J K News Today
It was quite amusing to hear Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan say“ we are an independent nation, while justifying to keep mosques open in his country.
There can hardly be an argument with the religious obligations of the people in Pakistan , an Islamic republic . But what is strange is that these are times of Coronovirus epidemic that has claimed tens of thousands of lives across the world.
When all other Muslim countries , including Saudi Arabia and UAE have appealed to people stay home. The clerics there have cited the religious scriptures to demand prayer at home and not to visit mosques during the holy month of Ramzan. These edicts have been backed by the government decrees as well.
“ Pakistan is an independent nation” would have been an understandable phrase , had Pakistan not been seeking economic aid from Saudi Arabia and UAE and other nations.
The question is whether Pakistan premier is convinced that it is his independent decision or he sincerely believes that Pakistan as a nation can take independent decisions in these times of grave international emergency where death toll is rising every passing day and the economies shattering in a never- before seen scale.
Will Pakistan be able to contain the spread of virus during congregations in mosques, especially during the holy month of Ramzan when devout Muslims visit mosques five times a day. And Pakistan is an overwhelmingly Muslim majority country. The minorities count for nothing there.
The prayers would be restricted to mosques. But once the people would come out of mosques, there is no guarantee that they would remain free of virus. A single positive case can infect all others and while coming and going out if the mosques infection can hit multiple times.
Why Pakistan is doing this? Not that Pakistan’s people don’t understand the consequences of such congregations. But they are afraid of the terror and extremist groups. They wield gun power and can kill anyone , anywhere. Pakistan government has surrendered its decision making to the whims and wishes of such fanatic groups . This kind of independence is beyond comprehension because it puts Pakistanis at graver risk .
