‘Parliament to determine authority of other institutions’

ISLAMABAD: Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani on Friday said that some elements appear to have begun distorting key ideas enunciated by the Father of the Nation Muhammad Ali Jinnah, cautioning this will not be tolerated.

He issued this warning after former information minister PML-N Senator Pervaiz Rashid said that some elements had mutilated Jinnah’s words to impose their philosophy, the reason of Pakistan has been turned into a ‘warrior state’. Senators lamented that the nation today had a confused narrative due to such distortions. During the debate, they also contended that parliament has the right to determine the authority of other state institutions. The Senate also offered "Fateha" for the departed soul of the Quaid-i-Azam's only child Dina Wadia who died on Thursday.

While speaking on an adjournment motion moved by Mian Ateeq Sheikh of the MQM on impact of hate material in schools and the role of religious, security and educational institutions, the senators laid emphasis on the need for uprooting religious intolerance through drastic changes in the curriculum.

The legislators contended that the military operations against militants were no solution to the menace of terrorism unless hate material in books that impacted whole generations was removed from the curriculum. To this, Rabbani said despite Jinnah’s speech being on record, a particular segment of the society was bent upon attributing the slogan of “Faith, Unity and Discipline” to Jinnah, which reflects how they want to run the country their own way. Instead, he pointed out, “the original words of Jinnah were ‘Unity, Faith and Discipline’ and was intended as a political slogan. "But some people have distorted this famous saying and are displaying it on huge billboards at the main highways, which will be disastrous.”

The chairman said he had also seen such a billboard on the Airport Road in Rawalpindi, where a willful attempt was made to distort the famous saying of Jinnah. He lamented that despite issuing orders thrice, no one bothered to correct the quote. “I need your help, Mr Pervaiz Rashid…we cannot allow anybody to distort the sayings of Jinnah as all his speeches are available in recorded form,” he said.

Senator Rashid noted that besides censoring and suppressing the Quaid’s words, these elements were also giving a different interpretation to Jinnah’s quotes. He said the authentic translation of ‘faith’ is ‘firmness of belief’ while these elements translate it as ‘Imaan or belief’ which is a very dangerous sign.

He said this was a great disservice to Jinnah’s vision of a proper relationship between religion, state and citizens and added this was the reason we have a confused national narrative because we misinterpret the Quaid’s vision and words.

Rashid charged that some major players were promoting hatred which has turned the country into a warrior state, and in such circumstances, how can one bring changes into the curriculum. “The country which has a track record of joining the proxy wars of the US right from the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to the Middle East crisis, it would be insane to make changes in the curriculum as it suits the elements which started all this back in the late '70s,” he maintained.

While making an observation on a motion on trichotomy of power, the Senate chairman said in the prevailing circumstances, all state institutions should work by staying within their prescribed constitutional ambit.

Rabbani reiterated that the senators presented themselves for accountability while the other institutions escape from it, adding parliament has set a trend which will go a long way in making every institution accountable. “I would urge parliament to play its due role and put forth something to ensure the balance in trichotomy of power so that this debate does not end as an exercise in futility,” he emphasised.

PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar said more than the military operations, extremism will be defeated by creating an intellectual infrastructure and space for freedom of expression and tolerance for dissent.

He said distortion of history has undermined the building of intellectual infrastructure, adding a military dictator quietly deleted from the Objectives Resolution the words 'freely' with respect to rights of minorities to practice and profess their religion.

“Diaries of the Quaid were forged to make people believe that the Quaid wanted a presidential and not a parliamentary form of government. History books teach children that history of Sindh began with the arrival of Muhammad bin Qasim and that Sultan Mehmood Ghaznavi is eulogised as a great ghazi driven by religious zeal to destroy Hindu temples,” he contended.

Senator Babar said falsehood and distortion of history had undermined our educational and intellectual infrastructure. It was no surprise that so-called educated people were involved in violent cases of Mashal Khan, Noreen Leghari, attackers of opposition leader in Sindh Assembly and Safoora Goth incident and added, when armed conflict is glorified in the name of religion, the result is violence in the name of religion.

He said the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act had been used to punish bloggers and political activists dissenting with the state narrative but has not been used to stop hate speech and sectarian violence. Babar called for placing bi-annual report of FIA on the implementation of the law before parliament. He pointed out that although the interior minister had promised to lay it before the House over a month ago but it had still not been done.

Rabbani directed the Interior Ministry to place the report of Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act in the House within three days, with a warning that any further delay will not be allowed. The House will now resume on Monday.