My latest for the Washington Post on Imran Khan. The legendary cricketer and politician Pakistan can jail, censor but never erase. @PostOpinions
https://t.co/F5YMqo9I5Y
A brotherly reminder:
- No Muslim is obliged in any way to defend Bajwa and the "Hafiz" Asim Munir's decision to throw Imran Khan in jail.
- No Muslim is obliged to defend any injustice. Allah said in the Quran [5: 8] "O you who believe! Stand out firmly for Allah, as witnesses to fair dealing, and let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice. Be just: that is next to piety: and fear Allah. For Allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do."
- No Muslim is obliged to perform verbal gymnastics to suggest that an unjust act by Bajwa and Munir is justified because "it's politics" and "Imran Khan made a deal with them in the first place to get to power".
- No Muslim is obliged to choose corruption and oppression over chaos, or cede their God-given dignity to the boots of the military. The "Farooq" Umar ibn Al-Khattab (RA) did not demand the former and the "Sword of Allah" Khalid Ibn Al-Walid (RA) did not demand the latter.
- Security of a state is not protected first and foremost by a military, but by a commitment to justice. Caliph Umar Bin AbdulAziz was sent a letter by one of his governors in Khorasan who complained that he was surrounded by unruly tribes that threatened national security. He asked the Caliph for more military spending and security forces to resist them to "fortify the state with more troops". The Caliph declined to send more troops and responded instead with "fortify it with justice". How many mighty armies of oppression fell to smaller forces of justice?
Pakistan's security is not threatened first and foremost by India or its neighbours. It is threatened by corruption, injustice, and normalisation of oppression in the name of "national security". Ibn Khaldun said: [such] oppression heralds the destruction of civilisation.
Those who truly care about Pakistan are not those who tell you an innocent man in jail is necessary or a natural consequence of protecting stability and "national security". Those who care will call out injustice wherever it is desperately seeking to prevent the destruction of civilisation predicted by Ibn Khaldun and every civilisational historian worth their weight.
May Allah protect Pakistan from the greatest threat it faces today.
“[Imran Khan] doesn't know what could be wrong with him… They haven't shown any report to the doctors.”
@mehdirhasan speaks with Aleema Khan, sister of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, who says her brother is losing his vision while in jail.
Cricket Legends Walk Into Jail Cell of Imran Khan
Demands:
Immediate, adequate and ongoing medical attention from qualified specialists of HIS CHOOSING
Dignified conditions of detention in line with international standards, including regular visits by close FAMILY MEMBERS
@BakhtawarBZ مرد کُھر زرداری نے اتنی سخت جیل کاٹی کے پیچھے سے آصفہ بھٹو پیدا ہوگئی-
اب یاں تو زرداری جھوٹا ہے یا آصفہ حرمدای ہے
فیصلہ جیالوں پر چھوڑتے ہیں