had a dire thirst for blood. While their ashes had just been buried, a police officer beheaded a mentally disturbed man accused of blasphemy today and the marginalized segment of the society asks only one question. Where is the State? Where is my motherland?

‘Riyasat Hogi Maa Kay Jaisi’ (The state will be like your mother). This is a popular political slogan used to gain political support yet one is forced to ask, is there even a margin of sincerity in this political chant? Had there been any strict action taken in regards to the burnt Christian couple, could a police officer even dare to brutally murder a suspect with an axe? Unfortunately, the state machinery knows the crimes it can get in trouble for and murder in the name of religion is not one of them.

We hear reports of a glorified assassin who preaches the ideology of hatred and convinces people to commit the worst crime imaginable whilst living like a ‘prison king’. Why do our leaders seem so helpless and weak while ‘pretending’ to battle this vicious enemy? Whether it is the Taliban who behead our soldiers or the imams who instigate murder in the name of faith, why does our state deal with them with a velvet glove?

Shame on the people, which burn their brothers alive in the pretension of morality. What kind of wrath is this, which forces people to turn into psychopaths and forget all manners of decency? Our citizens are becoming more and more prone to violence and division and yet our leaders fail to identify this problem. It is about time that the root of this problem is addressed. Organizations, which openly propagate violence, should immediately be banned and strict action should be taken against them. We have videos of the leadership of Lashker- e- Jhangvi openly inciting violence against our minorities yet the state stands by the oppressor rather than the oppressed. How sad is it that our former Law Minister Rana Sanaullah chose the leader of a terrorist organization as his political ally for political rallies rather than the leaders of minority groups.

Is this a message from the government to the oppressed?

If a nationwide operation is not taken against terrorist organizations hiding under the cloak of religion, we will never rid ourselves of this menace even if we do have a few victories in the battlefield. We have seen libraries named after Osama Bin Laden in our capital city, we have seen a mosque named after a murderer, we have seen so called religious leaders openly incite people to violence.

Have we still not seen enough?

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