Nice words but they still don't deny the damage that has been done to Pakistan's International repute. It is idealism when you expect that a sizeable amount of Pakistan's religious conservatives will disappear just because you aren't on a same page with them.
I'm not expecting them to disappear...but to decentralize them. If government had taken action and served notices to the leaders organizing such protests...stating that since they are challenging the Supreme Court's verdict they must provide proof/evidence to show that Supreme Court's decision is wrong OR back down from calling for protests and publicly announce that the Supreme Court's decision is right. If they choose neither of these options and continue with their protests then they will be going against law and order and will be charged with being a public menace(which may include some jail time or fines or both...but the most important part of the punishment should be that they will be barred from holding any political office).
Had the government served this notice...these mullahs who are only doing this for their own political gains would've switched sides faster than a speeding bullet.
The government has to exercise caution when dealing with raging mobs, specifically over something that can conveniently be exploited against the state.
There is a careful balance the government must keep when dealing with raging mobs...if the gov uses unnecessary force then it can backfire leading to bigger and angrier raging mobs and giving them public sympathy while painting the gov as an oppresser. However on the other end too...if the gov does nothing and yields to the mobs demand, it looks weak and this also emboldens the mob(and its leaders) to continue further...to have their way every time something happens that they don't like. The government chose that second option, which is unfortunate.
As for your stubborn denial of unnecessary publicity given to Asia's case, I again will point towards Rimsha Massih case. That girl is in Canada along with her family and no one cares. So why is Asia's case so different? You may not think it was media hype stirred by a man seeking personal glory at the expense of the state, then that is your opinion and I rightfully disagree.
Again I don't care about Salman Taseer. What surprises me is that u don't see that Khadim Hussein Rizvi(and other mullahs with him) are doing the exact same thing as Salman Taseer did...just on the other end of the spectrum. They are also creating media hype seeking personal glory and political support. They don't actually care about Islam or the Prophet.
If Khadim Hussein Rizvi actually cared about our Prophet and Islam...he wouldn't use the abusive and vulgar language while following the sunnat of the Prophet. The whole beard and no mustache, black turban, etc...these come with a huge responsibility...and what he does with that is extremely disrespectful. Clearly he is only interested in seeking personal glory and political support even with that look.
Unlike u I don't care about what Salman Taseer did bcuz it was in the past...nothing can be done about it now. Even if someone tried...it wouldn't work. Ppl tend to glorify the dead...especially him bcuz he was shot...u try undo his work and ppl will glorify him further saying he died for his cause. However these protests for Asia's case...and ppl like Khadim Hussein Rizvi...they are here and now. They can be stopped...their narrative can be controlled/stopped.
This is an idealist approach when you talk about fanciful dreams of what is "politically right" and ignore the basic principles of Realpolitiks, which in effect are the actual drivers of global affairs. You think the world cares about the numbers of people killed In Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya & Syria, all as a consequence of US global hegemonic designs?
Again it escapes me how everything u r trying to apply to my argument...u don't see how much it applies to urs. U wanna talk about Realpolitik...then it was even a bigger failure on part of the government to let these protests go on and yield to their demands. The government should've put a stop to it for two reasons...that are very much based on realism rather than idealism
1) In the real world, Pakistan already has a bad name...thanks to the WoT and concerted effort by other countries to make Pakistan's name synonymous to terrorism. In light of this...should the government have allowed the image to deteriorate further? No, it only gives the enemies more a chance to point fingers at us, discredit us. It is essentially giving more power to ur enemies at the world stage.
U wanna know why no one cares about all the ppl who died in Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq, Syria, etc? Bcuz US controls the narrative at the world stage. This makes reason 1 above all the more important especially in today's world...where a nation's image MATTERS.
2) The second reason is simple and obvious...it is in the government's own interest to hold power and maintain law and order. A government that can be brought to its knees by a usurper is a weak government. For its own interest, the gov should've taken action to delegitimize this movement and break it up. Do u recall the Lal Masjid saga? This is why this reason 2 is important.
If u think those two reasons above are "idealistic" then there's no argument to be had. It means u and I clearly have different definitions of idealism.
I have been saying all along and will say again; Everything that harms the interest of the state should be sidelined, regardless the International accolades they bring to a few selected individuals.
For the third time in ur argument...u don't see how what u r trying to apply to me...applies more to u.
Yes everything that harms the state should be sidelined...ppl like Khadim Hussein Rizvi, their protests, their narrative...all of this should be sidelined. Who can sideline them? The government should have...but they failed.
I recommend before u reply to me...analyze how ur argument and reasoning applies to what u r saying...u might find that we r in somewhat of an agreement when it comes to sidelining everything that harms the interest of the state and ppl like Khadim Hussein Rizvi seeking personal glory and political support much like Salman Taseer.
P.S. I hate those ignorant, so-called Islamists as much as you, but I equally hate all those, who compromise the integrity of my country.
The so-called Islamists such as Khadim Hussein Rizvi ARE the ones compromising the integrity of Pakistan.
