Rizwi's Jihad and the Governments Failure

Rizwi's Jihad and the Governments Failure

I am not going into the long discussion about the Blasphemy laws and the legitimacy of  case against Aasia bibi. The scope of this article is only limited to the incompetency of the PTI government to handle the entire issue thus giving a chance to some opportunists to create chaos and violence in the country. 

I am a supporter of change and I did vote for it but at the same time I am not a blind follower. This is exactly what makes us different from supporters of other political parties. PTI supporters do not hesitate to analyze and criticize the decisions of there own leaders and this is the change we have been looking for. 

Now coming back to the point, I will just hope that this article reaches the policy makers and some people on the helm of affairs and help to bring them back in senses. 

This is not a mistake, this is a blunder

Pakistan is undergoing serious economical crises at this moment and we have achieved peace after years of terrorism. However it seems like we have learned nothing from our previous mistakes and are once again ready to take the risk to produce another Mollana Fazal Ullah or Abdul Rashid Ghazi. 

The entire chaos created by one man Allama Khadim Rizwi can only be attributed to the Governments incompetency in my opinion. 

PTI is deprived of sensible and critical thinkers

PTI is making same blunders as the PML (N) and rightly so because Imran Khan has deprived himself of sensible people with critical thinking. He is now surrounded by electables who have successfully got rid of any one who can help the premiere to make rightful choices.

In my humble opinion PTI has not been able to strike a balance and develop a think tank of advisors who could help in policy making, instead the inner circle now is full of people with vested interests including businessmen and electables. 

Aasia Bibi case should have been postponed

Hardly two months since Imran Khan took over the office and the Government has encountered its first big scandal. Something which could have been clearly avoided at this point in time by requesting the supreme court to post pone its judgment for a couple of months or years so that the Government could have had time to settle down and strengthen the economy and institutions.

This is too early and too dangerous for the Government to get involved in issues such as this.  

Aasia Bibi should not have been acquitted

Some times hard decisions have to be made and the second option with the Government could be to  request the supreme court to award her a life time sentence instead of death penalty for the larger interest of the nation.

Destroying the peace of the entire nation is completely unnecessary and It is unfortunate for Aasia that her case has been highlighted by the murder of Salman Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti and has always been a very sensitive matter. 

Address by the Prime Minister 

Lastly even after all the blunders the Government had one more chance to play smart after the Rizwi Jihadis declared the judges liable to death and inciting treason in the army. 

It would have been better if the premiere would have announced that the Government will respond to the sentiments of the people and appeal against the judgment of supreme court by a larger bench. In addition the Government will also lodge an FIR of treason and take strict legal action against the behavior of the people who declared the supreme court judges liable to be killed and for inciting treason in the army. 

This would have not only isolated the Rizwi group from other Islamic groups supporting Aasia's death penalty but would have also substantially weekend his following amongst his own people. 

It will take time

Imran Khan needs to understand that the madrasah culture in Pakistan is deep rooted and it will take time to get rid of this fanatic mindset. It is also important for the Government to realize that there are many ways to do it besides clashes and violence.

I strongly believe that it is still wiser for the Government to back track and learn from the past experience of Lal Masjid. There is a whole lot of illiterate and under privileged fanatics roaming free in Pakistan and Government should take actions to enlighten and preach the real teachings of Islam through media, schools and resources it has in hand.

Politics is all about making compromises and waiting for the right moment as it will not only take time but also effort and money to educate a whole new generation of Pakistan. 

Captain (Retd) Shahnawaz Yaqub Bhatti