Congratulations! Another voice has been silenced. Shahbaz Bhatti was killed because, unlike most of you guys, he spoke up and now that he is dead, his voice has joined your deafening silence. He died because most of you stayed silent when Salman Taseer was speaking up, you remained silent when Taseer was killed and most importantly, you chose to remain silent when Taseer's murder was being celebrated in the streets of Pakistan. That was the time when you should have been shouting at the top of your lungs. But you remained silent. And they killed Shahbaz Bhatti. And I am sure your silence will prevail.
Some of the liberals who did speak up and continue to speak are not at the mercy of the crazed fanatics (and please don’t tell me that they are being funded by USA or UK. You know and I know that it’s not the funding that’s doing the killing. It’s the lethal ideology that is doing it. Do you mean to tell me that America funded the people who were distributing sweets in the streets after Salman Taseer was killed?), the ones who still choose to speak are really at your mercy and part of their blood, when it is spilled, will be on your own hands.
Almost all of you know that the blasphemy laws have no place in a modern democracy and yet none of you has said that so far to the best of my knowledge. Some of you have just talked about how it is ‘misused’ and ‘abused’ when in the hearts of your heart, you know that the law shouldn’t even be used in this day and age. It shouldn't be in the books of law, period. You chose to mince words and skirt the issue when the need was to speak clearly and unambiguously. If no one says what needs to be said, the others can’t agree. How can one support the unspoken?
I have no reservations about the other side. They are not silent like you. They have their cards right on the table faces up. We know what they want. It’s you who worry me. You want to play your cards close to your chest so the rest of the world doesn’t even know what are you holding. Well, guess what, the game in Pakistan is almost over. You can take your cards and shove them.
Hypocrisy; that’s what killed Salman Taseer and that’s what killed Shahbaz Bhatti. It killed them by not trying to save them. By not joining them saying, “yes, we agree with them!” and telling the fanatics that just by silencing some voices, the message will not die.
So stay silent my friends. But if you think that your hypocritical silence will be enough to save your own necks, you are sadly mistaken. When all the voices are silenced, they will come for you. The irony is that there will be no one left to speak for you.
