T H EY follow no rules, neither man-made nor divinely ordained. They have their own rule book which they write as they go along.

Their whims become sacrosanct as soon as they are made public.

They flout the law at will and as their clout grows, the law-enforcement agencies stupor grows in intensity. State-run mosques become their citadels and an astute interpretation of religion becomes their shield. The prevailing conditions in Pakistan have given rise to this particular species a pernicious type of `prayer leader` Maulana Abdul Aziz is in the eye of the storm these days because of his insensitive remarks about the Peshawar tragedy, but the fact is that his views neither come as a surprise nor as an exception. At the mosque where I myself offered Juma prayers last, the prayer leader during his sermon expressed the same views as that of Abdul Aziz, and, let me tell you, not a soul walked out of that mosque in protest or stood up to confront him.

The mosque I am talking about is hardly a couple of kilometres from Constitution Avenue, further along which lies the National Assembly, Prime Minister House, President House and the Supreme Court.

What would happen if a major-general while addressing a thousand odd people in some part of the country ridicules the pollcies of the top brass? He would certainly be picked up by Military Intelligence for further investigation, and disciplinary action would follow.

If he repeated the mistake, a court martial would ensue.

Likewise, if a senior civil servant criticises the prime minister and his policies in an assembly of a similar size, he would soon find himself on the wrong side of disciplinary proceedings andfurthertransgression would result in dismissal from service.

As far as writing for newspapers or giving tip-offs to the media is concerned, rule 21 and 22 of Government Servants (Conduct) Rules, 1964, bars government servants from revealing any information or expressing any opinion that might cause embarrassment to the government. What it means is that officials who are thought to be the movers and shakers of the government are also subservient to rules and discipline when it comes to the integrity of the state.

A civil servant must be transferred every three years to preclude any biases on account of personal relationships. The first posting of an administrative officer cannot be in his own province so that he stays clear of any favouritism. If someone proves atroublemal(er despite these safeguards, he can easily be made OSD which means that the officer would have no administrative authority tillfurther orders.

Why are there no such rules of service in place for prayer leaders of mosques? It really is mind-boggling that no effort whatsoever is made to regulate prayer leaders of at least government-run mosques and make them accountable for their actions.

Training focused on the state`s integrity and importance must be made mandatory for the appointment of a mosque`s imam. A code of conduct emphasising tolerance must be implemented in all governmentrun mosques. The fact that prayer leaders are not answerable for their actions despite enjoying official accommodation and privileges just like any other government servant shows our perfunctory approach to addressing the root causes of intolerance in this country.

Furthermore, this code can be extendedto privately-run mosques by introducing a system of mosque adoption which would mean a fixed stipend for the prayer leader by the government or civil society NGOs provided the code of conduct is followed in letter and spirit.

Prayer leaders in villages are dependent on donations for their live-lihood which makes them vulnerable to manipulation by individual donors. NGOs representative of the civil society and not of any sect can step up to the task of mosque adoption; it can do wonders.

The government needs to stand up for itself as the lack of incentives for law-abiding citizens is making them lose patience as well as faith in the system. The protest by members of civil society in front of Lal Masjid is indicative of a dangerous trend.

On less intense days a clash would have beeninevitable. The celebrations and salutations on the recent hangings of prisoners are an indicator of where things might be heading.

We must not destroy, in a paroxysm of rage, what differentiates us from them. Just as it must have taken years to carve out the larger-than-life Buddhas of Bamiyan and only few minutes for the Taliban to deface them, it takes decades to liberate a society and a few reckless moments to give up on that dream.• The writer is a former civil servant.

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