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Key Questions

Discrimination is carried out in different societies through various policies,
procedures and structures. Cultural and religious trends also matter.

By Syed Kamran Hashmi | July 2020


Although most Pakistanis hold no connection with the United States - they neither live there nor do they understand its political dynamics - a small segment among them still finds it necessary to comment on American events. Quite often, they bring up the issue of racial discrimination in their discourse, criticize white supremacy, decry the inhumane treatment of blacks and voice police brutality as if they carry expert qualifications in the subject.

Jumping into the fray, many columnists join in by lecturing on the importance of justice, laying down the principles of equal rights in stable communities, predicting a grim future of a superpower or concluding that the end of American hegemony is approaching, that the rise of China is coming and that one day the Yuan will take over the US dollar.

This sounds funny. You cannot take the comments of an ordinary Westerner seriously if that person talks about the culture of the sub-continent after listening to news channels or watching Indian films. You also cannot give credence to a Pakistani if he weighs in on American culture after watching the Game of Thrones, Keeping up with the Kardashians or Judge Judy.

This discussion is not about how George Floyd died, the legal case filed against the police officers involved in the killing, the protests that swept the whole country or the looting that took place during the protests. It is also not about how immaturely the US administration or the US President behaved, or how such a situation must be handled in future. It is not about what police reforms are needed to improve the relationship between a predominantly white police force and non-white citizens. It is definitely not about how badly the black communities need help. Major investments must be made into the resources of health and education to fight crime in the neighborhoods.

Pakistan does not have a black population, the second largest minority in America. At best, for the people of Pakistan, black lives only matter as a matter of principle not as a matter of political reality. We have our own minorities though, both ethnic and religious, who suffer and are ignored.

To empathize with African Americans or to support the fact that black lives matter, we must also proclaim that Baluch lives matter, Pashtun lives matter and Urdu-speaking or Sindhi lives matter. In religious terms, Hindu lives matter and Sikh lives matter. Everyone who has been oppressed and discriminated against must get the right to speak. This must also include women, their systematic manipulation through polygamy and their subjugation through selective interpretation of religion.

Not only the lives of the oppressed but their rights matter too, their right to assemble, pray, celebrate, protest, breathe and to call themselves whatever they want to call themselves.

These sentiments may be deeply unpopular but there is a need to look inwards. Instead of throwing rocks at others while sitting in the glass house, there is a need to see how the state silences everyone who tries to bring up various injustices. A prime example is that of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), a party that came into being after the killing of Naqibullah Mehsud, an aspiring male model, on January 13, 2018, in a fake police encounter by Rao Anwar, a police officer who roams freely, unlike Derek Chauvin who has been arrested and will face trial for first degree murder of George Floyd.

When push comes to shove, our political leaders disappoint us too - way more than the American President disappoints the Americans. He at least acknowledges the abuse of power. Ours do not even admit any wrongdoing by the police or sympathize with the victims. Asif Ali Zardari, for example, a leader of the Pakistan People’s Party and a former President of Pakistan, speaks in favour of Rao Anwar, not in favour of Naquibullah.

The current leader of the opposition and the President of Pakistan Muslim League, Shahbaz Sharif too, as the Chief Minister of Punjab, is rumoured to have blessed hundreds of extrajudicial killings. He has never been investigated for the alleged crimes. The list goes on. Pakistanis need to protest and raise concerns about the things going on in their own backyard rather than crying wolf on someone else’s misgivings.

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