Clarion Project: As a liberal activist what do you think is the most important issue to change first?
Dr. Faraz Talat: Kashmir.
It's jarring how so many political problems in South Asia can be traced back to the Indo-Pak conflict, the heart of which is Kashmir. Some of the deadliest jihadist outfits in the region, like Lashkar-e-Taiba, developed explicitly for the liberation of Kashmir. Bigotry against non-Muslims in Pakistan, particularly Hindus, has a strong nationalist overtone due to the common conception of India as a 'Hindu country'. It consistently hampers regional politico-economic cooperation. Hussain Haqqani (former Pakistani ambassador to the US) observes that the goal of becoming militarily equal to India, has always been of prime importance to Pakistan, and the reason for that are sustained cross-border hostilities between India and Pakistan.
Pakistan, along with India, needs to fulfill all prerequisite conditions stated in UN resolution 1948, for a plebiscite in Kashmir; and help keep militants from crossing into Indian-occupied Kashmir.The region is for no one to 'claim', and the people must have their right of self-determination.
Clarion: What do you think is going to be the most effective way to promote liberal values in Pakistan?
Talat: It's hard to say. A survey last year revealed that less than 10% of the country has dependable internet access, so social media has a limited role here. That's always been painful for me to admit as a blogger.
The most effective way would involve cooperation by the ministry of education, and the gradual reversal of changes made to the curriculum since General Zia ul-Haq's Islamist regime.
Improved internet access would also certainly be helpful in promoting liberal values.
Clarion: What changes would you like to see in the approaches of Western counter-terror specialists to avoid alienating liberals like yourself?
Talat: Western counter-terrorism strategy is offense-focused, and that worries me. Drone usage, for example, which has increased dramatically under the Obama administration, hasn't lived up to its promise of precision. Heavy civilian casualties have been reported, and the US establishment's cavalier attitude in this regard has not gone unnoticed in Pakistan.
Examples of this attitude abound, from President Obama joking about sending predator drones after the Jonas Brothers should they get close to his daughters, to a 9-year old drone survivor coming all the way from Pakistan for a congressional briefing in DC that's attended by only five US lawmakers.
Pakistan's Islamist parties, and their center-right allies, have no qualms seizing such opportunities to stoke anti-West sentiment, and proposing the alternative of Islamism to West-sanctioned secularism.
Clarion: What steps do the atheist community take to stay safe in a country imposes blasphemy law?
Talat: There's really no safe way to be an atheist in Pakistan. Luckily, few do 'discretion' better than atheists. There is no atheist colony to burn, like the Joseph colony; there is no atheist headgear; there is no atheist temple where the godless congregate (a tea house, maybe); no identifiable atheist family names.
On a list of minorities under threat by extremists, from Ahmadis to Hindus, atheists seem to be far safer than others. But that's because you can barely be bigoted against a community that appears to be non-existent. The danger is still there. Back in med school, a large student body organized a campaign to have me expelled because they suspected me of being atheist, and mistook someone else's blog for mine. Death threats kept pouring in until I graduated. Evidence hardly matters; suspicion is sometimes enough.
But it's not quite as bleak as it might sound. Class privilege helps, if one has it. Atheists do manage to stay organized; promote secularism; express themselves anonymously on the internet; support one another; arrange large meet-ups every couple of months where they sip chai and ask each other when and why they became atheists. Blasphemy is never encouraged, but it's hard to say, "Don't blaspheme!" when there's no solid understanding of what that constitutes. What a moderate theist perceives as polite criticism, may well be sacrilegious as far as a radical Islamist is concerned. In public, atheists tend to err on the side of caution.
Clarion: Where is the most progress being made in Pakistan?
Talat: Punjab, especially Lahore. Islamabad's doing well too, I think. This is expected, because these are the most economically developed areas. Social progress and interfaith harmony is difficult where there are battles being fought over limited resources. Where there isn't enough drinking water for everybody, the idea that the Christian "choorhas" shouldn't be allowed near Muslims' well water, gains easy acceptability.
Clarion: What can international activists do to support liberals in Pakistan?
Talat: I feel the same principle applies to activism everywhere: listen globally, and act locally. And I don't just mean geographically, but the power level you occupy in any given context. Those with the privilege of being heard by Western establishments, may wish to exercise their power to influence their own governments' policies; the kind of policies that may facilitate or endanger politico-economic progress (hence the ability to subdue Islamism) in poorer countries.
This talks has been taken
and published by US based Clarion Project
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