The picture I am seeing, which kept my eyes glued, which mesmerized me, was taken thousands of miles away. Probably captured in some government edifice in Cairo. A spectacle gazed upon by the mythical banks of Nile also. The same banks which Allama Iqbal had famously referred to in his famed verse – All Muslims from the shores of Nile to the sands of Kasghar /Unite to protect the Kabaa. The message etched in this picture is loud and clear, Islamabad and Dhaka seem to have understood it and so does metropolis of Pakistan notably Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta. Chitagong and Nowakhli also appear to have grasped the message underpinned.
A picture which is evidently silent and muted but has a voice of its own. A voice which cannot be ignored or silenced. Apparently two people are sitting across each other, but they are not just two people, they manifest the spirit of millions. They represent more than 450 million beings. Their eyes exhibit resolve and seriousness to make a fresh start, to start a new chapter. They seem ready to hold each other’s hands. Imagination runs wild but the dream is no more elusive. The determination to carve out a new path is evident and ignites hope in the hearts of the audience. No doubt, both have wounded hearts, there are many tales of these wounds, there are many responsible for them, many of them have wielded daggers and inflicted pain, they have heaps of rumblings, thousands of grievances, millions of complaints. What did you do to me, why did you hurt my trust, why did you become my enemy, why did you join my foes, why did you consider me a stranger, why did you make me a stranger, how did you become “Brother of Yusuf”, why did you push me into the well.
Both are not ready to accept responsibility, but they are also unable to deny it. Both have blood on their hands, both perceive themselves as “Yusuf”, both believe the other to be “Brother of Yusuf”. Both are sure that they are “Yusuf”, both believe that they were deceived by the other. Both are in denial on their acts or are in a dilemma, they do not understand what happened to them, how it happened, who put blood on their hands? Who shed their blood? The onlookers do not understand anything either, they are unable to look beyond the haze, they do not understand, it is hard to affix responsibility.
Who is “Yusuf” and who is “Brother of Yusuf”? If you look from the East, the scene is different, if you look from the West, the view is diametrically opposite. Both can be called Yusuf, and both can be easily termed as brother of Yusuf. Both are Yusuf and Yusuf’s brother at the same time. Both had fallen into the well, both were pulled out of the well, both were in front of each other, facing each other, looking at each other. Who is Yusuf? They must make this decision. The voice rose, the image spoke, the one who will take the initiative to forgive, that one will be Yusuf. Both move forward, both raise voice simultaneously “I have forgiven you; I will atone for the bloodshed, I will not demand it from you”. Both embrace each other, resolve to move forward, pledge to share the riches. The picture is speaking, and this message is radiating. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Bangladesh’s Chief Advisor Dr. Muhammad Yunus are transforming history by sitting in front of each other. Rather it seems history has been altered already. The mutual warmth and gratitude are on full display. Bangladesh and Pakistan are mending the broken bonds. Both now aspire to become each other’s strength and transform South Asia, once again.
If it were up to Shahbaz Sharif and Dr. Muhammad Yunus, what happened 53 years ago would never have happened. If reins had been in their hands, they would never have sacrificed the country for the sake of power, but that was not to be. The mighty were the masters of our destiny, they were small people who talked big. The vicars of the chair, they considered the chair bigger than the country, they divided the country into two in the war for power. If any of them had taken a step back, had shown selflessness, our history would not have been so scarred. The malicious neighbor would not have dared to look at us with a dirty eye. Its army could never have crossed our borders. Its evil intentions would never have been fulfilled. What happened to those who bled the country for their own ego, for their own power, the way they themselves became a spectacle is also part of history.
One was gunned down by the soldiers of his own army, another was hanged on the gallows by his own nominated Chief of Army Staff, one died rubbing his heels on a bed. The ‘queen’ who committed the aggression was shot in cold blood by her own guards. The pretense of freedom into “Bangladesh”, turned out to be slavery of foreigners. Despite all this, Bangladesh has woken up. Its eyes have opened; it has set itself free from the shackles. Its land has narrowed for those who had taken away its freedom. Its relationship with the Pakistan movement is being revitalized. Pakistan and Bangladesh are looking at each other with the eyes of brotherhood, finding ways of cooperation and becoming each other’s strength. Shahbaz Sharif and Dr. Muhammad Younis have become their voice, their spokesperson. The picture is speaking and bringing back the long-forgotten history. The old journey begins anew. Long live Pakistan-Bangladesh friendship.
I will take my tired caravan out in the darkness of the night
My sigh spreads fire, my soul is fire incarnate
Arising from the deserted dunes, they upended the Roman empire
Whisper the Angels, the lion will roar again
