If you think about it -- every one of us can be made to belong to a minority group in Pakistan even when you feel that you are in majority. For example, you can belong to Sunni Islam -- the faith to which most Pakistanis adhere to but then this group can be fragmented on the basis of sects (Wahabis, Barelvis...), regions (Lahoris, Karachiites...), castes (Rajputs, Maliks...), family history (Muhajirs, ...), language (Punjabi, Potohari, Pahari...), financial status and so on. Moreover, most of us belonging to a particular group just because we were born into it -- so I see this as no achievement and nothing to be overly proud about. So if you are thinking about remaining silent over how minorities are being treated in Pakistan because they are, well, minorities, there can be a time in which you (or I) can be cast as a minority and subjected to social injustice and misconduct by the 'majority'.
In the words of Martin Niemöller about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group:
"First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the socialists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for me,
and there was no one left to speak for me."
I see the same happening in my Pakistan.
History has a habit of repeating itself when no lessons are learnt from it. Have we forgotten the threat of persecution, social and economic injustice that muslim minority of the subcontinent faced in a post-British-rule India that led to the creation of the country in which we are now treating our minorities in a way we couldn't even bear to think of being treated ourselves. Still not convinced -- Remember the Urdu-Hindi language riots in which Hindi being the language of the majority in pre-parition India was being forced on the minority Urdu-speaking community and when we got independence we forced Urdu on our Bengali brothers and this led to the creation of the "world mother-language day" by the UN and played a major role in the separation of East Pakistan to Bangladesh. So if we continue the trend of oppressing minorities we are bound to succumb ourselves to the monster that we are creating either by actively participating in it or being silent about it.
We are far behind the rest of the world in almost every measure of civilization -- be it science and technology or social sciences, living standard or visits to the library. Our natural resources, which aren't in plenty anyways, will run out one day. What we need to focus on is developing a concrete foundation for our human resource and minorities (religious and otherwise) can play a major role in it. Pakistani examples include, Dr. Abdus Salam, Cecil Chaudhry, Eric G. Hall, Sharbat Ali Changezi and many more. The recent burning of more than 125 houses belonging to Christians in Lahore by a mob of ~7000 due to the allegations about blasphemy against prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) by a single member of the Christian community reflects our tolerance and how weak the state of Pakistan is in protecting its citizens. Even worse, according to Dawn news reports, is the fact that the accused and the complainant had quarrelled under the influence of liquor on March 7, but the latter painted it as a case of blasphemy. Reports say that the mob consisted of muslims. I am pretty sure that the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) would not have liked this as he (peace be upon him), instead of being angry at an old lady who used to throw trash on him out of hatred for him, cared for her when he got to know that she had become sick. Some people say that muslims are being oppressed in places like Burma, Palestine, Kashmir and no one talks about them. I think, we being muslims and Pakistanis, should raise our standards and clean our own house of terrorism and oppression of minorities first instead of engaging in a self-glorified Lahori crusade against the weak and become an example for the rest of the world to see.
