Speed is vital but more vital is no creed

While the champion of energy and development, Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, is now widely recognized for his speed (as also acknowledged by sweeter than honey Chinese friends), Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has, of late, earned recognition for (no) creed. The equation thus becomes speed on one hand and (no) creed on the other. 

It is in the speedy and passionate works of Shahbaz that we find glimpses of his jet speed and missionary zeal and it is in Prime Minister, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif’s latest statement that we find that Mr PM gives due respect to all creeds as he has vociferously stated that he is not the Prime Minister of Muslims only but of all the people inhabiting this land whatever their religion, caste or creed. 

In fact, it is humanity which is the greatest religion of all since it doesn’t allow anyone to discriminate on the basis of caste, colour and creed, opines Sharif quite rightly just a few days after highlighting another intellectual theme that the country now needs Operation Zarbe Qalam after having achieved much in Operation Zarbe Azab. 

In my view, this conviction about humanity which is quite appreciable, is also driven by the actual essence of statehood that Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif seems to have understood having traversed a long distance on the political track that leads to statesmanship. If the PM has qualified for this position i.e for the position of a statesman, it means he has achieved what a politician usually dreams to achieve. Certainly, a politician can’t claim to be successful only on the basis that he or she has been able to complete two or three terms in office. That achievement dwarfs before the achievement of being a statesman.

Now the question arises whether we can quickly jump over the conclusion that a mere statement in favour of all Pakistanis proves that the top leader (PM) means justice and equality for all or whether such steps have been practically taken to substantiate his claim made the other day by way of which he has stated “Pakistan is attaining identity as a minority-friendly country where all the segments of society and followers of every religion would be equally treated”. 

The second question arises what steps the government has taken and is in the process of taking to enhance the self-esteem of minorities that co-exist in Pakistan along with majority Muslims? The fact is that most of the governments in the past and their top leaders had been treating this crucial most subject of nationhood as a low priority. Nawaz Sharif government, however, claims that through different solid measures taken by it, the minorities’ lot has improved which has in turn given them self-confidence and self-respect that they had always been deserving being important constituents of the state called Pakistan which is a state of the Muslims as well as non-Muslims and which treats all its people with equality and without any biases. If this claim is to be accepted on the face of it, then it certainly conforms to high standards of Islamic morality and ideals but also to the Quaide Azam’s vision of a welfare state that Pakistan is supposed to be in accordance with the central idea of its foundation. 

On one occasion, I heard that the government takes pride in the functioning of Evacuee Trust Property Board under the chairmanship of Siddiqul Farooq who, according to the government officials, is undertaking the mission of serving the minorities up to their genuine expectations, with devotion and commitment. 

One wishes the country and its leadership were farsighted and practical enough to achieve the chief goal of statehood which is ‘one for all and all for one’.

The said goal is also reminiscent somewhat of my one-time column ‘One for all and all for one’ that I wrote after having participated in National Security Workshop at National Defence University for five weeks under the tutelage of armed forces.

The spell (or magic) of that Workshop remained one of my personality’s main inspirations since I had at that time drawn the inference that only the armed forces of Pakistan were committed to promotion of national harmony as evidenced from the inclusion of almost all the pivotal sectors and spheres of national life in the aforesaid Workshop.

But now the PMs and CMs too appear to have embarked on this unifying mission. Let us hope that the fervor within this mission doesn’t subside, come what may.  —…..mianrehman1@gmail.com