May 09, blackest day in our national history
MANY popular political cults and their leaders in recent history have had something in common. They believed their success lies in dividing their society between the noble people and the corrupt elite. Adolf Hitler told his fanatical followers “the art of leadership consists in consolidating the attention of the people against a single adversary and taking care that nothing will split up that attention” the populist agenda followed by Imran Khan is a great example of the strategy to divide the nation. For the first time in history the PTI supreme commander has managed to pit ordinary citizens against the powerful military establishment by his very toxic hate speeches against the military high command. No Pakistani can remain unaffected by the tragic and shameful happenings of 09 May 2023.
Imran Khan and the leaders of the PTI after enjoying the rule of the country for almost four years called on and encouraged their fanatical supporters to loot, pillage, attack, plunder and burn military establishments, monuments and buildings owned or occupied by the armed forces. The targets were the corps commander’s house in Lahore called Jinnah House. The GHQ in Rawalpindi, the airbase in Mian Wali and other commercial buildings owned by the Askari Bank or fauji foundation.
This day will be remembered as the day politics stooped to its lowest levels and demonstrated an ugly streak devoid of any maturity decency or ethics. This is the day when one of the most popular political parties of the country took up arms against our own national army an army that has defended the country with their blood and is still engaged in eliminating the scourge of religious terrorism for our sacred soil. The hatred against the armed forces had been built up very cleverly during the last one year by the PTI top leadership and this angry and toxic tirade coupled with the expertise of social media teams and bloggers like Major Adil Raja (Retd) and Haider Mehdi, also an ex-army, were the catalyst to ignite the fires of hatred against the armed forces of the country.
Another black day in recent history was 12th May 2008 when Karachi descended in chaos. People were burnt alive the law enforcement agencies fired on the crowds and about fifty innocent people lost their lives on this day Karachi was ruled by mobsters and the same happened in Lahore on 9th May 2023 when the city was in the grip of the PTI goons and monsters. The 2008 tragedy in Karachi occurred as a result of the Lawyers movement ignited by the ouster of the CJP Choudhry Iftikhar by Pervez Musharraf. On 9th May 2023 the nation faced the onslaught of the foot soldiers of Imran Khan many were killed, hundreds arrested and properties worth billions were destroyed. Imran Khan got an unprecedented relief from the Supreme Court and granted bail in all cases for over a fortnight but the raging fires of political chaos and anarchy ignited by him continue to devour our national assets with greater vigor than ever before.
There is no way of knowing if this flood of hatred will be confined to the armed forces or it will now spill over to other state institutions. The fanatic believers in the cult of Imran Khan believe that he is the Knight in shining armor the messiah sent by divine powers to solve all our problems. They just fail to see what a disaster he was in in power as Prime Minister. He destroyed the economy, placed the wrong people in positions of political power failed to launch any major projects, gagged the free press and did not refrain from suppressing his political opponents and playing havoc with the democratic institutions in the country.
Great political leaders in past history who have fought tooth and nail for an egalitarian society and against the status quo have never had a bitter and revengeful attitude. The great Icon of freedom and human rights Nelson Mandela suffered 27 years of imprisonment for raising his voice against the injustices of the Apartheid system in South Africa. After release from prison he did not carry the hatred, bitterness and revenge with him outside the prison walls.
He sat down with his political enemies doused the fires of hatred and revenge, forgot their excesses, tolerated their presence and accepted their importance in the politics of the country. Martin Luther King the great leader of the Black community in the USA and one of the greatest human rights campaigners believed firmly in the doctrine of non-violence. He never preached violence and in spite of the draconian laws discriminating against the black community he never asked his people to be bitter or show any hatred against the white community.
How did the Pakistani society descend into this depravity? Why this show of anger and vendetta? Why can’t we solve political differences by dialogue and civilized behavior? IK and followers are full of hatred for all who do not agree with their political agenda and everybody except IK is a thief, looter and a crook. The country has suffered many tragic and black days in its short history and now considering the bitterness hatred and desire for revenge in our political elite one can only hope and pray that this will be the last black day for us.
—The writer is Professor of History, based in Islamabad.
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