Our Right to Criticize Acts of Pakistanis

Wrote this in response to a suggestion that since all Pakistanis are one big family, therefore, one should not criticize any act committed by Pakistanis in front of foreigners.

Just felt like pitching in about an analogy very commonly used i.e. our nation is like our family and therefore to avoid embarrassment we should not do our dirty laundry in public.

I disagree with that notion. Imagine you have an extended family and a distant relative whom you hardly know. He commits an action contrary to your ideological disposition, which can cast aspersion on you merely because you two share the last name. You feel that your public image has been tarnished and you are now being stereotyped as sharing the same traits as that person. I think it would be only natural to disassociate oneself with such a misleading portrayal by registering your dissent with the action committed and also providing a disclaimer that such an act is by no means consensual or endorsed by your entire family.

If anyone still cherishes false hopes by assuming that Pakistanis are being viewed in favorable light, they should look no further than last week's Newsweek cover for October 29th. It is extremely important in that situation to educate public opinion by furnishing a different perspective. I am afraid, this cannot be achieved simply by keeping quiet and hallucinating about the virtual embarrassment, which it might cause when we express our disdain at various national issues.

For instance when the Lal Masjid events transpired, it was important for people to show their solidarity with the government or with the religious zealots (depending on your perspective), even if you had some disagreement with the modus operandi of the government or the zealots. If everyone kept quiet on such an event it could've been viewed as yet another government transgression against innocent and innocuous civilians to please the mighty West. Especially so, when so many 'moderates' who before Operation Silence, silently and meekly condemned actions of Mullahs, suddenly ran to their favor when Government finally became embarrassed in taking action against them, thanks to remonstration of the Chinese government, who apparently watches interests of a common Chinese abroad.

In my opinion, it is more important than ever to project an image of moderate peace-loving, democratic, civilized society with progressive attitude in embracing the positive tenets, such as declared in UDHR. One cannot do it by staying quiet and living a pipe dream that we, Pakistanis are held in the highest esteem by the outsiders. It can only be done by being vocal and showing dissent with any activity, which violates fundamental rights of humans and is considered a moral and ethical breach. If anything it would indicate that we are not merely puppets, who do not understand and appreciate the importance of freedom in its true sense, which is deemed a niche for any civilized society.