Sunday, April 05, 2009
That the president and the chief justice of Pakistan have taken notice of the incident of flogging is but a good first step. It should be the beginning of a process that seeks to reverse our slide into barbarism. It is not the few people holding the girl and lashing her, who need to be punished, as ordered by President Zardari, but the ideology behind them needs to be confronted and dismantled. The solution also lies in standing up to those who support such actions, such as the JI, the JUI-F and even the PTI, besides a plethora of other religious groups who use faith as a tool to perpetrate such actions and establish their control over parts of the country.
The likes of Fazlullah, Sufi Mohammad and Muslim Khan need to be held accountable. We need to bring our intelligence agencies under effective control of the civilian government, because it is these agencies which nurture these terrorist groups. The solution also lies in accepting the fact that such 'strategic assets' are doing a great disservice to the country by such actions.
Also, we must continue our efforts to force the clergy to stop twisting the facts and come out in the open. They should either support or condemn such actions. They have to be forced to publicly distance themselves from such incidents and stop legitimising these elements.
The chief justice has taken a good step by taking suo motu notice of the incident. Now the judiciary and the legal fraternity must clearly voice their opinion about this barbaric system of dispensation of justice and force the government to prevent imposition of this violent, inhuman and barbaric legal system in our part of the country. It is only then that their commitment to justice and the rule of law will be vindicated. Last, but by no means the least, the political parties must be forced to come out in the open on the issue of imposition of so-called Sharia in Malakand. Who has been working behind the scenes to portray it as a deal done by the provincial government so that the whole responsibility has been shifted to the Pakhtuns? Why has the ANP accepted it and why has it gone against its established policy of remaining anti-clergy and anti-mullah to appease the Taliban? The PPP has to clarify whether it supports this kind of justice? Also, the beardless Talib, Imran Khan, has to clarify if this is the kind of justice he supports to be dispensed in Swat? Does he consider it to be in reaction to the American presence in Afghanistan; as is his oft-repeated argument in support of the Taliban?
Fatima Ahmed
Barikot, Swat
*****
Those who are gloating on the so-called peace deal in Swat need to think again, after the horrific footage of the flogging of a young girl there. Religio-political parties with a soft corner for the Taliban should be taken to task by civil society. It may not be far-fetched to think that one day such acts may be replicated in other parts of the country -- unless of course we all stand up to these monsters.
Gulsher Panhwer
Dadu
*****
Just as we think we have seen the worst possible in our society, we are confronted with new images, more inhuman, more repulsive and more sickening than before. The footage shown on TV channels of this young woman in Swat, pinned to the ground, face down, by three men, while a fourth is repeatedly flogging her, must have sent shivers down the spine of most Pakistanis.
While the hapless woman screams and wriggles in pain, dozens of men watch the 'spectacle' quietly. Whatever her real or supposed crime, no woman deserves this punishment, this humiliation. Asma Jahangir echoed the feelings of most decent Pakistanis when she said the lashes inflicted on the back of this woman were, in fact, the lashes on the back of all the women and men of Pakistan.
More bewildering, disappointing and dodgy, was the comment of the newly anointed chief of Jamaat-e-Islami who, when asked to comment on the incident, said why the media was making such a fuss about this incident and not saying anything on the drone attacks. One thought, they taught logic (mantaq) in the madressahs.
Aziz Akhmad
Islamabad
*****
A 17-year-old girl was flogged by the Taliban in Swat for coming out of home with her father-in-law. Does any religion in the world consider it a crime? How can the Taliban term the punishment Islamic?
Tanveer Ahmad
Rawalpindi
*****
The flogging of a girl in Swat is a highly despicable act and must be condemned by everyone in society. Those who gave the orders for such punishment as well as those who carried out the dastardly act must be brought to book and punished in a manner so that an example is set for others. The Taliban spokesperson and others of his ilk need to take lessons in Islamiat and see how the Holy Prophet (PBUH) exercised justice.
Also, there is no basis whatsoever for comparing this episode with drone attacks. That is a matter pertaining to a policy of a foreign and non-Muslim government. We, who claim to be Muslims, have no reason to carry out such punishment. If on the one hand we value a woman's hijab, how on the other hand did the militants -- who were all 'na-mehram' -- physically hold the woman?
Mohammed Hasan
Karachi
*****
I was shocked to see television footage of a young woman being publicly flogged in Swat. What kind of Islam are we sending to the rest of the world? I urge the president not to sign the peace deal because it would give the Taliban even more licence to kill.
Nasir Mehmood Shafqi
Mardan
*****
The Taliban are illiterate -- and I want to ask them that what kind of Islam are they following?
Kiran Asghar Khan
Peshawar
*****
I as a Pakhtun salute Geo and other private television channels for showing the true face of the Taliban and for doing what the government should have done a long time ago. I also appreciate the Supreme Court for its suo motu action, the PML-N, Mufti Muneebur Rahman and Asma Jehangir for their strong condemnation of the flogging incident. However, I am still waiting for condemnation from the JUI-F and the JI. Now we need a long march against these religious lunatics and against those institutions which provide them support.
M Shafi
Peshawar
Source: http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=170871
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