October 01, 2010 brought this news that around 27 tankers of Nato were attacked and set ablaze in Shikarpur, Sindh. Eye-wintesses say that there were ‘around 20 attackers armed with rocket launchers and assault rifles attacked these trucks. They set ablaze 27 trucks parked there’.
Since this incident occurred in district Shikarpur, Sindh, the first impression of the news on the world was that even Sindh has indulged into the abyss of militancy going on and being nourished in Pakistan.
Well, wrong! Sindh and Sindhis in their gene are peace-loving people who have advocated and preached peace, tolerance, coexistence, religious harmony and seclarism since ages. And it’s not just passive rejection of extremism in Pakistan and the world, but, they openly express their hatred for religious fanatacism at different forums within and outside Sindh (Pakistan). Those who have a chance to interact with Sindhis know quite well that in these timesn when almost every Pakistani supports the Taliban and sympathise with them, Sindhis openly denounce the extremists and advocate peace and tolerance in the world.
For example, Mr. William Dalrymple visited Pakistan and recorded his observations of what he witnessed happenings in the country. He also met with many people from across Pakistan and interviewed them in order to know their views on the Taliban and the war going on between them and the Nato and, supposedly, Pak Army. He writes:
“On my last visit to Pakistan, it was very clear that while the Wahhabi-dominated North-West was on the verge of falling under the sway of the Taliban, the same was not true of the Sufi-dominated province of Sindh, which currently is quieter and safer than it has been for some time. Here in southern Pakistan, on the Indian border, Sufi Islam continues to act as a powerful defense against the puritanical fundamentalist Islam of the Wahhabi mullahs, which supports intolerance of all other faiths.
Visiting the popular Sufi shrine of Sehwan in Sindh last month, I was astonished by the strength of feeling expressed against the mullahs by the Sindhis who look to their great saints such a Lal Shabaz Qalander for guidance, and hate the Wahhabis who criticize the popular Islam of the Sufi saints as a form of shirk, or heresy: “All these mullahs should be damned,” said one old Sufi I talked to in the shrine. “They read their books but they never understand the true message of love that the prophet preached. Men so blind as them cannot even see the shining sun.” A friend who visited shortly before me met a young man from Swat, in the North-West Frontier Province, who said he had considered joining the militants, but their anti-Sufi attitude had put him off: “No one can deny us our respected saints of God,” he said.”
Read the complete review here: Pakistan in Peril (NYBooks)
Sindh has always maintained its Sufism as its religion throughout ages and the prophets of which are the many Sufi saints who preached ‘tolerance, inclusiveness, peaceful coexistence and respect for individual and collective rights of all nations, religious groups, and minorities in the world’.
History bears witness that Sindh, in around 10 years of War on Terror, has never supported the extremism of the Talibans and Wahabism.
As far as the attack on Nato tankers is concerned, it was a conspiracy by the nasty agencies of Pakistan against Sindh to distort the secular image of Sindh and its people. However, Sindhis would never let that happen!
Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz (JSMM), or Jeay Sindh, as it’s famous for, called a news conference against the attack on Nato tankers and expressed their solidarity with whoever was fighting against terrorism. Mr. Serai Qurban Khuhawar, senior vice-chairman, JSMM ’accused a federal agency of being involved in the attack which they termed a conspiracy to tarnish the secular image of Sindh.’
The news was, however, blocked by all the sections of Urdu and Punjabi media including some English language channels owned by the supporters of the Punjabi establishment of Pakistan.
What is worse is that the news was even reported as though JSMM condemned the drone attacks inside Pak territories or sentence of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui — yes, the disinformation at par!
Not only this news conference, but Sindhis also protested against the attack on Nato tankers in Shikarpur individually on social networking sites, blogs, emails, etc.
Like, Mr. Gul Agha, who is a Professor of Computer Science at University of Illinois, USA expressed his anger at the attempt of scratching the soft, secular image of Sindh in form of the attack on Nato tankers in Shikarpur; he made it clear that no Sindhi is involved in the attacks as they do not believe in religious extremism and are against division on the basis of religions. Following is the snap of his wall on Facebook:
(Note: ‘Shikarpuri(s)’ means the native(s) of Shikarpur in Sindhi)
Mr. Sindhi Xafar wrote a blog post on the issue and slammed the Urdu media for blocking the news. Under the title, ‘We are not religious extremists’, he has also called this a heinous conspiracy against Sindh and its people who have remained in silent support of the war against terrorism, or the Talibans — rather, they have been expressing their anger and hatred toward the extremist parties working in the country under the patronage of the Pakistan intelligence agencies (the same has also been discussed at many international levels, too.
World, mark our words, Sindh never supports religious extremism and is proud to have a rich culture of hospitality, tolerance and coexistence with no hatred for anyone. Sindh has flourished, as recorded in the history, under the kind shadow of the Sufis like Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, Sachal Sarmast, Sami, Shah Inayat and, the one who familiarized us with them all, Saiin GM Syed.
The message is clear and loud: Sindh has a dintict identity, unlike other provinces of Pakistan, and is against religious fanatacism and the Talibanization. The world should consider Sindh apart! It’s time the world realized that the Pakistani establishment has continuously been hoodwinking them in the war on terror by strenghthening the Talibans, on the one hand, and getting funding from the US, on the other, to supposedly fight them.
