Pakistan, Politics, Sindh, Sindhi

Opinion- Sindh-Punjab dialogue: Should Sindhi intellectuals speak with PML N?

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by Iqbal Tareen, Washington, DC
The writer is the Chief Organizer, Forum for Justice and Democracy in Pakistan and he can be reached at: iqbal.tareen@gmail.com

I fully understand and appreciate why enlightened Sindhi folks are reluctant in returning a hand shake to PML. I believe Sindhi people must unconditionally support any movement or move against 17th Amendment and Restoration of whatever minimal constitutional freedoms are guaranteed in 1973 constitution. We must
accomplish this even if we have to team up with the devil.

It is a moral and national obligation to promote principled politics. There is no abstention from history. If people of Sindh, its leaders, and enlightened folks want to take control of their destiny, they better quit drifting like dead leaves. Democracy is neither about protecting power of political deities nor is its road paved with justification of an end.

Religious extremism, hate crimes, runaway non-state actors, exclusion based on gender, religion, nationality and ethnicity are casualties of top-down dictatorial rule that has not been the exception in Pakistan.

160 million people of Pakistan deserve true democracy and supremacy of law and not just an appearance of it. To bring an end to the politics of conspiracies, turncoats, and takeovers we must complete the circle of freedoms and good governance. The time has come when the means to achieve this goal should meet the canons of morality.

This is what Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto would have done and it would be the only appropriate tribute to her life and her pursuit for liberties.

Iqbal Tareen
Chief Organizer Forum for Justice and Democracy in Pakistan
1380 Monroe Street NW, # 435
Washington, DC 20010

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