Karachi’s Institute of Business Administration (IBA) has canceled a scheduled online lecture by prominent economist Dr. Atif Mian, the university announced on 22 October, allegedly due to pressure by extremists.
“Dr Atif R. Mian’s lecture titled ‘Why is economic growth lagging behind in Pakistan?’ scheduled for November 5, 2020, has been canceled. The inconvenience is very regrettable”, read a short post by the IBA Karachi on its official Twitter account.
On a social media post, Dr Atif said he regretted reporting that the seminar, which will take place at Zoom, had been canceled “due to threats facing the university administration from extremists”. “My best wishes and prayers are with the IBA students,” said the Princeton University economist.
Dr Atif Rehman Mian
Dr Atif Rehman Mian is a Pakistani-American economist who serves as the John H. Laporte Jr. Class of 1967 Professor of Economics, Public Policy, and Finance at Princeton University, and as the Director of the Julis-Rabinowitz Center for Public Policy and Finance at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. Atif grew up and received most of his education in Pakistan before moving to the US for higher education in 1993.
Young economists of Pakistani origin
Atif’s work focuses on the connections between finance and the macroeconomy. He is the first person of Pakistani origin to rank among the top 25 young economists of the globe.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) ranked Atif as one of twenty-five young economists in 2014, who it expects will shape the world’s thinking about the global economy in the future.
Economic Advisory Council controversy
Dr Mian became a household name in Pakistan in 2018 after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government appointed him to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC), an 18-member panel set up to advise the newly formed government on economic policy.
Less than a month after assuming office, however, the government asked Mian resigned from the EAC amid increasing pressure from political-religious parties and a smear drive launched on social media platforms calling for him to be removed for his Ahmadi beliefs.
Ahmadi declared non-Muslim
Ahmadis were declared non-Muslim in Pakistan through constitutional amendments passed September 1974, during the regime of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. This action was later followed by General Ziaul Haq who punished Ahmadis for calling themselves Muslims or calling their faith Islamic.
The Constitution of Pakistan granted equal rights
The Constitution of Pakistan establishes Islam as the state religion, provides that all citizens have the right to profess, practice and propagate their religion subject to law, public order, and morality. The Constitution also states that all laws are to conform to the injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Quran and Sunnah.
Quaid’s vision for the minorities
The founder and father of the nation of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, was undoubtedly revered and trusted by all, irrespective of citizens’ faith, belief or creed. After Pakistan came into being in 1947, Mr. Jinnah repeatedly promised complete equality to all the citizens.
In his address to the first constituent assembly of Pakistan on 11th August 1947, Mr. Jinnah said: “You are free; you are free to go to your temples; free to go to your mosques or to any other places of worship in the State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the state.”
Religious Minorities in ‘Naya Pakistan’
“I want to warn our people that anyone in Pakistan targeting our non-Muslim citizens or their places of worship will be dealt with strictly. Our minorities are equal citizens of this country,” declared Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on February 26, 2020.
Prime Minister Imran Khan as a populist leader and claimed to be better than other politicians had taken several positive developments for the betterment of minorities across the county.
Academics, journalists, expressed regret for the cancellation
Academics, journalists, and others expressed regret for the cancellation of Mian’s studies at IBA Karachi. “It’s terrible. What a loss! We are all hostages,” wrote sociologist and academic Nida Kirmani on a social media post.
In a message of support, US-based political science professor Adnan Rasool is called Mian “a graceful and patient man.” “You have shown more calm on the face of hate than most people in their life,” he said.
Wendy Gilmour, Canada’s high commissioner for Pakistan, said the construction “represents a lost opportunity for students and a more interested community”.
Journalist Zarrar Khuhro questioned why the university arranged Atif Mian’s lecture, saying it was “not rocket science” to predict that the program would receive a backlash. “Why do it if you can’t take the pressure?” he wrote.
Minority rights should be protected
Minority rights are part of the general human rights framework and must be protected through national legislation, appropriate government policies, and the support of the civil society.
When the Father of the Nation Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah promised that minorities would be given equal rights, every citizen of Pakistan should consider himself bound by this promise.
Abstaining from all forms of bigotry, every citizen of Pakistan should consider it a national duty and give equal rights to every minority living in the country, including the Hindu and Christian communities as they are equal citizens of this country.
