Pakistan’s high political offices are a no-go area for religious minorities
Hamza Yousaf, a Pakistani-origin politician is elected as the First Minister of Scotland last month, on March 27, 2023. He becomes the first non-native Scottish and a person from religious and racial minorities to lead and represent the Scottish people in the United Kingdom. This indeed shows a strong sign of a strong democracy and a functioning political system that empowers and elevates a person, despite having a non-Scottish background, to excel and raise him to the highest political position in his country, irrespective of differences of faith and racial identity. Back in his country of origin, it would not have been possible, even in his wildest dreams. His identity as a person of a religious and racial minority would have doomed him to be a second or third-class citizen. Above all, he would never be qualified to hold the high political offices of president and prime minister due to his religious background.
Pakistan emerged out of the breakup of United India on communal lines over the demand for a separate homeland for the Muslim minority of India. Soon after independence, the new state gradually pushed its religious minorities to the margins of discrimination and exclusion through deliberate legal and social measures. A considerable chunk of non-Muslim people opted for Pakistan, with about 20 to 25% (approximately) of its total population residing in East and West Pakistan. However, separation of the East Pakistan, augmenting religious bigotry and intolerance drastically diminished their numbers to merely 3–4%, as the current census data states.
Let’s see the optics.
The Rise of Theocratic Politics
“Pakistan is passing through the toughest times of its history.” This may sound very familiar to you and anyone younger or older than your generation. The country has always been through upheaval in one way or another. Besides facing a range of contemporary socioeconomic and political challenges, there has been an overdue antiquity of accusations by the international community of human rights abuses, particularly concerning its treatment of religious minorities, women, and journalists. Over time, almost all civil or military governments have been accused of failing to comply with international laws and to address these human rights violations effectively at home.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan and considered one of the liberal politicians, proposed a clear political structure and a golden yardstick roadmap for the new country on August 11, 1947. He overtly recognized equal rights and freedom to profess their faith to the religious minorities opting for Pakistan. Unfortunately, soon after his demise, the same Assembly introduced and indoctrinated theocratic statecraft, which allowed a controversial nexus between religion and the state. This very effort completely aborted the idea of a democratic state but was infused with an illiberal social and political agenda.
On the one hand, this sociopolitical adventure alienated religious minorities from mainstream state affairs and political participation and created a sense of seclusion and deception among them, who by choice opted to support and live in Pakistan. On the other hand, right after the inclusion of theocratic ingredients, the Stat started losing its democratic essence of inclusivity and the spirit of diversity in the political and socioeconomic decision-making process. The theocrats gradually overpowered politics, policy, and social spaces. They diverted and defined the new direction of society and state affairs according to their narrow-minded spectrum.
In the subsequent years, religiously motivated political groups influenced the governance and public policies under state patronage. These religious groups fostered hatred, division, sectarian violence, and religious classification in Pakistan, calling their deeds a service to Islam. Eventually, in the years to come, a challenge of religious extremism, intolerance against the smaller religious communities, and their political seclusion emerged that further deepened the sense of fear, insecurity, and inferiority apprehension in the religious minorities and smaller sects of Islam as well.
Seeds of Hate Crops Tears
The policy of hatred and conviction is not limited to religious minorities but to anyone who raises concerns and talks about inclusive and progressive policies. History witnessed those dissident groups of women activists, lawyers, educationists, poets, intellectuals, and laborers, as well as small, religious, ethnic, and lingual groups rigorously targeted and persecuted in public and courts by different democratic and military regimes. They are portrayed as a potential threat and risk to the state and are widely described as collaborators or agents of the West to sabotage the supremacy of religion and the state. However, time proved that such coercive measures weaken and shake the confidence of its citizens in the state and its institutions.
The state deliberately fostered and established religiously enthused factions and declared them strategic assets; they deliberately instrumented religious segregation and mechanized hatred against progressive and liberal voices, including human rights activists and torchbearers of freedom of religion and free expression, in society. These religious-political groups have accumulated extraordinary power and space to ridicule and ostracize the citizens as “good” and “bad” citizens. Of course, the “good” get higher positions and appreciation, and the “bad” are labeled as traitors, conspirators, and foreign agents as per their contagious standards.
Conclusion
The current sociopolitical and economic disorder in the country did not happen over the past year; it has a long history of mismanagement and a weak record of abuse of power and human rights violations. Pakistan needs quick and stern measures to overcome the challenging conditions.
It needs to prioritize political and social reforms that equalize socioeconomic opportunities and prospects for equal growth and jobs for people from minorities and marginalized communities, including women, transgender people, and people with disabilities.
Education is the key to success, and quality education opens doors to the future. Hence, improving access to education is vital and optimal for breaking the cycle of poverty, cultivating tolerance, and promoting diversity, which will lead to socioeconomic growth and market innovation. Pakistan needs to invest in education infrastructure and provide equal opportunities for quality and inclusive education to every citizen, indiscriminately.
Secondly, the country needs to introduce substantial political reforms to improve the participation of weak segments of society in the decision-making process. Their political representation should be enhanced through affirmative measures such as increasing their seats in the parliaments so their voices reach the concerned forums effectively.
Issues of forced conversion, religious intolerance, and economic exclusion should be addressed through stringent legal and social restructuring and rigorous legislation. Building social cohesion through interfaith dialogue, promoting tolerance, and addressing socioeconomic inequalities are critical to promoting stability and progress.
Thirdly, the state of human rights and the will of the state are directly interlinked. The government should improve human rights mechanisms and comply with international legal obligations. The political and social rights of citizens should be secured through constitutional guarantees. A truth and reconciliation forum would help establish accountability and a just society.
Last but not least, constitutional freedoms and citizen-centric policies should be legislated to eliminate classification and inequalities among the citizens. Their fundamental human rights are to access high offices, justice, and an equal share in socioeconomic opportunities.
- East and West: May the Sense Prevail! - 21/07/2023
- Jinnah’s Dream Turns into a Nightmare - 25/04/2023
