It beats logic why the protests turned violent in
Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar on a spiritually sensitive issue like
blasphemy against the Holy Prophet (PBUH). The protestors were grieved
and were mourning the deliberate blows the European press and
governments have dealt to their hearts. To ascertain why they turned
extremely violent needs honest analysis instead pinning the
responsibility on religious elements, as a number of columnists and
intellectuals have done.
It was expected that the mobs could express mild
anger through sporadic pelting of stones or damaging the symbols of
business concerns of the European countries involved in the blasphemy.
But large-scale arson, and that too involving whole buildings, and the
burning of dozens of vehicles is not a form of violence one expects from
mobs.
It is naive to put the entire blame on religious
workers. Media reports and TV footage clearly showed that all the
participants of the rally were unarmed, and the groups setting fire to
vehicles and buildings were frustrated youth from the middle and lower
classes.
It is a mystery why the police was deployed in far
smaller numbers than required. Even stranger was the fact that riot
police personnel had orders to give a free hand to the protestors and
were deployed without supervision by top officials, who could have
ordered them to act according to the changed scenario.
Two incidents reported in the press show that what
triggered the violence was the unprovoked tear-gas shelling by the Lower
Mall police and the opening of fire by a guard of a private security
agency at a bank, killing and wounding two protestors among a group
banging sticks on the closed doors of the bank.
In civilised societies, protests are handled
carefully and only water cannon and rubber bullets are used, so that
violence may not erupt as a result of deaths and injuries to protestors.
An equally large but peaceful rally in Karachi proved that if sufficient
police had been deployed and had acted sensibly, the violence in Lahore
could have been averted. There is strong evidence that personnel from
secret agencies were at the forefront of the violence, guiding the
rioters as to what targets they should hit. Leaders of student
organisations claim to have seized a few of them. They admitted to
belonging to official law-enforcement and intelligence agencies and
confessed to have committed acts of destruction. But they eventually
slipped out of the hold of their captors during the police crackdown and
fled. Besides, the involvement of foreign agents cannot be ruled out.
The violence at Mall Road began about one-and-a-half
hours before the rally started from Data Darbar. It was almost over when
the rally reached the Mall, except for the arson incident at the Punjab
Assembly building. Police officers and Rangers were called in only after
the trouble had almost ended. Similarly, the fire brigades arrived on
the scene after three hours and many traders complained that the phones
of the fire offices were off the hook.
A building or a shop could not be set ablaze with
matches. Ample fuel was needed and those who carried out these acts came
well prepared. Similarly, ordinary youth or students would not continue
to rampage and plunder one shop after the other, and set ablaze one
building after the other. For ordinary people, anger is vented after one
shop is broken or set ablaze. It needed clear intention and planning to
commit rampage and arson on such a large scale.
Religious workers have never rampaged or committed
arson against private property. They have a history of clashing with the
police but not destruction of property. The plundering could be
accounted for by the presence of ordinary, small-time criminals in the
rally because the entire city markets had already announced their
closure. Since it was an unprecedented, complete strike, petty criminals
and pickpockets had nowhere to operate but amidst the rally.
The causes that triggered violence in Lahore are many
and require a deep look into the state of mind of the general public.
The most important is the growing sense of frustration and helplessness
about the galloping prices of essential commodities, which has made life
hell for the lower classes. For ordinary, salaried-class families it is
becoming increasingly difficult to make ends meet and to have three
meals a day. Basic necessities like food, shelter, clothing and
travelling is becoming increasingly difficult. The pressure is felt by
the upper classes as well.
As if exorbitant fuel prices were not enough, the
latest blow dealt by the rulers has come in the shape of skyrocketing
sugar prices that have left people stunned and angry. Their frustration
and sense of deprivation was building up with every passing day, and
angry people tend to stay quiet instead of venting their feelings.
Fuelling this frustration for the last five years has been constant
indignation and a smouldering hatred for the West. People have watched
US-led western forces massacring, maiming and humiliating Muslim
brothers in Afghanistan and Iraq. All this while our rulers have
assisted these forces, instead of fighting against them.
The situation is compounded by reports of Washington
preparing for an imminent attack on Iran. While a deadly US attack on
Bajaur Agency shook the whole nation, Pakistani rulers again adopted an
apologetic attitude. Meanwhile, extremely outrageous incidents like the
desecration of the Holy Quran in Guantanamo Bay prison went without
protest by Muslim governments. The inhuman and humiliating torture of
Iraqis at Abu Ghraib prison shook the whole Muslim world. The average
Pakistani is not only caught in deep economic hardships but also feels
bitterness and rage against the well-orchestrated recent blasphemy,
which remains unchecked without any suitable action from the rulers.
This is the state of mind of every common person while the scarcely
educated, angry youth of the poor classes easily fall prey to the surge
of violence because of lack of proper guidance. Their sense of
deprivation can quickly become hatred against the wealthy and affluent
classes since they see them as being responsible for their miseries.
This violence was bound to occur because its
ingredients have been carefully mixed together by our rulers over the
last few years. It was bound to happen even if the rally and strike had
been called by some secular political group, not the
Tahaffuz-e-Namoos-e-Risalat Mahaz. It is strange that the majority of
intellectuals and analysts have been ignoring the underlying causes of
the sudden outbursts of violence. Instead they are just beating about
the bush and advising the rulers to take stern action against the
religious segments of society.
As for those pro-West writers and intellectuals who
are maligning Muslims, they are committing two sins simultaneously. On
the one hand, they are supporting the blasphemers. On the other, they
are trying to strengthen the present dictatorial military regime, thus
exposing their lack of commitment to democracy, civil liberties and
freedom of speech -- the goals they cherish above everything.
The writer is secretary-general of the Lahore chapter
of the Jamaat-e-Islami
Email: jipmedia@jamaat.org