Indian clerics’ case shows growing intolerance
The return of the two Indian clerics, Syed Asif Nizami and Nazim Ali Nizami, who had embarked on a pilgrimage to Pakistan to spread the Sufi message of peace and love but mysteriously went missing, is a matter of great relief. One had almost begun to expect the worst, but thankfully those did not come true. The return was possible due to the aggressive intervention of the Ministry of External Affairs, and its Minister, Sushma Swaraj who took up the issue with her Pakistani counterpart and persisted with the authorities there to trace the missing religious heads, until the time they returned home safely. However, while this brings some closure to the case, there are questions that remain unanswered. And the best person to answer them are based in Pakistan. First, the clerics had gone to Pakistan with a valid visa. And soon after, when their disappearance became public, the initial reaction from Pakistan was that the authorities did not receive any communication from the Government about the missing clerics. Others said that the missing Sufi leaders had not sought clearances from local authorities or informed them about their itinerary. When this excuse did not suffice, and when the Indian Government kept pestering, certain commentators from across the border were of the view that, of course, there cannot be any state hand in their disappearance. later, in a turn of events, Pakistan itself admitted that the clerics were detained by their officials on account of suspicious movement and were questioned on their credentials. This is shocking. Everyone knew that they were Sufi saints and it was common for both clerics to exchange visits to Pakistan. Moreover, this blame-game has been an old diversionary tactic of Pakistan. The problem with Islamabad is that for them, any Indian citizen who visits their country, is a R&AW agent.
Nevertheless, the manner of the clerics’ disappearance itself is suspicious. Both were off-loaded from a Karachi-bound flight at lahore, citing documentation problems. One wonders how this documentation problem cropped up all of a sudden. The saints were flying on a domestic flight and their documents had already been scrutinised when they left from New Delhi. Both clerics were holding exemplary visas as they were frequent visitors to Pakistan. And then, their detention too remains shrouded in mystery. While one of the saints was detained in lahore, the other was blocked in Karachi. One plausible theory being propounded about their disappearance is to do with the Sufi tradition of the leaders and the growing antagonism in Pakistan among the hardliners over there to this all-inclusive faith. The Salafi-Wahhabi trend in Pakistan has all the more killed the Sufi tradition. Both state and non-state actors over there have been trying to stifle not the Sufis, but also other sects who are not in line with the majoritarian system. It is a known fact that Sufi shrines have been the target of terrorists in Pakistan. The Shias and the Ahmadiyyas are regularly killed inside mosques and shopping markets, on pilgrimage and even at funerals. In 2012, during the festival of Muharram, in an attack, around 30 Shias were killed and more than 200 were injured. Perhaps, it’s time for Pakistan to introspect on the growing dangerous exclusivism.