The Reluctant Fundamentalist Protester

The Reluctant Fundamentalist Protester

Disclaimer: (This is not fiction. This is the story of thousands of students from Islamabad, Lahore, and Rawalpindi who have been forced to leave their hostels after the closure of their educational institutions due to fears of their participation in protests. This is how the democracy is prevailing in Pakistan where the education and future of the students have been put at stake). This is received from social media and many such incidents have been reported; however, one such student has taken lead to express his feelings. The government authorities often declare such protesters as fundamentalist, arsonist and terrorist; however, it is always the poor governance that results in emergence of such protesters in the ranks of politics. 

"I am not just a student, I am a witness."

Dear world!

I have a story to tell you.

This is the story of a student from a university in Islamabad, Pakistan, today.

Due to the "Final Call" for a peaceful protest by Imran Khan @ImranKhanPTI on November 24th, against election rigging, political victimization, and manipulation of the judiciary, the Pakistan government announced the closure of universities and hostels in Islamabad. They instructed students to leave within 72 hours.

So, this student, like many others, packed his luggage, left the hostel, and headed toward the railway station in Rawalpindi to return to his home city. However, train travel was restricted as the government had canceled many trains, fearing participation in the protest via railway transport.

With his luggage in hand, the student then took an auto rickshaw to the bus station to catch a bus to his city. But the roads were blocked by dozens of huge Maersk containers.

He was forced to leave the rickshaw and walk to the bus station on foot. However, the government had restricted inter-city transport, seizing many buses out of fear they might be used to participate in the protest.

In sheer despair, the student began surfing the internet on his phone to call an Uber or Al-Kareem cab service, but his internet was not working, as the government had restricted and slowed down internet communication in the city.

Finally, he saw a cab driver, and stopped him with hand gesture. He hired the cab at a very high rate and asked the driver to take him to his city. But after a few miles, he learned that the government had shut down all eight major motorways connecting Islamabad with the rest of the country.

Frustrated and angry, the student asked the cab driver to drop him off at a local hotel where he could spend the night, as his hostel had already been closed by the government. To his shock, the hotel management refused to rent him a room, assuming he was a supporter of Imran Khan because he was a young, educated student. The management explained that the government had issued notices to all local hotels, warning of severe consequences for accommodating any Imran Khan supporters.

The student spent the entire evening and night wandering—from the hostel to the railway station, by rickshaw to the bus stop, in the cab to the closed motorways, and to hotels that refused him service. He left his luggage at a storage facility, and now he is sitting at a tea stall, waiting for the protest to reach the city. He has decided to join the protest because his time is too precious to be wasted in wandering.



In a moment of frustration and determination, he wrote on one of the @Maersk containers with spray paint:

I am the citizen of this land,

I am the one who takes a stand.

My time is precious, not to be banned,

It will not slip like grains of sand.

I don’t pay taxes to be oppressed,

My future’s mine, and I demand the best!

I know my rights, one’s to protest,

A peaceful stand, I will manifest.

You bury your head, but I won’t hide,

I’ll rise and speak, with truth as my guide.

This is the final call, the final stand,

I will triumph, and reclaim my land.

Because I am the citizen of this land !

(Dear Readers! Both in and outside Pakistan; this latest #PTIProtest under the #FinalCall has seen some historic images during last 60 hours. Let's pray to ALMIGHTY ALLAH to grant Wisdom to the Authority in Power for resolving the most Critical, Political Chaotic Situations prevailing at the moment in Islamabad and Pakistan. The people from all over country have moved towards the Capital because #PakistanUnderFascism. PDM GOVT has totally Failed to govern and provide for sustenance of common man. People are being welcomed by the Locals from Rawalpindi and Islamabad, providing food and all sorts of help. Let's unitedly force by all means to resolve the Critical issues rather than push the matters at Point of NO Return.).