AgNoStiC MuSliM
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- Jul 11, 2007
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Solomon,
As hard to swallow as it is, elections have to be fought in the Pakistan we have, not the Pakistan we wish we had. The Pakistan today is one that has seen generations under ZA Bhutto and Zia's islamization policies. Social changes that have taken place over decades cannot be undone overnight. The Ahmadi issue is an extremely sensitive subject in Pakistan (you know where I stand on it based on numerous posts I've made in the past).
The TLYRA, that was irrelevant a few months ago, brought the government to its knees over the issue of 'finality of the Prophet' and is now fielding candidates in numbers to challenge the mainstream political parties.
Combined, the religious parties are fielding more candidates than any of the big 3 - PMLN, PPP, PTI. I'd argue that it's better for Imran Khan to engage in the rhetoric that he is and wean away votes from the religious right, rather than let the religious right take sole ownership of this issue and actually get traction with the electorate and win a larger number of seats than they might (were they to have sole ownership of sensitive religious issues like that of Blasphemy and finality of the prophet/Ahmadis).
As hard to swallow as it is, elections have to be fought in the Pakistan we have, not the Pakistan we wish we had. The Pakistan today is one that has seen generations under ZA Bhutto and Zia's islamization policies. Social changes that have taken place over decades cannot be undone overnight. The Ahmadi issue is an extremely sensitive subject in Pakistan (you know where I stand on it based on numerous posts I've made in the past).
The TLYRA, that was irrelevant a few months ago, brought the government to its knees over the issue of 'finality of the Prophet' and is now fielding candidates in numbers to challenge the mainstream political parties.
Combined, the religious parties are fielding more candidates than any of the big 3 - PMLN, PPP, PTI. I'd argue that it's better for Imran Khan to engage in the rhetoric that he is and wean away votes from the religious right, rather than let the religious right take sole ownership of this issue and actually get traction with the electorate and win a larger number of seats than they might (were they to have sole ownership of sensitive religious issues like that of Blasphemy and finality of the prophet/Ahmadis).