Thick, black clouds

The recent acts of violence have reminded me of my column, ‘Mass graves’ (April 30, 2012). In that I had pointed out that mass graves were the result of either natural calamities or acts of war. Under those circumstances, due to the large number of dead, it becomes impossible to bury bodies individually.

We saw examples of this after the earthquake in Kashmir, the tsunami, World Wars I and II, Vietnam, Korea, Rwanda Burundi, Bosnia, the nuclear attacks on Japan, etc. The purpose was to remind our rulers, the agencies and the public that this could well happen in Pakistan. We cannot avoid the problem by burying our heads in the sand. We need to realise the seriousness of the problem at hand and try to solve it on a war footing.

I had also warned that, with time, the tribal people and their supporters would lose fear of law-enforecement agencies, the Rangers and even the army. How true my apprehensions proved to be. By whatever name you call them, the tribal people and their supporters and sympathisers are deadly against the government policy of playing mercenary to the Americans and their allies. By allies I also mean our government and all our state organs.

History is witness to the fact that when people have had enough of the highhandedness of a state’s rulers, they take the law into their own hands and the rulers then find no place to run to or hide in. This happened in France, Russia, China, etc and when the rulers, the bureaucrats, the army officers and soldiers could find no refuge, they were brutally murdered. In the recent past we saw mass graves of the millions of people killed during the Second World War, and of those killed in the brutal attack by the Americans and their allies on Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.

Here I would like to draw attention to the revolution in Iran. We are all aware of how brutal the rule of the late Shah of Iran and his secret police, Savak, was. When the people could no longer take that tyranny, they took the law into their own hands under the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini. A large number of oppressors were brutally and mercilessly murdered – mass graves their destiny.

Our country is heading in the same direction but the rulers and establishment seem oblivious to the looming danger. First we saw occasional random attacks, then on groups and gatherings in markets, in mosques and on buses, but now they even attack law-enforcement personnel. They are no longer shy of engaging soldiers and rangers. As a matter of fact the tables seem to have been turned, with jawans, Rangers and policemen unable to perform their duties fearlessly.

Our ‘defenders’ are no longer defenders but are worried about their own lives being at risk. They have good reason to be afraid. They are not fighting for the protection of the motherland and are insufficiently equipped. They see before their eyes the burnt and mutilated bodies of women and children killed in drone attacks and attacks by our own aircraft and heli-gunships.

On the one hand our sovereignty and existence is at stake, but on the other hand our rulers lead extravagantly luxurious lives. They are accompanied by escorts of 12 to 20 vans filled with armed personnel as well as bullet proof vehicles at their disposal, while the police and Rangers very often don’t even have bullet-proof jackets or vehicles at theirs.

About two years ago a reporter of this newspaper warned that the people have been pushed to such misery by the rulers that the day is not far off when they will rise in revolt, leading to a bloody revolution not seen in this country before. There are hundreds of millions of deadly weapons around and people know how to use them. They have now lost their fear. The recent deadly attacks are an indication of what is in store for this country.

The rulers and the establishment are under the illusion that all is well. All is not well. All that is needed is a few fiery, inciting orators to put the whole thing aflame. When that situation arises, and if it leads to a revolution, there will be a need for mass graves. Dr Tahirul Qadri, Imran Khan, Altaf Hussain and three or four more firebrands or religious fanatics could easily put the people into a revolutionary spirit with many dire, unforeseen consequences. Were such a movement to start, there is no doubt that students and lawyers would be quick to jump on the bandwagon and hasten the beginning of a revolution.

It is painful to have to admit that the present government seems even worse than the previous one. Mention any institution and you will find that it is in a mess – law and order, loadshedding, inflation, unemployment, foreign debt, to name but a few. The cost of living has skyrocketed and many people are literally starving – no money for food or medicines, gas and electricity loadshedding, even burials have become out of reach of many poor people.

The only criterion for choosing ministers is either that they should be blindly loyal or that they have won a seat in the National Assembly by hook or by crook. Look at our ministers and check their credentials – none of them are qualified or competent to hold the office they occupy. The mir-e-karvan is oblivious to ground realities and is behaving somewhat like Nero when Rome was burning. Thick black clouds are hanging over us, warning of a coming calamity.

The Almighty has given many parables in the Holy Quran to guide and warn us, the public and the rulers. Some of these are:

• Thus we have placed leaders (wicked men) in every nation to plot and burrow therein so that they plot there and intrigue. But they only plot against their own souls and they perceive it not (6:123).

• Such were the Aad people. They rejected the signs of Allah Almighty, the Cherisher, disobeyed His apostles and followed the commands of every powerful, obstinate transgressor and they were (then) pursued by a curse in this life and on the Day of Judgement (11:59-60).

• When We decide to destroy a population (nation) we first send a definite order to those among them who are given the good tidings of this life and yet transgress, so that the word is proved against them. Then it is We who destroy them utterly (17:16).

• Warn them of the Day (of Judgement) that is ever drawing near when their hearts will come right up to their throats to choke them. No intimate friend, nor intercessor, will the wrong-doers have who could listen to them (40:18).

Email: dr.a.quadeer.khan@gmail.com