Peace and harmony

The founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, said the following words in his address to Pakistanis: “You are free; you are free to go to your temples. You are free to go to your mosques or to any other places of worship in this state of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion, caste or creed – that has nothing to do with the business of the state.” It is unfortunate that the Pakistani nation is not ready to follow the wisdom of our leader. In the Pakistan of today, minority communities are unsafe. Their places of worships are also attacked on a frequent basis. A few days ago, a Hindu temple in Rahim Yar Khan was attacked by an angry mob. This behaviour of a handful of extremists has hurt our Hindu brother. This incident happened after a nine-year-old boy was released on bail. The boy was sent to prison on blasphemy charges.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time that a temple was attacked in Pakistan. Over the years, there has been a sharp increase in temple attacks; this is the unfortunate reality of our country. The government needs to take action against the miscreants who are responsible for this violent attack. We need not forget that minority communities are an integral part of Pakistan. They have the same rights that we have. They have also been contributing towards the country’s growth. The higher authorities need to come up with a coherent plan to strengthen interfaith harmony in the country.

Waseem Ahmed

Hub