Defence Minister Khawaja Asif recently rebuked Maulana Fazlur Rehman for suggesting soldiers fight for salaries, calling it an insult to the country’s martyrs. No one lays down their life for a paycheque, he argued, but out of duty. Political disagreement is one thing; questioning sacrifice, he implied, crosses a moral line.

Fazlur Rehman’s phrasing was clumsy and insensitive. Pakistan lost 664 security personnel last year, most in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. That sacrifice is not reducible to wages. But the intensity of the backlash revealed something more telling: the same voices that react instantly to perceived disrespect are far quieter when the state fails to provide security or when it uses its power as a blunt instrument.

Politicians were quick to defend the military’s honour. They have been far slower to confront the worsening realities on the ground — rising violence in KP and Balochistan, or persistent allegations of enforced disappearances and rights abuses. The imbalance is stark: rhetoric is policed more aggressively than results.

This double standard runs through Pakistan’s security debate. Attacks that kill Punjabis in Balochistan trigger national outrage and political unity. Comparable or worse violence within Balochistan and KP draws far less attention. State abuses draw even less. Suffering is not treated equally; it is filtered through political convenience.

Mohsin Naqvi’s tenure as Interior Minister captures this drift in priorities. His remark dismissing the Balochistan crisis as “just an SHO’s job” was not just tone-deaf; it signalled a deeper lack of seriousness. At the same time, he continues to hold multiple high-profile roles, raising obvious questions about focus. The interior ministry sits at the core of Pakistan’s internal security architecture. It is not a part-time assignment, particularly amid escalating militancy.

The pattern is now familiar. Policy failure is met with appeals to sacrifice. Scrutiny is framed as disrespect. The reflex once directed outward —........

© The Friday Times