In a country marked by religious intolerance and extremisim, the most popular underground band comes from the bazars of Peshawar.
For a nation in mourning after Lal masjid, Pervez Hoodbhoy summarize the paradox faced by our civil society…
“The Lal Masjid ideologues did not rouse their followers to action on matters of poverty, unemployment, poor access to justice, lack of educational opportunities, corruption within the army and bureaucracy, or the sufferings of peasants and workers. Instead their actions were concentrated entirely on improving morality—meaning kidnapping prostitutes and destroying video stores.
They did not consider as immoral such things as exploiting workers, cheating customers, bribing officials, beating their wives, not paying taxes, or breaking traffic rules. Their interpretation of religion leads to bizarre failures in logic, moral reasoning, and appreciation of human life”