Sagar Biswas :
It was an evening of March 19, 2018. We, a 10-member media delegation from Bangladesh, just landed at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi boarding a PIA flight.
After completing immigration formalities, when our microbus was going through Shahrah-e-Faisal, one of the main roads in Karachi, crossing the tall buildings and passing by Karachi Cantonment to go to Sadar area – the old part of the city; we came to know that Pakistan government was very much keen to show us the gorgeous look of its socio-economy and culture.
It was an exciting journey through the city with an old and rich history. Sitting in another pickup van, the commandos of Anti-Terrorist Squad carrying sub-machineguns covering their faces with scarf were escorting our vehicle thru the whole way.
Pakistan is the only country that has been created in the name of Islam. It was created in 1947 as an independent homeland for the Muslims of Indian subcontinent. The Pakistan, which we know today, is the site of several ancient cultures, including the Mehrgarh of the Neolithic and the Bronze Age Indus Valley civilization. It was later home to kingdoms ruled by people of different faiths and cultures, including Hindus, Indo-Greeks, Muslims, Turco-Mongols, Afghans and Sikhs.
The area of Pakistan (and India also) has been ruled by numerous empires and dynasties, including the Persian Achaemenid empire, Alexander III of Macedonia, the Indian Mauryan empire, the Arab Umayyad Caliphate, the Gupta empire, the Delhi Sultanate, the Mongol empire, the Mughal empire, the Afghan Durrani empire, the Sikh empire (some parts), and last of all the British empire.
We were the journalists of independent Bangladesh where our previous generation had fought against the Pakistani occupation army in a nine-month long bloody War of Independence in 1971. But Pakistan still did not beg pardon for their atrocities that committed at that time by their military with killing three million people and assaulting over two lakh women.
In the first night in Karachi; our first meeting was held with editors of different dailies and news services. It was fantastic. The newsmen openly discussed different media related issues, including freedom of press and speech. Another meeting was held with a different editors’ group later and the subject was almost same.
They talked about their leaders from Jinnah to Newaj Shahrif, and most of them blamed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto for dividing Pakistan and General Zia-ul Haq for importing and nourishing Islamist extremism in Pakistan.
But the main focal point of the discussion was the execution of Jamaat-e Islami Bangladesh (JIB) top brass and present political situation in Bangladesh – especially the next general election. They wanted to know whether BNP has any chance to get in power. There was an unpleasant discontent for curbing some facilities for Pakistanis, including tightening visa in Bangladesh.
Most important and high-profile meeting was held with Governor of Sindh Muhammad Zubair Umar, a member of the Pakistan Muslim League (N), at Governor House in Karachi. And it was a pleasant surprise for me that he did not even want to consider Bangalees wanted freedom and independence from the repression of Pakistan.
The first question of Umar came directly, “Why the old men (leaders of Jamaat-e Islami Bangladesh) were hanged in Bangladesh? We (Pakistan) are against these executions, particularly hanging. Several countries, including European Union, were also against the execution terming it against human rights.”
He continued: “We have no argument about other executions, including killers of Sheikh Mujib.”
The Sindh Governor’s answer was significant when he was asked why he was not protesting execution of Mujib’s killers, but protesting the hanging of JIB leaders those were convicted by the country’s apex court. “We don’t protest hanging of Mujib killers. But we do protest hanging of Jamaat leaders as they wanted to keep Pakistan united,” he simply said.
“You…your forefathers did not want independence. It was only Sheikh Mujib who was behind the separation (!),” Umar categorically said. About friendly relations between the people of two countries, he said: “We are brothers. There are many similarities between the two nations – historical, social, cultural and mainly religion. So, we like to develop brotherly relations between us.” “We don’t know, why your (present) government is not giving visa to us. There is tough restriction on visa. Not only general people, several diplomats have also been denied of visa in the last few years,” the Governor said.
The issue of JIB leaders and present government were raised in almost every meeting with journalists, bureaucrats and politicians we had attended in Islamabad and Lahore too.
(Sagar Biswas, Special Correspondent of the New Nation, also attached to Editorial Section)
