IN no country in the world does one have to take an oath to establish that the person belongs to a certain religion.

The question arises why have Pakistanis to take an oath before applying for an identity card, a passport, joining the armed forces, contesting an election and the swearing-in for the highest office of the state. Is being a Pakistani not enough? Or does being a Muslim make us more loyal and qualified?

Why have we forgotten what our Quaid said while addressing the inaugural session of the Constituent Assembly on August 11, 1947. I quote: “You may belong to any religion, caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the state.”

Allow me to end with another apt observation, this one by Dr Sukhraj S. Dhillon : “Your beliefs don’t make you a better person, your behaviour does.”

Dr Khurrum Fiazuddin

Karachi

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2017