State and religion

Religion has always been made a cats paw in Pakistan so as to unify the divided nation on religious lines . Very sorry to say , such policies have always been backfiring , be it Islamization of Zia or giving Kashmir issue a religious colour.

The more we make our nation religious the more irrational they become . Pakistan has been witnessing under-developed human resources . Major chunk of our population is emotionally and religiously charged . They can easily be mobilized against minorities and each other on sectarian rifts . Besides, fundamentally religious masses have been challenging the writ of the state by opposing decisions of the government.

Recently , the clerics have announced not to act upon the decision of social distancing . They have rather announced to attend congregation every now and then . The government should take serious notice of the issue . It should also bring radical shifts in its policy paradigm so that religion should be confined to one’s personal interest rather than national interest.

Muhammad Shahram Bhutto

Hyderabad