“Blood may be thicker than water, but money flows deeper than both”

News:

ISLAMABAD, April 22 (Reuters) - Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi and Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed on Monday to boost trade between the neighbouring nations to increase the volume of bilateral trade to 10 billion U.S. dollars in the next five years," (Source: Reuters)

Comment:

The bloodshed in Palestine has deepened distrust of the Muslim Ummah in all flavours of the available Muslim Leadership. The recent visit of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to Pakistan failed to ignite any hope of getting stronger with each other's help against their common enemy. Why? The enemy of the Ummah is friends with its leadership and hides in the fancy cloaks and sweet talk of these rulers. Whichever soil they walk their footprints leave the marks of Palestinian blood which they have been ignoring and treading on.

After the abolishment of the Khilafah (Caliphate), Muslims all around the world have suffered the brunt and have carried the shame of their traitor leaderships. After being put into the prisons of nation states, these leaders moulded and created enemies for themselves. People were told that danger still lurks, it is hiding in the corners of their countries.

“The Separatists”. Who are these people and why can you find an unhappy group of people in each Muslim country that has chosen to pick up arms against their own State? The answer is, extreme injustices and refusal of facilities to the people who still have their instincts and self-respect alive and are sitting in areas full of resources.

Balochistan is split almost evenly between Iran and Pakistan, while some of its area is also in Afghanistan. For over a century these people have complained of systematic discrimination under various governments, in Iran and Pakistan. Both Governments have been treating these people exactly the way they learned from their colonialist masters. Tehran has imposed restrictions on the Balochi language, even on having Balochi names. These people don’t get government jobs,poverty is rampant in their areas and hundreds have been executed on flimsy smuggling allegations. Another thing that goes against these separatists is that they belong to the Sunni sect, while Iran is a Shia-dominated country, and since the Iranian revolution the policy making has been done with the help of Shia clergy.

Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan, making up some 43.6 percent of the total area of the country. The province is rich in natural resources like gold, copper, oil and natural gas and has a 770 km (478-mile) stretch of coastline, where the strategic Gwadar Port is located– a prominent feature of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Despite being rich in natural resources, Balochistan remains the poorest province in Pakistan. In response Pakistan has faced armed resistance and the people of Balochistan have been protesting against the forced disappearances. Meanwhile, Iran has accused Pakistan of allowing militants from the Sunni separatist group Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice) to operate freely from Balochistan and carry out attacks on Iranian authorities, and on 16 January Iran carried out a missile strike on Pakistan, in which two children were killed and three others injured. In retaliation, Pakistan conducted air attacks on alleged terrorist hideouts in Iran, which it claims led to the deaths of at least nine Baloch separatists.

Cyril Almeida, a seasoned Pakistani journalist, sarcastically remarked on X that “never have two countries bombed each other and expressed such warmth for each other within 48 hrs … almost got to wonder …” And now within three months of firing missiles on each other both countries have claimed a prosperous future together. From business to gas pipeline. Right after Raisi’s exit from Pakistan, the USA has shown its displeasure and has warned Pakistan of the risk of sanctions.

Now, we need to have a deeper look at what exactly is happening here. Both the rulers, Raisi and Sharif, wish to have their 15 minutes of fame by appearing tough and pretending to not care about US reaction. In fact this is the easiest way the USA and Iran can get close, by putting Pakistan in between, and where the USA will get its Lion’s share and Iran and Pakistan will try to collect whatever is spat out by the USA and these rulers will have no shame in doing so.

Narrated by Abu Huraira: The Prophet (saw) said, «لاَ يُلْدَغُ الْمُؤْمِنُ مِنْ جُحْرٍ وَاحِدٍ مَرَّتَيْنِ» “A believer is not stung twice (by something) out of one and the same hole.” (Sahih al-Bukhari 6133)

Allah (swt) and His Prophet Muhammad (saw) have warned us to be cautious of the enemies of Islam. They will never miss a chance to harm His people and will continue to plot, plan and act against the servants of Allah.

[وَإِذۡ يَمۡكُرُ بِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ لِيُثۡبِتُوكَ أَوۡ يَقۡتُلُوكَ أَوۡ يُخۡرِجُوكَ وَيَمۡكُرُونَ وَيَمۡكُرُ ٱللَّهُ وَٱللَّهُ خَيۡرُ ٱلۡمَٰكِرِين]

"And as the ones who have disbelieved were scheming to confine you, or kill you, or to drive you out, and they were scheming, and Allah was scheming; and Allah is The Most Charitable of schemers." [TMQ 8:30]

Allah (swt) has warned His people of the schemes of the disbelievers that they will never stop planning against you and Allah (swt) with His mercy will keep helping you. Allah’s messenger Muhammad (saw) was sent to us as a warner has told us to be alert and aware of our enemy’s every move, only then we can save ourselves from being stung again and again. We as dawah carriers need to go beneath the surface of whatever is shown to us and reach to the core of the matter, and then see this matter in the light of the Almighty’s commands, as the world and its inhabitants all belong to Him.

Ibn Khaldoon says in his book Muqaddimah, “And verily you will not be able to change God’s way”, “God inherits the earth and whoever is upon it”.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Ikhlaq Jehan