Pakistanis are religious people, there is nothing that can change that. The most we can change is reduce extremism and learn to tolerate differences of opinion. That would handle all the Qadris and Mullahs.
I'll be blunt: your statement about ''the religious brigade'' is nonsense. Over 90% of Pakistan is religious. Some more than others. But to claim that they have ''no loyalty to Pakistan'' because they have more loyalty to God is preposterous.
And so is your point about ''arrogating the right'' to pray. To arrogate means to claim something unjustly. The soldier definitely has the right to pray, he doesn't have to claim it.
Prayer is an essential element of Islam, and Islam is an essential part of the lives of the overwhelming majority of Pakistanis. That is not changing anytime soon. Problems in Islam are like mold on a wall. You don't demolish the entire wall to remove mold - you just remove the mold. It would be infinitely more practical, realistic and effective to educate people and ensure no one takes the authority to kill or fight in the name of religion than it would be to remove religion entirely.
Also, since we're on the topic about extremism, your statement that you'd ''throw him off the bridge'' for praying is nothing short of extremism. I don't care if it's secular or whatever, it is extremism.
You don't know exactly what happened there or what the circumstances were; you said it ''appears to you'' that he is on duty and your opinion and perception is based on inferences from a still picture. A few points to consider are that he is covered by his colleague standing a few feet away, so he has not left the post exposed. He probably requested the other guy to cover for him, or was on break and decided it would be more convenient to pray on the street near his post instead of going somewhere else and then return to his post after the break had ended. These are also inferences from the same picture and thus are as valid as your observations.
With that in mind, it is too hasty, improvident and unjust to condemn this man to death or severe injury like you did.
And it has nothing to do with some extremist form of ''piety'' or ''ritualism'', soldiers need some belief and some hope with the kind of hardships they face, it is perfectly rational and reasonable. For this soldier, and many others, it is religion. Why you'd wish to take that away from him is beyond me. The few minutes he spends praying doesn't reduce his effectiveness as a soldier - it probably increases his morale and tolerance tenfold, thus increasing his effectiveness as a soldier.
(Sarcasm intended)
