Law is the wisdom of the ages wrapped in the opinion of the moment, and every nation state has its own law. However, in the name of that wrapped wisdom, citizens often tend to take the law in their own hands, either claiming to be above the law, or inadvertently jump on the bandwagon to abrogate it. The champions and so called democrats who descend upon the capitals of the nation to overthrow the democratically elected governments generally are aloof of Theodore Roosevelt’s saying that “No man is above the law and no man is below it; nor do we ask any man’s permission when we ask him to obey it. Obedience to the law is demanded as a right, not asked as a favor.”
Fazl u Rehman and his party JUI-F along with his opposition allies descended upon Islamabad under their constitutionally enshrined right to protest. Article 16 -Freedom of assembly in the constitution of Pakistan says every citizen shall have the right to assemble peacefully and without arms, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of public order. However, as rightly said “Law too gentle are seldom obeyed; to severe, seldom executed.”
Pakistan is facing problem with law being too gentle, since the people exercising their rights derived from the same constitution are hell bound to kill it. The alliance in Islamabad sit -in, allege that there was a widespread rigging in Pakistan’s controversial 2018 general election that saw the PTI sweep to power. JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman stressed that if the public opinion was not respected then his party would ensure that it becomes even stronger. He claimed the word sit-in for his so called public movement will not be used because if the results are not achieved, it does not mean that movement will stop. The JUI-F chief also claimed that he is fighting for the “survival of the real democracy” in the country, adding that the entire nation was united on the demand of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s resignation. “Imran Khan must resign to prevent his horrible end,” and that “The government has sold Kashmir. They cannot rule the country anymore,” he adds that “All the parties have shown the national unity on this issue.”
In a blatant disregard of the law, Maulana asserted in an interview, that in case the prime minister fails to succumb to his demands, there would be violence and rebellion across the country and he care’s less of the concomitant results- spiraling unrest. The maulana also fanatically expressed his readiness to let his followers-sitting in Islamabad, to be killed by confronting the state’s institutions. In a final blow, he suggested that if the country is not ready to embrace his demands and confrontation, then to hell with the country.
The Fazal March may have died down as expected but the sort of claims and high handedness with the law, plagues the very relevance of state’s authority. The madrassa generations accompanying the march belong to the marginalised segments of the society and geographical regions. Recent studies show that their sense of grievance against an unequal distribution of resources is playing a critical role in their political awakening. Until recently, the direction of their anger largely remained sectarian-oriented, but as the state’s tolerance is decreasing and space for sectarian and extremist groups shrinking in seminaries, the madrassa youth is becoming more attracted to political activism. For instance, despite the calls of prominent Deobandi religious scholars to not participate in political activities, the madrassa youth are still joining the Azadi March. The reason being, they need to be heard, one way or the other, but through violence and extremism.
Baton bearing protestors occupying the streets of Islamabad threatening violence is the new political mantra of this segment of the society and their leaders adding fuel via false propaganda and promoting confrontation with the state is anathema. The state must, and by all means implement the law in its letter and spirit, come what may, and the option to circumvent the law should never be an option.
Two important factors are germane to be understood. Since, the tolerance for sectarianism and extremism in the society is shrinking, politics now is being weaponised. The political leaders are fueling sentiments to justify violence, albeit fundamentally failing to address the real issues and debating the grievances through parliament -the only platform representing the people of the country. Kill or be killed is not politics, it is simply war mongering and violence-ridden slogan, unacceptable in a democratic and civilized society. Therefore, tolerating this is a criminal negligence of the state, and those leading such protests are challenging the law and the foundation of our society.
Secondly, National action plan may well have succeeded in shrinking the space for extremism, and rooting out terrorism in the country, state’s failure to rehabilitate the extremists’ minds and establish alternatives to hate brewing seminaries has created another segment of disgruntled and disenfranchised group. Their voices might have been silenced but they exist, and should have been mainstreamed. Economic and social deprivation pushed them to extremism and the same root cause has been ignored again. Before, it’s too late to reckon the gravity of the problem, the state should solve the problem and create economic and social opportunities, and establish alternative madrasah’s to avoid another existential crisis for the country.
Pakistan has recently recovered from the menace of extremism at the cost unparalleled in the history of any modern nation state .Thousands of innocent civilian killed and billions of dollars lost to the economy, and destroyed foundations of the society. Pakistan cannot fall for another cocktail of motives critical to extremism, since the act of carrying out terrorist activity does not come from a single moment of inspiration but rather from a complex process of cognitive accommodation and assimilation over accumulating steps.
