Source: Dawn
Author: Anwar Iqbal
For 20 years Rashid waited for this day. But instead of boarding the plane, he returned his tickets.
It all seemed so meaningless to him after reading how a 14-year old girl, Malala Yousufzai, was gunned down for seeking education.
“I want my daughter to love my faith, so she will not visit Pakistan” by Anwar Iqbal is a classical example of self-hatred and snobbery of a journalist towards Pakistan.
No one can or should deny that there are problems in Pakistan but to magnify it to such an extent that people start returning their air line tickets because of an unfortunate accident or horrible act of extremism, is beyond god journalism.
Writing a story to highlight a point is a professional thing but to use an unfortunate incident to preach hatred for ones homeland is pure evil and treacherous behavior towards ones motherland. Pakistan may be in a lot of hot water but we should not be disappointed and frustrated. We should be pro-active and resilient. Things will change. In my travels, I have seen many countries, which are worst of than Pakistan, but their citizens do not look down upon their homelands. This honor goes to us – ungrateful Pakistanis.
Bashy Quraishy, in fact there are plenty people throughout ASEAN countries who wanted to visit – sight seeing beautiful places in Pakistan i.e. Lahore, where Mirza Ghulam Ahmad asked his student to read one of his treaties “The Philosophy of the Teaching of Islam”. But few years back, there was Muslim killing Muslim in a Mosque in Lahore! Shame…. so i told my friends to postponed the visit. so Bashy are you sure Pakistan is SAFE now?
The author either underestimates his daughter or did not educate her correctly.
I sensed that this article had several themes embedded in it. This article was about an individual who was mistreated in Pakistan and who carried that emotional burden all his life but fortunately was able to channel those emotions into something good i.e. the education of his daughter. For that we should give him credit. The article is also about a person who is afraid that when he goes back to Pakistan to prove his point his daughter’s education will not be given due respect and all his hard work will be for nothing. I sensed that he doesn’t hate Pakistan. He is afraid that his small village would not recognize his and his daughter’s journey of personal liberation. I think we should emphathize with his story but at the same time I do think that he should let go of his past demons and embrace the present and enjoy his future. Those people who hurt him in the past should not cut into his future happiness. There are many of us who can’t let go of past so this story is a good lesson for all of us not just Mr. Rasheed. What I liked about the author was that he never judged Pakistan or Mr. Rasheed in his story. He told the story as he saw it and let us form our own judgements. I hope people who read this story see humans in it as opposed to Pakistanis.
I totally agree with Atif.
Dear Shariff Umbrah Bin Shariff Ahmad
The population of Pakistan is 180 million people. Most of them are decent human beings who work hard and try to make their lives tolerable and happy. And then there are a tiny percentage of extremists who commit violence, murder people and want to create fear in the country. Their aim is to create tensions so that the system collapses and they get a chance to make Pakistan in to a theorocracy – a la Iran, Sudan or Saudi Arabia. Muslims killing Muslims in a mosque and other brutalities are to be condemned as strongly as possible. You keep forgetting that these brain dead violent extremists not only oppress minorities but also the mainstream public too.
Of course in this awful situation, one must always take precautions to avoid the trouble but you are focusing on this tiny minority and forgetting the majority who live in the same Pakistan, you do not wish your friends to travel to Pakistan.
Pakistanis are by far very hospitable, kind and peace loving people. Millions of Pakistani expats travel to their homeland every year. Think, if they were all afraid to visit their ancestral paces.
I am travelling to Pakistan on 3rd November after 10 years gap, which was due to my work. I am looking forward to it and I am sure that I shall have a swell of a time. Please do the same and also ask your friends to visit.
I am living in europe for the last 25 years. all my children have grown up and educated at university level but they have not forgotten their religion and culture. Sitting here in europe it seems that Pakistan is burning all over, but the real fsct is that there are only a few pockets where the things are really serious. Certain religiously fanatic groups are targeting only the selected and prominent people only. People of Rashid Khan alias Sheeda`s category are generally safe. Although I belong to a community which are being hated and persecuted by almost all the islamic sects with the open support of the government of the day and also by the political parties of the opposition, yet I visit Pakistan every year and I also encourage my family to do so. So My dear friend Rashid do not be so bitter about being called as Sheeda in your village. This is our culture have nick names for those with whom we are so frank and free.More over the things have changed a lot now. The village people are also much advanced and educated. Take your Shamila to your village. She will be respected and adored by your Shah jees pupil.
It reminds me a couple of decades ago when we visited Ahmadiyya Jama’at members in USA. My daughter was asking ‘are these Ahmadis really’? because none of them were having a hijab. May be it is different now that Hazoor was visiting there several times?
Now where did that come from, brother Rafiq?!
I don’t know what kind of Ahmadi families you met! If you mean the women were not wearing the “arab” hijab, that is not the only purdah, 90% of the women I know use the scarf or the Pakistani dupatta. Please come visit some other places in USA next time. Wassalam