Dallas: A Day of Thanksgiving or a Day of Division? A Lament to the Conscience of a Civilized Nation
By: Raja Zahid Akhtar Khanzada
It was a radiant evening in Dallas. The green crescent flag of Pakistan was waving, and under its shadow, a “Day of Thanksgiving” event was taking place a day that, on the surface, carried a message of unity, gratitude, and love for the homeland. I, too, wearing a Pakistan flag badge, sat silently in my seat, with hope in my eyes, thinking maybe today I will see that Pakistan — the one that belongs to all of us where disagreement is not enmity, where questioning is not rebellion.
But after the speeches ended, a documentary began to play on the screen. It included Indian media and various clips a documentary that, while cloaked in patriotism, in truth seemed like a declaration of war from the establishment — a war against dissent, personal character, and unwanted voices. It was the closing moments of the documentary.As soon as the topic of Balochistan was mentioned, the screen immediately switched to Altaf Hussain no introduction, no context just a clip, a sentence, and a stamp:
“Indian Agent.”
No explanation, no background, no defense just a verdict, as if a courtroom had been convened.
I sat there silently, listening and watching, while a question echoed again and again in my heart: Is this limited only to Altaf Hussain? Or is there someone else next on the list?
I asked this very question to one of the organizers, Ghazala Habib, then and there. She too was surprised and softly responded: “This documentary was brought by the Consul General himself. We didn’t know what was in it.”
The moment I heard this sentence, my mind didn’t stay in that room
it raced through every scene of the past.
I realized that just as the establishment has always pushed MQM to the wall, perhaps now the same story is beginning again this time through overseas Pakistanis.
Today, MQM is a testing victim in their laboratory and after defeating the weak, the powerful will be next. So perhaps today, the start has been made with a small, marginalized party but it seems the same method is soon headed toward PTI as well. Won’t this same stamp be pasted on Imran Khan tomorrow? Won’t the same documentary, the same tone, the same tactics be repeated for him in the future?
That is the real question
Are you distributing certificates of treason now? Taking political leaders, their clips, their gestures, coloring them on the canvas of propaganda and presenting them before the public?
What kind of “Day of Thanks” is this,
that becomes a showcase for strangling dissenting voices?I am not a blind follower of politics. I was never a supporter of MQM’s politics, nor a fan of Altaf Hussain, nor a sympathizer of PTI. I’ve always criticized the political strategies of all three.
But the freedom of expression — that might be embedded in my very soul.
It is my training, my conscience, my right.
Today, when I see both MQM and PTI on the establishment’s hit list, I feel pain, because both of these parties, in the past, served as the right hand of the same establishment, and in doing so, they too insulted democracy and became accomplices in suffocating freedom of speech.
Today’s political leaders are weak, but that weakness is Imran Khan’s own doing for placing his popularity in their lap, letting them use him, and then discarding him like a tissue paper once he was of no use.
They again empowered the weak by dealing with them, and pushed you to the sidelines. What happened with both these parties today, is the same thing the establishment once did with the parties currently enjoying power. It is painful even for those who once promised a Charter of Democracy, who vowed to reform the system , but today, they have themselves become part of the same machinery.
But the establishment must understand one thing: If you have defeated your enemy, then let the echo of your power stay in the enemy’s ears don’t thunder it over the hearts of your own people. Loving your homeland does not mean, every differing opinion is labeled as treason. If the state only demands obedience, then every question-asker will eventually be labeled an “agent.”
Remember this:
When patriotism starts meaning only silence, then it is no longer a celebration of gratitude, it becomes a celebration of prejudice. If, in the name of loving the homeland, you begin declaring your own citizens as “traitors,”then this is no longer a Day of Thanksgiving, it becomes a Day of Division.
I take pride in the fact that India, during wartime, blocked me from every platform for standing with my country and spreading truth. They are the enemy , if they do it, I feel no sorrow.
But the real sorrow strikes when your own people adopt the same attitude. In the past, I criticized the PTI–establishment alliance, and even then, they used to call me a “traitor.”
Calling someone a traitor is easy , but speaking the truth with love is hard. And today, this same stamp of treasonhas been put on PTI by the same establishment. But this behavior is not justifiable. In the same event, one of the organizers and a respected community leader
Mr. Amir Makhani, who is also the President of South Asia Democracy Watch, raised passionate slogans of patriotism
The Consul General appreciated his sincerity and sentiments, and Amir Makhani himself, from the stage, appealed:
“Just like General Asim Munir declared a ceasefire with India,
similarly, there should be a ceasefire with Pakistan’s political parties too.” This was the voice of a true Pakistani a message rooted in harmony, unity, and respect for disagreement. But sadly, right after this speech, a documentary was shown that trampled all those sentiments, unity, and sincerity , a video that fueled hate, made disagreement a crime, and portrayed the opposition as the enemy. When I asked the organizers, they expressed disassociation. They said the documentary was brought by the Consul General, and his position was that
“This video came from Pakistan and was sent to all foreign missions.”
Then the question arises:
Is this the official narrative of the Pakistani state?
That anyone who disagrees with you… is your enemy?
Has patriotism now been reduced to only nodding in agreement?
And anyone who questions or disagrees is called a “RAW agent”? If this is called victory, then this is in fact a moral defeat.
Love does not fear questions,
Disagreement is not treason, and loyalty cannot be demanded through force.
If today you turned a Day of Thanksgiving into a Day of Prejudice, then tomorrow, someone else will call you a “traitor” and then you will be left with nothing but an explanation.
My humble appeal is this:
Let us turn thankfulness into respect,
Let us transform victory into humility, and let us not restrict patriotism to a particular group, class, or party.
This country belongs to all, and so should its narrative. Otherwise, history will not forgive you, and the same nation for whom you are trying to silence truth today
will demand the truth from you tomorrow.
