The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) or as I like to call it, the ‘Pakistan Daku Mahaz’ in its latest rally at Malakand on January 11th has crossed the rubicon when it comes to its vitriolic attacks on the state of Pakistan and its institutions.
In its previous rallies, PDM rhetoric has also been despicable, as we witnessed PKMAP head Mehmood Khan Achakzai insulting the Urdu language in the Karachi jalsa and accusing Lahoris of being touts of the British, Sikhs, and Hindus in the Lahore jalsa. Also, the ‘bandit queen’ Maryam Safdar in the Bahawalpur jalsa accused the Punjabis of never revolting against tyranny, which is an outright lie.
I remind Achakzai and the rest of the motley crew of PDM of what Quaid-e-Azam said about the Urdu language on March 21, 1948, “But let me make it very clear to you that the State language of Pakistan is going to be Urdu and no other language… Therefore, so far as the State Language is concerned, Pakistani language shall be Urdu.”
What is more shameful is that no one among the PDM leadership, which includes PPP Co-Chair Bilawal Zardari condemned these appalling ethnic remarks. I don’t believe that these are mere slips of the tongue or one-time incidents from the PDM platform anymore or Achakzai trying to be the “Don Rickles” of Pakistan by doing insult comedy. It sadly appears that PDM is working on the Indian agenda to incite ethnic hatred and division within Pakistan.
Also, in the recent jalsa at Bannu, attendees raised pro-Afghan slogans along with the flags of the Afghan Taliban. These slogans convey the myth that all Pakhtuns on either side of the Durand Line are Afghans and that portions of Balochistan, all KPK, and tribal areas should be part of Afghanistan. If Fazlur Rehman, Mehmood Khan Achakzai, and the rest of PDM consider themselves as Afghans then why are you living and doing politics in Pakistan? Move to Afghanistan and leave the rest of us in peace.
It’s distressing to see a section of the political class and their families who live and profit from the soil of Pakistan practicing anti-state politics because of the spite of one-man, Prime Minister Imran Khan, and one institution, the Pakistan Military.
But, at the same time, it shouldn’t be surprising either given the background of Fazlur Rehman and his father Mufti Mehmood. It’s a historical fact that during the Pakistan Movement, Mufti Mehmood was a member of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, an Indian National Congress ally who opposed the creation of Pakistan and allegedly reported to have said that he is happy that he didn’t take part in the sin to create Pakistan.
Besides Mufti Mehmood, Awami National Party (ANP) traces its roots back to Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Khudai Khidmatgar who were also allies of the Indian National Congress and opposed the creation of Pakistan. When the plebiscite occurred in NWFP now KPK, the people voted in favor of Pakistan but the Khudai Khidmatgar-government of NWFP didn’t have the grace and moral integrity to resign from the government after such a devastating rebuke by the people on its core position of opposing NWFP becoming a part of Pakistan.
But the lowest point of the PDM must be in the Bannu rally on January 6th when Fazlur Rehman’s brother addressed the crowd. Fazlur Rehman’s brother Attaur Rehman has dragged the Father of the Nation Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah into their disgusting and cheap politics just like Captain (Retd) Safdar who desecrated the sanctity of Quaid’s Mazar but the state and Sindh Government displayed its willing or unwilling impotence to do nothing about this violation.
Attaur Rehman in his address in Bannu stated that Quaid-e-Azam made a mistake by creating Pakistan on the lands of DHA, taking a swipe at both the Father of the Nation and the Pakistan Army. Do the PMLN and PPP agree with his view? Again, I ask the PDM leadership if you have issues with the current government and state institutions, why drag the Father of the Nation into your atrocious politics of personal destruction and hatred.
When the Pakistan Movement began after the passing of the Lahore Resolution on March 23, 1940, what army did Quaid-e-Azam have to gain an independent state from the British and Indian National Congress? The Muslims of the Subcontinent was his army, the common people. The Armed Forces of Pakistan came into being on August 14, 1947, as the predecessor was the British Indian Army.
For patriotic Pakistanis and followers of Quaid-e-Azam, enough is enough of this anti-Pakistan PDM circus. The state needs to act regarding PDM hate speech before violence erupts in the streets of this country. Also, PDM cheerleaders within civil society and media must answer why they are propping PDM as an alternative to the current government when PDM leaders don’t love the soil and the people of Pakistan. Why should the people of Pakistan give the reins of power to such a pathetic lot of scoundrels and self-hating Pakistanis?
