This week the statement of the former chief of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Pakistan, Syed Munawwar Hassan, left the sane elements in the country in a state of shock. He urged his party workers to work for the cleansing of the Pakistani society by waging a violent struggle. He is on record and this is not an exaggeration. Anybody with access to the Internet can find his full speech on various news websites.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf, the political ally of the religious party in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa provincial government chose to remain silent over this statement, which in fact is a green signal to the Jamaat workers to carry out wanton violence.

Interestingly, the two major mainstream parties, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N), came to the rescue of JI by clarifying that Hassan’s statement did not represent JI’s official policy. There were few others who put up a strong defense in the media to excuse JI from general public’s agony.

But why should Munawwar be blamed for his frank views. That’s what JI and other religious parties have been propagating and justifying for a long time. Not long ago, JI openly praised Osama Bin Laden and Hakeemullah Mehsud and declared them martyrs. The JI dubbed the martyred Pakistani soldiers as “merely dead people.” Though JI openly insulted the sacrifices of the Pakistan Army, but no one had the audacity to challenge such an outburst. Encouraged by that inaction Hassan has now gone one step forward by openly asking his party workers to cleanse the society.

Is there anyone brave enough to put an end to this menace? Pakistani society has already been ruined by numerous religious and sectarian divides; religious minorities are regularly targeted by mobs in the name of blasphemy, their places of worship are ransacked by foolish people. Pakistanis should realize that these so-called religious parties just use the name of Islam to promote their selfish interests. We should not fall for these parties, which are hell bent on destroying the social fabric of Pakistan. As a matter of fact, it has already been torn apart. Sectarianism is a gift of these so-called religious parties. Earlier, there were no divides in Pakistani society on the basis of sects. People used to live in harmony. What the JI wants now? Isn’t the violence we are facing today enough?