What is a mere essence of a state? The basic purpose of a state is self-preservation, protecting the lives of its citizens. However, in Pakistan, religiously motivated violence occurs so frequently, attacks, murders, destruction of places of worship of other religions, and killings of those who leave Islam, while the state often fails to intervene effectively. This is partly due to Pakistani state’s foundation is merely based on religious extremism and now The ONLY way out of this extremism is secularism, but in Pakistan, secularism is mostly misunderstood as atheism.
Let’s look what it actually is:
Politically, secularism means separation of religion and state. The state should have no official religion, and everyone should freely practice their religion with equal rights regardless of faith. No one should claim superiority over others based on religion, minorities can only get justice when the state remains neutral. People should have the right to choose, reject, or abandon religion freely, but religious influence should not control the state or its affairs.
Historical examples show that when Europe was ruled by the Catholic Church in the 14th century, scientific discoveries against religious scriptures were rejected, e.g., Galileo’s heliocentrism was declared heretical with a death sentence. Later, Protestant movements demanded state independence from the church, leading to wars and eventual secular values in the 17th-18th centuries that curbed extremism and spurred scientific progress in Europe. Similarly, Turkey’s progress was linked to secularism under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who abolished the caliphate and implemented Laïcité, (although a radical secularism ) that lead to modernization and hence development of the country.
In Pakistan, secularism is now essential to end religious extremism and protect minorities, allowing the state to focus on national development without religious interference…
