فسادی مارچ اور فتنہ دھرنا

پاکستان میں آج کل ایک مذہبی سیاستدان بنام فضل الرحمان آئینی حکومت گرانے کے لئے سر توڑ کوشش کر رہا ہے- اس کا فسادی مارچ (جسے وہ "آزادی مارچ" کہتا ہے) 27 اکتوبر کو کراچی سے شروع ہوا اور سندھ و پنجاب سے گزرتا ہوا 31 اکتوبر کو اسلام آباد پہنچا- تب سے وہاں ایک "فتنہ دھرنا" قائم ہے جہاں کئی ہزار مرد (جن میں اکثر بلوچستان اور پختونخواہ کے مدارس کے طلبا ہیں)  براجمان ہیں- خیال ہے کہ ان کی تعداد لگ بھگ 30 ہزار ہے جس میں ڈنڈا برداروں کے دستے بھی شامل ہیں- یہ بھی کہا جاتا ہے کہ ان کے پاس بارودی اسلحہ اور مہلک ہتھیار بھی ہیں - اس فوج ظفر موج کی خوراک اور دیکھ بھال پہ روزانہ کروڑوں روپے اٹھ جاتے ہیں- ایک اہم سوال یہ ہے کہ     

پانی کی طرح جو پیسہ بہایا جا رہا ہے اس کا منبع کہاں ہے؟

فضل کی اصلیت عظیم صحافی جولین اسانج کے سائبر خانے "وکی لیکس" میں بے نقاب ہو چکی ہے- بقول وکی لیکس جب فضل امریکی سفیر این پٹرسن کے سامنے گڑ گڑا چکا تو این نے اپنے صدر کو واشنگٹن میں پیغام بھیجا: "فضل نے یہ واضح کر دیا ہے کہ پاکستانی پارلیمان میں اس کے ووٹ فروخت کے لئے    

حاضر ہیں"! وکی لیکس کے انکشافات کا ذکر میں اپنے ایک گزشتہ بلاگ میں کر       چکا ہوں جو آپ نیچے دیا ہوا رابطہ دبا کر  پڑھ سکتے ہیں

      وکی لیکس کے انکشافات

آئینی حکومت کو گرانے کی کوششوں میں حزب اختلاف کی علاقائی جماعتوں کے علاوہ دونوں بڑی ملک گیر جماعتیں بھی شامل ہیں- سزا یافتہ مجرم نواز شریف، جس کے پاس اپنی پارٹی کا کوئی عہدہ نہیں، اپنے بستر علالت سے احکامات جاری کرتا ہے اور پارٹی کے عہدے دار بلا چوں و چرا سر تسلیم خم کر کے فضل کے ساتھ آئینی حکومت گرانے کی سازشوں میں مصروف ہو جاتے ہیں- اسی طرح "عوام کی پارٹی" کا کرتا دھرتا بلاول بھٹو بھی حکومت گرانے میں فضل کے ساتھ کھڑا ہے-- اس وقت پاکستان کی "جمہوریت" کے متعفن جوہڑ میں بے ضمیر اور بے حس لوگ کس امید پر ڈبکیاں لگا رہے ہیں؟

پاکستانی صحافت میں ایسے لوگ جن کو حالات کی نزاکت کا صحیح اندازہ ہو شائد ایک ہاتھ کی انگلیوں پہ گنے جا سکتے ہیں- بہت سے صحافی پاکستان کے دشمنوں سے اپنے قلم کا سودا کر چکے ہیں- ایسے کم علم صحافیوں کی بھی کمی نہیں جو اتنی بڑی سازش کو پاکستان کی اندرونی سیاست کہہ کر اپنے بے معنی  "تجزیوں" سے صفحے سیاہ کرتے ہیں 

عالمی حالات 

پاکستان کے متعلق بات کرنے سے پہلے کچھ دوسرے اسلامی ملکوں پہ ایک نگاہ ڈال کے ہم بہت کچھ سمجھ سکتے ہیں- عراق، لیبیا اور شام پہ تباہی نازل ہونے کی بنیادی وجہ ان ممالک کی خود مختار حکمت عملی تھی جس سے امریکی  (یاصیہونی) مالی نظام اور اقتصادی قوت پہ ضرب پڑتی تھی- صدام حسین، قذافی اور بشار الاسد، تینوں ڈالری نظام کے    قید خانے سے نکل کے سونے پہ مبنی سکہ رائج کرنے کے خواہشمند تھے- اس گستاخی کی سزا بہت عبرت ناک تھی- عراق اور لیبیا تباہ ہو چکے ہیں اور صدام و قذافی موت کی آغوش میں جا سوۓ ہیں- صرف بشار زندہ بچا ہے جو اپنے    وطن کو امریکیوں/اسرئیلیوں اور ان کے خونخوار داعش دہشتگردوں کی گرفت سے آزاد کرانے کے لئے روس اور ایران کی مدد سے لڑ رہا ہے- ان  تین ممالک سے قبل امریکی "سوپر پاور" نے تونس اور مصر میں "عرب بہار" کی ہوائیں بھیج کر ابن علی اور حسنی مبارک سے چھٹکارا حاصل کر لیا تھا- اب وہاں امریکہ کی فرمانبردار حکومتیں ہیں اور امریکہ/اسرائیل مطمئن ہیں- جن اسلامی ممالک نے امریکہ/اسرائیل کے    سامنے گھٹنے ٹیک کے تابعداری کی زنجیر گلے میں ڈال لی وہ بچ گئے:سعودی عرب، متحدہ امارات، قطر وغیرہ 

اب پاکستان کی باری ہے ؟

عمران خان ملک میں غربت کا خاتمہ کر کے ایک با عزت اور خوشحال معاشرہ قائم کرنا چاہتا ہے- اس کے لئے چین/پاکستان اقتصادی راہداری کی کلیدی اہمیت ہے- یہ راہداری چین کے عالمگیر منصوبے کی اہم ترین کڑی ہے جس کی تکمیل سے چین  اقتصادی لحاظ سے امریکہ سے بہت آگے جا سکتا ہے- پاکستان کے لئے بھی اقتصادی ترقی کے امکانات بہت روشن ہیں-

گزشتہ ستمبر عمران خان نے اقوام متحدہ میں کھڑے ہو کر جو تقریر کی تھی اس نے امریکہ/اسرئیل اور انکے حلیف بھارت میں خطرے کی گھنٹیاں بجا دی تھیں- اس تقریر میں عمران نے جرات و بیباکی سے "غریب" ممالک کی دولت خود غرض حکمرانوں کے توسط سے امیر ممالک میں منتقل ہونے کی روداد بیان کی تھی- اس دولت کا باہر جانے کے بعد واپس آنا محال ہو جاتا ہے جب کہ پاکستان کے مالی جرائم کے مرتکب لوگوں کو مغرب میں پناہ دے دی جاتی ہے- ان ممالک کی اخلاقی اقدار کا پول عمران نے ان کی اسلام کو بدنام کرنے کی سازش کا ذکر کر کے کھول دیا تھا- آخر میں مقبوضہ کشمیر میں بھارت کے مظالم کا تفصیل سے تذکرہ کر کے عمران نے بھارت کی مکاری اور درندگی سے ساری دنیا کو آگاہ کر دیا-

عین اس وقت جب امریکہ و اسرائیل سعودی عرب کو اسلامی ملک ایران کے خلاف جنگ پہ ابھار رہے تھے عمران نے ایران اور سعودی کے دورے کر کے ان میں صلح کرانے کی کوشش کی اور جنگ کا خطرہ ٹل گیا-

 مندرجہ بالا وجوہ کی بنا پہ ان تین ممالک (اور ان کے حلیفوں) کے لئے عمران ایک ناپسندیدہ شخصیت  بن چکا ہے جسے راہ سے ہٹانا ضروری ہے- اس کے لئے انہوں نے ایک ماہر شاطر کی طرح پاکستان کی بساط پہ اپنے مہروں کو حرکت دینی شروع کر دی ہے- ایک اہم مہرہ وہ خود غرض، بے ضمیر اور لالچی شخص ہے جو دارالحکومت میں دھرنا  دیئے ہوۓ ہے- دوسرا اتنا ہی اہم مہرہ سزا یافتہ مجرم نواز کا ہے جس کی "علالت" کے جال میں عمران کو پھنسانے کی کوشش کی جا رہی ہے- ایک اور مہرہ سابق صدر زرداری کا ہے جس پر ملک کی دولت لوٹ کر امیر ملکوں میں منتقل کرنے کے الزامات ہیں- وہ بھی سخت بیمار ہے اور "ظالم" عمران کی دہائی دے رہا ہے- 

ان تین بڑےمہروں کے علاوہ چھوٹے مہروں کی شکل میں پاکستانی غدار سیاست، صحافت، تجارت، نوکر شاہی نظام اور حکومت میں پھیلے ہوۓ ہیں- ان میں سے اکثر کے پاس امریکی یا برطانوی شہریت ہے! افسوس سے کہنا پڑتا ہے کہ ایک محدود حد تک ایسے گندے انڈے عدلیہ اور افواج پاکستان میں بھی موجود ہیں (بعض کو سزائیں ہو چکی ہیں)- ان سب ضمیر فروشوں کی ہمت افزائی اور مالی مدد کے لئے پاکستان کے دشمنوں کے ڈھیروں "غیر ریاستی ادارے" اور "انسانی حقوق" کی انجمنیں سر زمین پاکستان میں پھیلے ہوۓ ہیں- ان اداروں کی  سرپرست "امدادی" اور "فلاحی" تنظیمیں ہیں جن کی کڑیاں غیر ملکی سفارت خانوں، "تھنک ٹینکوں" اور براہ راست غیر ملکی حکومتوں اور ان کے خفیہ اداروں سے جا ملتی ہیں:  "امریکی ایڈ"، "قومی انڈاؤمنٹ براہ جمہوریت"، "فریڈم ہاؤس" اوراسی قماش کے اور ادارے جو کھرب پتی جارج سوروس کی "اوپن سوسائٹی" کے تحت چلتے ہیں-

پاکستانی حکومت نے بھارتی سفارت خانے کا عملہ کم کر دیا ہے جو ایک مثبت قدم ہے- اسی طرح امریکی سفارت خانے پہ بندشیں لگانے کی ضرورت ہے اور "غیر ریاستی اداروں" کو اگر قابو میں نہیں رکھا جا سکتا تو انہیں بند کرنا بہتر ہے- رہے عمران کے ارد گرد اغیار کے ایجنٹ تو ان کی نشان دہی "آئی ایس آئی" (یہ ہماری ذہنی غلامی ہے کہ ہم اپنی زبان میں اپنے اداروں کے نام نہیں رکھ سکتے!) کا کام ہے- عمران کے پاس پارلیمان میں اکثریت نہیں اور وہ بیساکھیوں کے سہارے اپنی حکومت چلا رہا ہے، جسے ناکام ثابت کرنے میں حکومت میں شامل غدار بھی اپنا کردار ادا کر رہے ہیں-

آگے کیا ہو گا ؟

وقت گزرنے کے ساتھ ساتھ عمران کو قوت کے مراکز اور قوت کے استعمال کا ادراک ہوتا جا رہا ہے- کرتارپور راہداری کے کھلنے سے ممکن ہے کشمیر پہ بھارت کے ظلم و ستم کے خلاف پاکستان کو سکھوں کی اخلاقی امداد مل جائے- اگر افواج پاکستان عمران کی پشت پہ کھڑی رہیں اور حکومت کے ساتھ مل کے پاکستان کے دشمنوں کی چالوں کو ناکام بنا دیا تو پاکستان کا مستقبل بہت روشن ہے- عمران کو اسی جرات اور بیباکی کا مظاہرہ کرنے کی ضرورت ہے جو اس نے اقوام متحدہ میں دکھائی تھیں- پاکستانی غداروں کا قلع قمع کرنے کے لئے ضروری ہے کہ ان کو ملنے والی مالی امداد کا خاتمہ کر دیا جاۓ اور دشمن ممالک کے سفارت خانوں پہ پابندیاں لگائی جائیں-

The Lessons of Peshawar Massacre

On 16  December 2014 132 children and 9 teachers were massacred at a school in Pakistan. The responsibility for this carnage was claimed by PakTaliban, whose fugitive leader, Mullah Fazlullah – it was he who gave the order for Malala Yousafzai’s near-fatal shooting - lives in Afghanistan. 

General Raheel Sharif

In the days following the atrocity the Chief of Pakistan Army, General Raheel Sharif, and the head of Inter-Services Intelligence, General Rizwan Akhtar, flew to Afghanistan. Pakistan media reported that the generals had taken with them evidence of Indian complicity in the Peshawar atrocity (training of PakTaliban murderers and equipping them with sophisticated weapons and communication equipment). They met the Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, and the top commander of occupying powers US and NATO, General John Campbell. General Sharif’s demand for the arrest of Fazlullah, and his handover to Pakistan, seems to have been unsuccessful.

Following the return of Pakistan’s generals there were reports that Pakistan Air Force jets had flown out into Afghan airspace and bombed Fazlullah’s hiding place in Afghanistan. There were rumours that Fazlullah had been killed. 

Mass murderer Fazlullah

While these reports appeared in the Asian press [for example:  http://gulfnews.com/news/world/pakistan/pakistan-taliban-leader-mullah-fazlullah-killed-in-air-strike-1.1429620] they were generally absent from western media. The US media, some 95% of which is said to be controlled by a handful of wealthy families, appear to have avoided mentioning the F word altogether! Fazlullah probably survived the Pakistani attempt to kill him. Is he being protected by the powers that be?

 
Pakistan’s descent from high ideals of Islam into a cauldron of Mullahism and West-worship

Pakistan, a homeland for the Muslims of India, was the vision of the great Muslim poet-philosopher, Muhammad Iqbal. To realise that vision required a leader with extraordinary qualities, able to resist the will of the British imperialists and of the Hindus of Indian Congress political party (who saw themselves as the natural heirs to the British). The Muslims were fortunate to have found in Muhammad Ali Jinnah a staunch Muslim who saw no conflict between Quranic guidance and modern life. He articulated Iqbal’s vision, and his own, in interviews and speeches.

Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah

In December 1943 Jinnah gave an interview to a British journalist, Beverley Nichols, in which he described the ‘vital principles’ of Pakistan as: The Muslims are a Nation. He elaborated further: “You must remember that Islam is not merely a religious doctrine but a realistic and practical Code of Conduct. I am thinking in terms of life, of everything important in life. I am thinking in terms of our history, our heroes, our art, our architecture, our music, our laws, our jurisprudence”.

In a radio broadcast to the people of the USA, in February 1948, Jinnah talked about the constitution of Pakistan yet to be drafted: “it will be of a democratic type, embodying the essential principles of Islam. Today, they are as applicable in actual life as they were 1,300 years ago. Islam and its idealism have taught us democracy. It has taught equality of man, justice and fair play to everybody. We are the inheritors of these glorious traditions and are fully alive to our responsibilities and obligations as framers of the future constitution of Pakistan. In any case Pakistan is not going to be a theocratic State to be ruled by priests with a divine mission. We have many non-Muslims – Hindus, Christians, and Parsees – but they are all Pakistanis. They will enjoy the same rights and privileges as any other citizens and will play their rightful part in the affairs of Pakistan”.

Jinnah, the modern Muslim for whom the Message of the Quran was independent of the time period in which humanity lived, was opposed by the Muslim priest class which rejected the idea of Pakistan and sided with the Indian Congress party. The mullahs went further, some declaring Jinnah and Iqbal as ‘kaafir’.

The great irony of Pakistan today is that the mullahs, who fought Jinnah and opposed Pakistan Movement, have claimed the country in the name of their distorted version of Islam, a throwback to the pre-Islamic Age of Ignorance. This insanity is matched at the other extreme by the West-worshipping class of Pakistanis, for whom Islam has little meaning, a “religion” at best. For them the fount of wisdom is located in the West, to which they look for guidance in their lives. These self-styled “liberals” are as destructive for Pakistan as is rampant mullahism.

Way forward for Pakistan

The mysterious way in which PakTaliban sprang up in 2007, and the way their distorted understanding of Islam has been encouraged and exploited, point to international intrigue. Pakistan military’s response to PakTaliban’s atrocities is to attack them and kill as many as possible. This may turn out to be a futile exercise if nothing is done to stem the flow of arms and finance to PakTaliban. 

While the body of Pakistan is being ravaged by inhuman actions of PakTaliban, its soul is being assiduously destroyed by West-worshippers who are hell-bent on imposing an alien language and its associated Anglo-American culture on Pakistan.

As I see it, there is only one solution which will work in the long run but it does require a great deal of patience in the meantime. This solution is a rapid spread of education in Urdu, a language Pakistanis understand and which is intimately connected with their culture and religious traditions. The education needs to be broadly based: it must encourage individuals to reflect on Quranic Guidance themselves (as demanded by Quran) and provide them with scientific, technical and linguistic knowledge which is necessary for material prosperity in current world conditions. Without reforming Pakistani society we are faced with an eternal struggle between the forces of darkness: rabid West-worshippers against mad mullahs espousing a religion which negates the spirit of Islam.

The Malala phenomenon

At the age of just 17 Malala Yousafzai is probably the most famous Pakistani in the world today. This blog is an attempt to unravel the mystery that surrounds Malala.

Malala was born on 12/07/1997 to Ziauddin and Toorpekai Yousafzai in Swat, Pakistan. Ziauddin was inspired by Marxist ideology and was active in promoting education for boys and girls in Swat. His deep interest in politics meant that he constantly discussed politics with his children, especially Malala. By the time she was 12 she could discuss politics intelligently and, under persuasion by her father, had given up her earlier wish of becoming a doctor in favour of becoming a politician.                  

Malala before PakTaliban came to Swat

In 2007 Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan was formed in the tribal areas of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan, known as FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas). These so-called Pakistani Taliban were distinct from the Afghan Taliban, who were engaged in a fierce struggle to drive out foreign forces from Afghan soil. The Pakistani Taliban, espousing a weird form of Islam, had just one aim: to carry out terrorist activities in Pakistan and to destabilize the country. They were surrounded on three sides by Pakistan’s military, leaving the porous border with Afghanistan as the route from where armaments, tools of terrorism and finance flowed in freely. Numerous reports in Pakistan’s press named the backers as the American CIA and Indian RAW.

Pakistan’s incompetent federal government failed miserably to control the growing influence of Pakistani Taliban, who became the effective rulers of FATA within two years. Emboldened by their success, PakTaliban moved further into the neighbouring province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), especially Swat, and forcibly imposed such perversions as banning girls’ education in the areas under their control. By the time Malala was 11 it was the writ of PakTaliban that prevailed in Swat.

What was life like under PakTaliban? BBC Urdu had a brilliant idea. Get a Swati student to write a regular blog! A 16 years old girl volunteered but withdrew under pressure from her family who feared reprisals from PakTaliban. Ziauddin, however, offered up 11 years old Malala as the blogger. She was deemed too young but was eventually accepted as the fear of the ruthless Taliban had driven away more suitable pupils. On 3/01/2009 Malala’s first blog in Urdu appeared at the BBC Urdu website under the pseudonym Gul Makai (Sunflower). She wrote several blogs, the last one on 12/03/2009. With great courage she gave a candid account of her life in Mingora (the main town in Swat) under PakTaliban occupation and wrote passionately about girls’ education.

From that point Malala’s rise to fame was rapid as a US journalist made a New York Times documentary about her and she gave interviews in print and on television. In July 2009 Richard Holbrooke, US president Obama’s special representative for “AfPak”, had a meeting with the twelve-year-old! By December 2009 the identity of Gul Makai, the young BBC blogger, had been revealed in articles about Malala. PakTaliban issued numerous death threats to her but Ziauddin paid little heed, possibly because of the action of Pakistan Army in the summer of 2010 to drive PakTaliban out of KPK. In July 2012 Malala gave a speech at National Marxist Summer School in Pakistan.

Malala after PakTaliban shooting

The area commander of PakTaliban, Mullah Fazlullah, gave the order for her assassination. Fazlullah is currently the leader of PakTaliban and lives across the border in Afghanistan. He is said to have the support of Afghan, American and Indian secret services. On 9/10/2012, aged 15, Malala was shot at close range by a young Talib as she travelled home in her school bus. One bullet entered the left side of her forehead, travelled down her face and embedded itself in her shoulder. After initial operations in Pakistan she was sent to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham for intensive rehabilitation.

On 15/10/2012 a famous visitor came to see Malala in her hospital bed. It was Gordon Brown, the former British Prime Minister who was once close to America’s Obama, and now acted as the UN Special Envoy for Global Education. He lost no time in launching a petition for children’s education under the catchy slogan “I am Malala”. He is thought to have put forward the name of the anti-Pakistan, anti-Islam journalist Christina Lamb to ghost-write Malala’s autobiography in English. Predictably, when the book was published in October 2013 it had the title “I am Malala”! This book is notable for the disagreeable way Lamb has exploited a child by slipping in comments in Malala’s name which would have been beyond her comprehension. As an example, Salman Rushdie’s infamous book “Satanic Verses” is mentioned in the context of freedom of expression even though Muslims worldwide were deeply hurt by the perversity of Rushdie in deliberately abusing and ridiculing what the Muslims hold sacred and dear.

With Gordon Brown

Ziauddin with Mrs Brown

                               

                                              
 The PakTaliban have reiterated their death threats to both Malala and her father. In my opinion most Pakistanis tend to see Malala as an idealist who is now virtually a willing prisoner in the hands of western politicians. She will be used for their political ends as much as possible and will be discarded eventually as her Marxism or her Islam are seen as insurmountable obstacles. Her Nobel Prize for Peace, too, is seen in political terms for two reasons: firstly, Malala has done nothing for regional or world peace and, secondly, to make the prize palatable to India she had to share it with a virtually unknown Indian.

 
Malala is growing up into an assured young woman of great dignity and charm. So far she has coped with her fame with no trace of arrogance and self-importance. May Allah’s Grace and Mercy accompany her in her life.

Tailpiece

This post can also be read at the Muslim Institute's website:
http://www.musliminstitute.org/blogs/malala/malala-phenomenon

For an account of foreign powers' anti-Pakistan conspiracies using Tehreek-e-Taliban, Pakistan as the destabilizing force, see the following blogs:

Terrorising Pakistan

TP - part 2

English Translation of Hamid Mir's column in Jang, 27 March 2014

In the course of some exchanges on Twitter I ended up promising an Indian gentleman to translate parts of Hamid Mir's article on Muhammad Ali Jinnah, published in Jang today. The original article can be read here . I have already posted several blogs relating to Quaid-e-Azam, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, most recently here which is relevant in the context of comments Hamid Mir has made.

Jaswant Singh and Muhammad Ali Jinnah

In his article Hamid Mir shows that Jinnah was neither secular nor a maulvi. The main points he makes are:

      Jaswant Singh is one of the founder members of BJP. A few years ago he wrote a book entitled “Jinnah” in which he said that those really responsible for the division of India were Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel, not Muhammad Ali Jinnah. The Hindu leaders could have  worked amicably with the secular and liberal Jinnah but they antagonised him needlessly.

 
This book infuriated the leadership of Bharatia Janata Party because the BJP and Congress had always held Jinnah responsible for the break-up of India. Jaswant Singh was expelled from the BJP following publication of his book. He maintained that he had been expelled because he dared to present some plain historical facts.

    Some BJP members supported Jaswant. In their view he had laid bare the fake secularism of BJP’s political rival Congress. Moreover, by holding the Congress leadership responsible for the division of India the book had actually benefited BJP at the expense of  Congress.

      It was also thought that L K Advani considered Jaswant Singh a dangerous political rival because of his previous experience as Foreign and Defence Minister, which would make him a candidate for the office of Prime Minister. Advani thus manoeuvred to have him expelled from the Party.

     Jaswant Singh’s exile lasted 10 months before he was admitted back into the party. For the 2014 Election Jaswant Singh wanted his party’s ticket for his traditional constituency in Rajasthan but his request was refused. He said he was being punished for declaring Jinnah to be a secular politician. He announced that he would fight the election from his constituency as an independent.

       It is now obvious that Narainder Modi has taken control of BJP and he has pushed aside not just Jaswant but Advani as well. Modi is now the sole candidate for Prime Ministership from his party.

     Jaswant Singh is not the first Indian writer to consider Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah a secularist. Previously, a lecturer in Political Science at Delhi University, Dr Ajit Javed, authored a book “Secular and Nationalist Jinnah” in which he acknowledged the honesty, courage and fearlessness of the founder of Pakistan. He also stated that the demand for the establishment of Pakistan was merely a political ploy to put pressure on Congress. He claimed that Maudoodi [a religious leader active in politics] refused to lead the Janazah prayer for Jinnah and instead performed a prayer of thanks.

     Many claims made in Ajit Javed’s book defy historical facts. Apart from the Indian writers there are also some Pakistani writers and intellectuals who do their best to present Jinnah as secular. Their amazing antics include:

    (a) always quoting a brief excerpt from a single speech of Quaid-e-Azam (one delivered on 11 August 1947),

    (b) taking delight in quoting falsehoods or half-truths contained in American author Stanley Wolpert’s book “Jinnah of Pakistan”, and

    (c) always referring to Jinnah’s wife Ruttie as a Parsee even though she had converted to Islam before her marriage to Jinnah and she was buried in a Muslim cemetery after her death.

       Quite recently, an English language magazine, published in Karachi, showed a picture of Quaid-e-Azam, with a white beard superimposed. An article in the magazine lamented that some people were trying to present Jinnah as a maulvi!

It is true that there are people who look only for Shariat in the speeches of Pakistan’s founder while they ignore references to justice, equality, tolerance and democracy. On the other hand, those people who are hell-bent on proving the Quaid to be secular are guilty of intellectual and historical dishonesty. It is well known that the founder of Pakistan entered politics as a member of Congress but, over the years, his political evolution and maturity took him to the Muslim League. He was neither a maulvi nor a secularist. He was an ordinary Muslim, free of sectarian and religious prejudices. He married Ruttie for love, whose Muslim name was Maryam. Owing to his legal practice and political activities he could not spend as much time with her as the couple would have wished. There were ups and downs in Jinnah’s marriage. When Ruttie died Jinnah was inconsolable and he wept uncontrollably at her grave.

    In 1929 Jinnah defended Ghazi Ilm Deen in court and in 1931 he refused to speak against Bhagat Singh.

    It was Allama Iqbal who persuaded Jinnah to study Islamic laws. Iqbal’s letter to Jinnah, dated 28 May 1937, is extremely significant. In it the great poet-philosopher is telling his friend that putting genuine Islamic laws into practice in a Muslim state will mean each and every individual will have a right to an assured income. This letter also mentions Islamic Sharia. 

Later the same year, on 16 September 1937, Jinnah ensured that a Shariat Bill, concerned with Muslim Personal Law, was passed by India’s Legislative Assembly. When this Bill was introduced in the Assembly it was criticised on the grounds that the shariat followed by each Muslim sect was  different which made the Bill highly controversial. Jinnah overcame that objection by getting Muslim members of the Assembly to agree to a common concept of shariat acceptable to their respective sects.

     In one of his books Mufti Rafee Usmani has written extensively about Quaid-e-Azam’s meetings with his father and other Muslim scholars. He says there were some religious leaders who had issued fatwas of Kufr in relation to Jinnah while other religious leaders (Ashraf Ali Thanvi, Shabbir Ahmed Usmani, Mufti Muhammad Shafee etc) supported him. They also severed their links with Dar-ul-aloom Deoband.

    Mufti Muhammad Shafee issued a fatwa, declaring support for Congress to be Kufr. On 23 March 1940 it was not just Pakistan Resolution that was passed but also one supporting the Palestinian Muslims. Jinnah worked hard to end sectarian differences among Muslims and to organise a conference of Muslim scholars of all sects. Many religious leaders and scholars supported Jinnah in his efforts to unify Muslims and to establish a separate homeland for them.

    Quaid-e-Azam had met the founder of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan Al-Bana and they were in close touch. In his speech on 1^st July 1948, at the inauguration ceremony of State Bank of Pakistan, the Quaid spoke about the importance of conducting banking on Islamic principles. It was not a theocracy that Quaid-e-Azam wished to establish but an Islamic welfare state in which non-Muslims had the same rights as those that Rasul-e-Kareem gave to the Jews of Madinah in the Madinah Pact.

    In brief, Quaid-e-Azam was just an honest and sincere Muslim who was neither a secularist nor a maulvi.