We are of course also not without fools who think that political or religious differences should be solved through violence. So far the Sikh fools are less keen on murder then their Muslim counterparts. Both in the Sikh and the Muslim community there are not enough people who clearly denounce the use of violence.
The reason that the governor of Panjab Salmaan Taseer has been murdered is that he was one of the very few high profile politicians who spoke out against the blasphemy law in Pakistan. If all politicians of what are supposed to be democratic parties, the PPP and the PML and their various split-offs, made a common front against the mad mullahs it would not be so easy to target one person.
If there was a credible democratic party in Pakistan, willing to face the military (and the ISI) and the mad mullahs they would have a very good chance to win election after election. If that party, or those parties, would also be seriously interested in the fate of the many poor to very poor people in the country, it or they could be assured of constant majorities in Parliament.
It would be even more wonderful if the parties would not be mainly interested in Sindh (PPP) or mainly interested in Panjab (PML). The PML was the party of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who always spoke about a Muslim majority country that was not ruled by mullahs (mad or not), which could be the homeland for all Muslims of the subcontinent and where non-Muslims would be equally respected.
The PML, dominated by the brothers Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif, is even less likely to establish real democracy and an open society than the PPP. This party is dominated by rich Sindhis, who do not much like the mad mullahs, but who first and foremost stand for the interest of the landed gentry of Sindh.
These are the same people who go to the west begging for money for victims of the floods that badly affected Pakistan last year, but who mostly gave very little themselves. I strongly suspect that the same is true for the Sharif brothers.
Many of the problems that face Pakistan are entirely solvable. Pakistan has no need of wizards with magic wands. The need of the hour are people who care, who care about the country as a whole, who do not think that all the ills of the country are caused by India and who take a long view of politics.
It is in the interest of India to have a strong and stable neighbour to its east. I suspect that Manmohan Singh knows this, just like Inder Kumar Gujral did. But Indian politics is dominated by people who think that all evil comes from Pakistan, who do not understand that the only way for the subcontinent to peacefully prosper is if all nations on it work together for a better future of their citizens.
If India and Pakistan were truly democratic countries there would be no need for Khalistan either.
