PAKISTAN: 1953 AND 1974-LIKE SITUATION BEING CREATED AGAIN BY THE RIGHT WING

Pakistan is at dangerous point in its history.   We need a united front against the forces of religious extremism.

Ahmadiyya Times | Opinion | Yasser Latif Hamdani
Credit: Pak Tea House | Archives | April 12, 2009

In 1953, Khawaja Nazimuddin’s Muslim League Government at the center was brought down after sufficient unrest was created by Majlis-e-Ahrar (a party which had opposed the creation of Pakistan tooth and nail) calling itself  ”Majlis-e-Amal” as part of the grand “Anti-Ahmaddiya” riots.  The whole scheme was secretly backed by Punjab CM Mumtaz Daultana who wanted to get rid of the soft-spoken Khawaja Nazimuddin from East Pakistan.     Their main demands were that Ahmadis be declared Non-muslim and Pakistan’s foreign minister Zafrullah Khan (an old associate of Jinnah and one of the authors of the Lahore Resolution) be fired.   That Zafrullah was the leading voice for Palestine and other Afro-Asian independence movements at the UN added another foreign angle to this.

A similar situation was created in 1974 with the aim and objective to bring down Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s PPP government.   PPP then tried to outflank the Mullahs by going ahead and ex-communicating Ahmadis altogether.  Here I’d like to appeal to Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif.  Nawaz has proved himself to be a changed man and a patriot with his actions on 15th March and 16th March.   hough born out of Zia-ist dictatorship, the PML-N is now finally a democratic party with roots in the people.  It does not need to de-stabilize the PPP by resorting to such tactics.  PML-N can play an appropriate role as a center-right party in a two party system without pandering to the crazies of all kinds.   So stop associating yourselves with crooks, cranks and mad men.

Pakistan is at dangerous point in its history.  We need a united front against the forces of religious extremism.  Remember these forces had opposed the creation tooth and nail and had called it Kafiristan then.  PML-N has an important role in this fight.  It must purge itself of Maududian forces within itself, distance itself from terrorism and fanaticism.  All three national parties-  the PPP, PML-Q and PML-N must stand for Jinnah’s secular democratic and egalitarian Pakistan and they must do so NOW clearly and consistently!   If this United front is not achieved,  Pakistan ka khuda hi hafiz hai [only God will be able to protect Pakistan].

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