Being Sold Repeatedly is Pak’s Destiny!

The Ahmadiyya community, known for the slogan “Love for all, hatred for none,” has been destroyed by Pakistani rulers.

When US President Donald Trump invited Pakistan’s army chief General Asim Munir to lunch instead of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, it sparked discussion. People said that if Trump had wanted to engage with India, he would have invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There was also speculation that if Trump considers India a friend, then why did he invite Munir to lunch? After the attack on Iran, it became clear that this lunch was part of a larger conspiracy. The US dangled bait and Munir came running.

But the matter doesn’t end there. Iranian media has openly accused that in the last week of May, Pakistani army chief Munir met with Iran’s top commander Mohammad Hossein Bagheri and gifted him a smartwatch. That smartwatch had a GPS tracker. Munir reportedly gave Israel access to that GPS tracker, and within three weeks, Israel assassinated Mohammad Hossein Bagheri.

Bagheri would never have imagined that Pakistan which parades under the flag of Islam would betray him so treacherously, or that Munir would act like an agent of Israeli intelligence, similar to Mossad agents! Bagheri failed to learn from history: that Pakistan is a country where those who place trust are always betrayed. There are many more such incidents that highlight Pakistan’s traitorous role in the Israel-Iran conflict. On one hand, Pakistan condemns attacks on Iran and on the other, it carries out actions that bring ruin to Iran.

General Munir is simply continuing the legacy of his predecessors. The army has shaped Pakistan’s character in such a way that it aligns with whoever offers a better price. Whoever shows the bigger bait, it gets sold to them. And if someone offers a higher bid tomorrow, Pakistan will switch loyalties and embrace them. When the US needed Pakistan to defeat Soviet Russia in Afghanistan, it opened its purse, and Pakistan readily lay in America’s lap. Later, when China opened its bag of wealth, Pakistan wasted no time in shifting to China’s lap. At the time of independence, Pakistan only had America’s support but even then, it couldn’t remain loyal. It took a fortune from the US in exchange for help in Afghanistan while secretly hiding Osama bin Laden in its own backyard. The US was aware of this betrayal but it too was no less cunning! It made full use of Pakistan. Now, Pakistan also has China’s lap to fall into. With two laps to choose from, its disloyalty has grown. If one patron gets upset, it can rely on the other. Both know that Pakistan is unfaithful, but sometimes even the unfaithful can be useful! Tolerating betrayal becomes a necessity of the times. Both benefactors know that this is an asset up for sale. Reveal your price, and Pakistan will sit in your lap!

But this misfortune of Pakistan is truly heartbreaking. I had the opportunity to visit Pakistan three times. I spoke with the public, interacted with the media. Even today, I meet and talk to Pakistanis living abroad. I keep trying to understand as to why the condition in Pakistan is so bad? The pain expressed by people of Pakistani origin is often chilling. Just recently, while travelling in a car in Canada, the owner Waseem Ahmad shared his sorrow. He belongs to the Ahmadiyya community which was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in 1889 in Qadian in the Gurdaspur district of Punjab. After independence, many Ahmadis migrated to Pakistan, but they were treated terribly. When Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was Prime Minister, a resolution was passed in Parliament declaring that Ahmadis are not Muslims. The Ahmadis moved the court, but dictator Zia-ul-Haq later issued the same decree. Now, the Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan is not even allowed to pray in mosques or vote in elections. Thousands have been thrown into jail. In places like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, religious extremists have practically carried out massacres of Ahmadis. Their population there once stood at 40,000; now it’s barely 900. Where did all the Ahmadis go? Even the current spiritual leader, Mirza Masroor Ahmad, lives in exile in London and his passport has been cancelled.

This community’s slogan is beautiful: “Love for all, hatred for none.” But look at their misfortune. There is so much hatred against them among Pakistan’s rulers that even the name of Professor Abdus Salam, Pakistan’s first and only Nobel laureate in science, was erased, simply because he belonged to the Ahmadiyya community. Stories of persecution of Hindus and Christians in Pakistan are well known. In truth, Pakistan seems divided into three sections. The first is the army and ISI, which have taken control of the country. The second is cowardly, sycophantic politicians. Betrayal is second nature to both these groups. The third is the unfortunate common people, who, even if they try to stop their country from becoming a commodity for sale, are crushed under military boots. Our sympathies are with them but what can be done? This, for now, is Pakistan’s fate. May God help them!

The author is the chairman,  Editorial Board of Lokmat Media and former member of Rajya Sabha.