Faiz Mela for Islamabad: Civilians have never been in power in country, says Raza Rabbani

LAHORE: Former chairman Senate Raza Rabbani has said that the state of Pakistan has been facing crisis for long, as the rule of the country has neither been in the civilian hands in the past nor it is so currently.

Speaking at a session “Lahoo Ka Suragh – Kashmir” in the wake of abrogation of Article 370 by the Indian government on the concluding day of Faiz Festival at Alhamra, he said power had been divided between two claimants for the last 70 years. That was why neither democracy was strengthened ever nor democratic institutions were established on strong footing, he added.

The other speakers included Pakistan’s former high commissioner in India, Shahid Malik, and artist, teacher and activist Prof Salima Hashmi, while Ali Dayan Hassan moderated the session.

He said that in the wake of the US interests in the region, a new nexus comprising Tel Aviv, Washington and New Delhi was emerging with the United States wanting India to become a policeman in the region.

He said the world’s silence over Kashmir annexation had not just exposed United Nations as a redundant institution but also exposed double standards of the Western world and the Muslim Ummah.

About non-realisation of the possible abrogation of Article 370, PPP stalwart Raza Rabbani said “we are too busy with non-issues within the country to see the real issues of the country and the region.

“Let me be the first person to take the blame,” he said and added that parliament was not playing its role and it had become redundant and irrelevant as other institutions of the country.

Raza Rabbani said Article 370 had not just impacted Kashmir but also various other states in India. Kashmir was not the only state which enjoyed special status under Article 370, as there were a number of states that enjoyed the special status. He added that India had a tremendous diversity and had a very volatile history of Nagaland and people taking up arms.

“So with this happening in India, the concept of Hindutva would eat away that country’s democratic institutions and secularism, which had held India together until now,” he said while questioning “What if a process of unravelling begins in India?”

He continued with the answer saying “If a process of unravelling begins in India, surely the countries within the region can also fall prey,” and added “Given the internal and external factors that we have in our own country, we will have to be very careful.”

Senator Rabbani said Kashmiris should not rely on the international community. “Indigenous struggle must pick up and must go on,” he said while referring to Palestine’s struggle for independence. He said there was a need to internationalise the brutality and aggression of Indian armed forces against innocent Kashmiris as the Palestinians were informing the world about Israeli brutality through seminars and exhibitions world over.

The PPP senator said bubble of Muslim Ummah had also bust as no reaction came out from most of the Muslim countries after annexation of held Kashmir by India. On the contrary, Pakistan always reacted whenever something happened in other Muslim countries.

Rights activist Afrasiab Khattak, speaking at the function, regretted that parliament had been rendered worthless. There are powers which take oath of not taking part in politics but they do politics on every other issue and violate the law of the land. He said everything had been handed over to so-called political parties and test-tube politicians. He said people were real owners of this country, and they would have to take back it from the usurpers; otherwise PTMs (Pashtun Tahafuz Movements) would continue to emerge in future also.

Shahid Malik said Pakistan needed to draft a comprehensive foreign policy about India in the post-Article 370 abrogation scenario and approach international friends. He said Pakistani diaspora abroad, who had influence on the local senators and congressmen, should be more active and similarly Kashmiri diaspora abroad should exercise their influence and sensitise local parliamentarians about the Kashmir issue.

To a question, Shahid Malik, who enjoyed two postings in India, said abrogation of Article 370 did not happen all of a sudden, as it had been part of the BJP manifesto and it seems Narendra Modi waited for the right time to strike as our internal cohesion was not the same. Underscoring the need for introspection, he said a speech was made before a policy was formulated.

About lack of response from the Muslim countries over the Kashmir annexation, Malik said he was not surprised at all. He said the demolition of the Babri Masjid took place during his first posting in India in 1992, and when he approached diplomats of Muslim countries in India for a joint resolution, only two countries came forward.

The former ambassador also talked about Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s deep-rooted connection with Kashmir and his poetry, which highlighted the message of hope for the people of Kashmir.

Faiz’s daughter Salima Hashmi talked about Kashmiri writers, poets and artists and their efforts to highlight the plight of people of Kashmir and their struggle and sacrifices for independence. She also talked about “Blood Leaves Its Trail”, a documentary on enforced disappearances in Kashmir by Iffat Fatima, an independent filmmaker from Kashmir.