Pakistan: Schizophrenic Unity

Schizophrenic Unity Schizophrenic: A serious mental illness which results in delusional thought patterns, hallucinations and inappropriate affect. These patients will often suffer from social and occupational difficulty in addition to personal disability. By Amina Jilani .... 'The Nation' By and large, as has been remarked by others on several occasions - all to no avail - Pakistan is a nation of mentally challenged schizophrenics who are incapable of observing and digesting what goes on under their collective noses. Protestors have been out in the streets jumping up and down (with justification it must be said) at what is happening in Gaza. But why is it that they react in indignation to things that happen in other lands, when it comes to Muslims being killed and maimed by non-Muslims, but are totally impervious to the killing of Muslims by Muslims in their own land? Why can they see only the motes in the eyes of others who do not belong to their country and ignore the multitude of motes in their eyes and those of their fellow countrymen? Swat, Bajaur, Mohmand, Bara, Darra Adamkhel, Hangu, Waziristan are all areas distinguished by large scale killings of men, women and children by Muslim citizens of Pakistan, but there has been not one single public protest. Is it that it is kosher to the obviously warped minds for Pakistani Muslims to kill Pakistani Muslims? Are the Taliban and the other members of like groups, the Lashkar-e-Taiba just for one, immune from any criticism or protest? Does the average Pakistani approve of the slaughter? Yes, lots of people plus their duly dubiously freely and fairly elected representatives leap up in protest when an American drone wanders into Pakistani territory (with the tacit but non-admitted permission of the powers that rule the Republic) in search of terrorists and what is known euphemistically as 'collateral damage' occurs, killing and maiming. But when the Taliban kill and maim, not a murmur is raised. By this silent acquiescence, do we assume that certain forms of murder are permissible? Fellow citizens may kill fellow citizens with impunity has to be the conclusion of this perceived approval. The National Assembly last week exhibited what was termed 'unique unity' when it adopted a unanimous resolution against Israel and its attack upon Gaza. Why is this body of men and women unable to come together in a show of 'unique unity' against what is happening on their own territory? When Gaza suffers they react, when their own country suffers, they are silent. They and the people who have voted them in remain in an extreme state of denial, refusing point blank to realise the dangers that homegrown terrorism pose not only to themselves and the nation, but to the rest of the world? Swat, distanced by 265 kilometres from Islamabad, is a veritable hell-hole, where horrific happenings are the order of the day. Men are tortured and beheaded, or merely shot, women who do not comply with the Taliban-made laws are brutally killed. One widow, a teacher, was murdered because she refused to cease teaching at her local school. The fate of her children is unknown - they may also have been killed. Hundreds have been forced to flee their homes, hundreds have lost their livelihoods, and hundreds more, caught up in the Taliban web of violence, have lost their lives. Thousands of students are left bereft of education. Yet, the brave National Assembly which can unite in the face of far-off Israel aggression is unable to open

its mouth in protest against inhumane violence taking place just up the road. What has been the National Assembly stance on the appointment of one cabinet minister, Israrullah Zehri, who is on record as having stated, when the burying alive of at least two women of Balochistan was raised last year in the Senate, that the murder of women suspected of 'immoral acts' is a time-honoured tradition that cannot be done away with? No one has uttered, and most shamefully silent have been the women of the assembly, who rail and rant about women's and human rights. Why the multiple standards? Are they frightened, or do they simply not care? Likewise, there is the appointment of Mir Hazar Khan Bijrani as minister of education - a man who is on record as having presided over a jirga which handed over five minor girls as compensation to the family of a murdered man. Are the women and children of Pakistan of no worth? Is it only the women and children of other lands who are deserving of notice? What has the National Assembly, or anyone else, done about the case of Tasleem Solangi, another victim last year of the horror that is known as 'honour killing'? Who has raised a voice for her? A jirga was held by some upright honourable high-powered full-pocketed landlords of the Khairpur area and the result was that the girl was thrown to a pack of dogs, mauled and then murdered. Where were and are the protestors? There are enough grim goings-on in Pakistan itself to keep every single parliamentarian and every human rights activist busy for 365 days a year. But no, they are all too occupied in blaming the US, or Israel, or India, or Greenland, or Vanuatu for the conditions in their own country and are too involved in the happenings in other lands. They need to get real - the criminals are in their midst. The danger comes from within.