What is the Value of a Pakistani Life

[Humble Pakistani]

We keep asking what is wrong with Pakistan, and do not seem to have an answer. But we do have the answer and it is simply “illiteracy.” We as Pakistani do not have the knowledge of the religion nor the world. We are lost either way.

These have been disastrous few days for Pakistan. The suicide attack near Wagah border close to Lahore killed 60 innocent Pakistanis and wounded over 200. The news reports quoting security officials, claims that one bomber was able to create this havoc on the nation. In another news today we heard about the brutal killing of a Christian couple by a Muslim mob on alleged desecration of the Holy Quran just a few miles from Lahore.

Let me talk about as to how and why this is happening in Pakistan. But before I do that let me tell you another thing. People ask me as to why I blog about Pakistan and its problems when I live comfortably in the West. And who reads these blogs and does it change anything. My take is very simple. Pakistan is my motherland and it does affect me when negatives are always associated with Pakistan. So if my writing has an effect on even one person positively, I have done my job.

Coming back to how and why… The sad reality is that our leadership for the last 30 years or so has done nothing for Pakistan and its common citizens. Pakistan’s only salvation is education. Every Pakistani should be told about their religion. Islam is really a religion of peace. We do not have to kill a person who calls my prophet names.

We have to have the power of speech to tell the world who our prophet was and convince the person who believes otherwise. If someone desiccates our holy book, they do not deserve to die. We should know that it is a book that Allah has promised to protect Himself. So we, as Muslims, need not do anything about it.
I wonder how many of the people who attacked the Christian couple, and killed them on an alleged crime, have read the Quran in the last week and months or even years. I can bet, if we can ask them the answer will come out as a big no. That is a sad truth! I wonder if the suicide bomber or his handlers know that the Quran (sura An-Nisa the fourth chapter of Quran-verse 93) says that, “anyone who kills a believer for no reason will live in Hell Fire for eternity (forever)” It is clear and simple; you kill an innocent your abode is hellfire and no seventy virgins in Paradise.

You will be a thousand years from even the fragrance of paradise, this according to our Prophet (PBUH) . But the issue is, do we read and understand the holy book? No! The sad reality is that, the so called “learned ones” do not take the time and talk about these issues with the common man, and the ones who do are a minority and their voices are overshadowed by the cry of ‘Kill and destruction.”

It is time for the sane voices to speak up and talk about these issues. Do not let the likes of a cold blooded killer, Mumtaz Qadri, influence others. If you can speak to your domestic help, your driver, chowkeder, maali and any other common man and lead them to the light of truth that “Islam is really a religion of peace” and we have to prove it with our actions, then do so! If we don’t we will be answerable to the highest power.

Source:What is Value of Pakistani Life | The Pakistani Spectator

 

[VCheng]

First, the article pinpoints the fault as "illiteracy":

We keep asking what is wrong with Pakistan, and do not seem to have an answer. But we do have the answer and it is simply “illiteracy.” We as Pakistani do not have the knowledge of the religion nor the world. We are lost either way.

But then the solution offered is just "talk":

It is time for the sane voices to speak up and talk about these issues. Do not let the likes of a cold blooded killer, Mumtaz Qadri, influence others. If you can speak to your domestic help, your driver, chowkeder, maali and any other common man and lead them to the light of truth that “Islam is really a religion of peace” and we have to prove it with our actions, then do so! If we don’t we will be answerable to the highest power.

It will take more than mere words to resolve the issues, Sir. It takes actual actions, and those are nowhere to be found.

 

[ssethii]

How can others value our lives if our own people doesn't care either.

 

[Cat Shannon]

if one were to look, there is only one thing connecting the two incidents. only one. illiterate people are not equivalent to barbarians if that is what this article tries to tell us by skirting the real issue as usual a la pakistani style.

Run of the mill !

 

[scholseys]

How does a hellfire missile cost?

 

[VCheng]

How does a hellfire missile cost?

About $100,000 apiece.

 

[scholseys]

About $100,000 apiece.

certainly more than a BSF bullet

 

[punit]

certainly more than a BSF bullet

more than one bullet is sometimes required to kill. Hellfire kills a bunch at a time.

 

[Capt.Popeye]

First, the article pinpoints the fault as "illiteracy":

But then the solution offered is just "talk":

It will take more than mere words to resolve the issues, Sir. It takes actual actions, and those are nowhere to be found.

@Syed.Ali.Haider and @Humble Pakistani;

All of that is indeed true. Just as the blog-post seems to reduce things to a some-what 'simplistic' level.
However tackling illiteracy is the first and unavoidable step in finding the solution(s). How?
Literacy equips people to then seek knowledge and information; which in turn allows them to learn about and even question what gets passed off as acceptable or even desirable in Society.

In my country of my birth; I have seen so many instances where the person who is illiterate is pushed away and deprived by saying "what do you know?" This technique was used effectively in the old Social Systems where only some people were allowed to learn to read and write and who then posed as 'repositories of knowledge' and manipulate society.
Literacy is thus the first step in removing ignorance and empowering all people.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[rockstar08]

life of a Pakistani is equal to the life of those millions of peoples killed in WW 1-2 ..
life isnt cheap ..either its Pakistani, Indian , American or any other living on earth ..
you killed one person unjustly , you killed the whole humanity ...

one human life is more worth than thousands of those who likes to take it ..

 

[Pakistani E]

Our problem is that in the mountains we have the Taliban religious extremists and in the cities we have the urban extremists going around murdering "infidels". These "urban" extremists are not illiterate. Neither in the religious nor the worldly sense.

If "great" scholars like Maulana Maudidi can twist quranic verses to fit their world narrative, what do you expect from a semi-literate average Pakistani?

 

[VCheng]

@Syed.Ali.Haider and @Humble Pakistani;

All of that is indeed true. Just as the blog-post seems to reduce things to a some-what 'simplistic' level.
However tackling illiteracy is the first and unavoidable step in finding the solution(s). How?
Literacy equips people to then seek knowledge and information; which in turn allows them to learn about and even question what gets passed off as acceptable or even desirable in Society.

In my country of my birth; I have seen so many instances where the person who is illiterate is pushed away and deprived by saying "what do you know?" This technique was used effectively in the old Social Systems where only some people were allowed to learn to read and write and who then posed as 'repositories of knowledge' and manipulate society.
Literacy is thus the first step in removing ignorance and empowering all people.

Just my 2 cents.

While the blog may be correct in pinpointing illiteracy as a root cause, merely talking about it will never rectify it. It is a national trait to be all talk and no action in such matters, which is perhaps an even bigger problem.

 

[Cat Shannon]

certainly more than a BSF bullet

yup. usually that's all it has cost us so far !! bullets are effective, one at a time.

 

[Capt.Popeye]

While the blog may be correct in pinpointing illiteracy as a root cause, merely talking about it will never rectify it. It is a national trait to be all talk and no action in such matters, which is perhaps an even bigger problem.

Oh, I do agree with that too. Of course the kind of events that triggered this blog-post induces many reactions.
Some of them are the level of 'somebody who thinks that its all bad, but keeps silent.....because its not happened to him'.
Then there are 'some who feel disturbed and seek to talk about it in some way or the other'.
Then again there are 'some who feel so concerned and disturbed as to do something to attempt to tackle it with some action or the other, they may or may not talk about it'.
And of course; there are 'some who think and act like the perpetrators of the acts'.

So what we are reading about comes from one of those categories.
i.e. Moving there in that direction, but not having got anywhere yet..........

 

[temp1994]

Value of a Pakistani life = $134,000 Approx.

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