To heal a wounded society

While we are distracted by cricket and by the potentially fateful match that is being played within the ranks of the MQM, though it also provides some comic relief, the big question that has emerged this week is about the sense of direction of the Nawaz Sharif government. Is it veering towards a more progressive and liberal dispensation? Do we see a silver lining?

To some extent, it is about the status of women in the Pakistani society. International Women’s Day was observed on Tuesday and it stood out this year because of the passage of a landmark bill in the Punjab Assembly on women’s protection. Also, the authorities had heartily applauded the Oscar award won by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s short documentary on the subject of honour killing.

Expectedly, the religious segments have greatly been incensed by the law that protects women from domestic violence. They claim that its provisions are against Islamic injunctions. They are not pleased by the projection of honour killing and suggest that the Oscar was another ploy by the West to tarnish Pakistan’s image.

But observers have noted intimations of a possible strategy of the present government to change its course. One reason why these signs have generated so much comment – and a bit of optimism – is that Nawaz Sharif has been a certified conservative in his political and social affiliations. In fact, suspicions about his party’s linkages with religious militants stationed in southern Punjab had cast doubts on the civilian resolve to sincerely keep its side of the National Action Plan bargain.

In any case, given the track record of Nawaz Sharif and his party, the liberals would be justified in keeping a wary eye on the moves that are being made. One should, perhaps, be mindful also of the role that the military leadership may play in any social and economic renovation of the Pakistani society. We keep hearing about how the civil and the military leaders are on the same page. Let’s see what they write on this page.

A valid point of reference here would be the Washington Post report sent from Islamabad by the newspaper’s Pakistan correspondent Tim Craig. Published on Wednesday, it has been quoted and commented on by our media. Its heading says it all: “Pakistan’s prime minister is defying the clerics – very carefully”.

Incidentally, I had decided to raise this issue on the basis of comments made by a few of my fellow columnists and analysts. Our prominent defender of human rights and a keen observer of the dynamics of our existence, I A Rehman, has acknowledged “good tidings from Lahore” and has said that “Punjab has done well to focus on gender parity and violence against women, among other things”.

In a larger context, the confrontation that is developing between the PML-N and traders on a voluntary tax compliance scheme is significant because the traders have traditionally been Nawaz’s safe constituency. Hopefully, this means that Nawaz is becoming more of a leader by not submitting to political expediencies.

The Washington Post report takes a wider view and its analysis begins by recalling the speech Nawaz had made in November last year in which he “shocked the country’s powerful religious community by calling for a new, more ‘liberal’ Pakistan”. The point here is that Nawaz seems willing to adopt a progressive and liberal agenda for the sake of his economic policies.

His defiance of the religious lobby is to be identified with the execution of Mumtaz Qadri and is seen as a pivotal development in all assessments of the shift that is perceived in government’s course of action. Partly, this was possible in the wake of the military campaign against terrorist and extremist forces. Otherwise, one has only to recall the terror that had gripped the entire Pakistani society in the immediate aftermath of the murder of Salmaan Taseer in January 2011.

This was one of the many illustrations of the state of Pakistani society that is infused with the dark and primitive passions of fanaticism and intolerance. Without going into why and how these passions were nurtured, successive administrations have either endorsed religious obscurantism or succumbed to it for lack of courage.

The PPP, which led the ruling alliance when Taseer was murdered, should be ashamed of how it was unable to show the courage of its convictions. Yes, the popular frenzy was overpowering. But that is what any credible administration had to challenge to protect the country. The real issue, then, is to heal a wounded society – and Mumtaz Qadri symbolises its life-threatening afflictions.

Irrespective of how the present government deals with the mounting resistance of the religious groups to some of its initiatives, the battlefield is our society – remains very conservative and very intolerant. If Nawaz Sharif is passionate about economic development, he will have to build not just financial capital but also social capital. That is why he needs to turn to social scientists and civil society activists to understand the parameters of what a liberal Pakistan is supposed to be.

At one level, the rulers have to rethink the ideas that have led Pakistan to its present state of social, intellectual and moral degradation. We know where we stand in the world and for what reasons. The indicators are awe-inspiring. In this attempt to focus on the positive, reformist inclinations of the present government, the dark shadows that sprawl across the entire perspective cannot be ignored.

For instance, I am very worried about how this government looks at NGOs and the exertions of the civil society to promote social justice and progressive values. I am personally aware of some actions that have been initiated in Islamabad and which blatantly subvert the intentions of the government to strengthen Pakistan economically and socially.

Tim Craig has quoted Miftah Ismail, who heads the Board of Investment, as saying that the prime minister sees “we need to change the narrative about Pakistan”. Good. But how should we change this narrative and what should the changed narrative be? In addition to our planners and our thinkers, the civil society as such should be at the heart of any meaningful restoration of the image and destiny of Pakistan.

It may be instructive to look at what is happening in India. The wicked surge of religious and nationalistic extremism is vigorously being opposed by the progressive and secular elements of the Indian civil society. The JNU episode underlines the intellectual and social vitality that is nurtured on a campus. It is time for our government to understand why our religious forces tend to be invincible.

The writer is a staff member.

Email: ghazi_salahuddin@hotmail.com