Who do they represent? What portion of society follows them? Who supports them?
More importantly, was such a list vetted before compilation through Twitter?
I don’t believe the term “traitor” applies to either right or left - because based upon the generally hypocritical standards employed by most PDF members to gauge patriotism based on the public proclamation of mob religious beliefs or toeing the establishment line - many of them would happily watch with glee as I and my family get tortured or executed.
Unfortunate - but most of these characters who represent a significant section of our society know its true. That’s how our society raises us due to its own rearing in a culture of extreme self preservation which abhors independent thinking.
The problem with this approach is that many more horrors are achieved under its guise and many holy cows are created. Leading to men who massacred our societal fabric or led us to economic ruin, all under the guise of patriotism.
That being said..
The problem with allowing all independent thought is that it can go either way and it is not guaranteed that most independent thought will be intelligent thought or constructive thought.
What you have then is the list compiled here who on a case by case basis may be very intelligent people or not, but may not be contributing as constructively to the preservation of the state. This can either be by leading themselves down a path of an idea, or being encouraged down the path by external forces and/or or actively being on the payroll of external influences.
The last category is when you get former ambassador and folks like PTM.
This leaves the opposite actors in a state to either eliminate these people but face the consequences, or let justice play out either through natural sequence pushed through or by outright charade - which also can have blowbacks.
Because unlike the rightwingers in Pakistan whose sword has taken tens of thousands of lives both in open conflict and religious bigotry by brainwashing thousands, the Pakistani leftist does not have the blind motivation of religion and hence must rely on self preservation not just in leadership but in its lower ranks.
And unlike religion, this motivation needs greater input of funds and external security to survive. That our many enemies and frenemies are willing to provide.
Finally, a small input also comes from those needing some identification - similar to those being brainwashed by hate preachers at local mosques or online, we have the leftist brainwashed running aurat marches or retweeting PTM because it is considered “modern” to be anti-state or anti-establishment regardless of whether you understand the subject matter or not.
The pakistani “liberal” or “leftist” is still a tiny minority compared to the right and as India is testament to - a majority needs a minority to persecute and blame to stay focused, or it finds another source of divide to call a minority and starts again. So once these liberals, however dangerous or not in their own way disappear - the right will search for the next target like the moderates until they become the left and on and on until we have nothing more than clones in the street, much like India is heading towards slowly.
Thankfully, there are still many intelligent and constructive people in the state who realize the usefulness of the yin for the yang and the need for these spikes of critical thought. They quietly manipulate the delicate strings and balance to ensure that both forces cancel each other out while ensuring the progression of the society and state with key factors such as education.
These people are part of the establishment, the civil society and religious leadership. They are those that do their best to stick to the cause of “Sirat e mustaqeem” even as they take blows from both sides. Losses are high too, either to being swayed to either side or by elimination by them.
Yet they are what holds Pakistan together whenever its Shia-Sunni, Pathan-Punjabi or Sindhi-Mohajir, mera jism or tu hai kya, liberal or extreme and so on.
And the day this class disappears, is the day Pakistan is lost.
