On July 1st 2015, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a meeting discussing the current heatwave in Pakistan blamed every sector of the political system for the deaths of innocent civilians. So far over 1300 people have died of heatstroke in Sindh, the majority of which were the elderly, and 132 children have passed away.
The human body is designed to keep the internal temperature at 37-38 Celsius and for this it needs a number of resources, including water and cool air. For the fasting person, Allah سبحانه وتعالى has prohibited the drinking of water which means that the need for cool air increases as it becomes an essential resource for the maintenance of body temperature. Once the fast is broken, a person needs to fulfil their daily water intake requirement which totals approximately 2.5L for a 70kg man.
How shameful is it that after 68 years of its existence, Pakistan is unable to provide a consistent electricity supply for its people. Pakistan has an underdeveloped national grid with 40% of Pakistanis not receiving any electricity. This is on top of mass privatisation of energy companies and the removal of subsidies for poor families which has left the majority of the population stranded in dealing with the harsh climate of Pakistan. The World Bank estimated that 17% of the population live on less than $1 a day whilst 73% of the population lives on less than $2 a day.
The same applies for the water supply where the Minister for Water and Energy, Khawaja Muhammad Asif blamed a combination of climate change and mismanagement of resources as causes of the water shortages in the country. The biggest contributor is the countries inadequate water storage facilities with only 9 percent of water being stored in reservoirs.
This begs the question, for how much longer are the rulers of Pakistan going to follow the whims and desires of the IMF and rely on Capitalistic solutions for their economic woes? Have they not read the hadith of RasoolAllah ﷺ where he said,
«الْمُسْلِمُونَ شُرَكَاءُ فِى ثَلاَثٍ الْمَاءِ وَالْكَلإِ وَالنَّارِ»
“The Muslims are partners in three, water, pastures and fire” (Ahmed, ibn Maja)
This necessitates that all citizens have their electricity and water provided as these are vital resources for survival. Continuous reliance on the capitalist system of Pakistan will act against this as they made these resources subject to free market forces. This means that whoever can afford them will get them, and whoever cannot will be left to suffer. How is this possible when the majority of the population is poor? This is how the system ensures that only the rich individuals in Pakistan benefit.
There is no hesitation from the politicians in Pakistan in turning their backs to the believers who suffer due to their policies. The suffering of the citizens of Pakistan is a small matter for them as they have adopted an individualistic viewpoint on life where they only benefit themselves. This was shown by the leaders of the PPP who flew out of the country just as the heat wave started and Nawaz Sharif who has done nothing but talk about the issue. These rulers are only interested in satisfying themselves and their masters in the US who via the IMF aim to change the entire economic structure of Pakistan for the worst.
It is only the Islamic system – the Khilafah state which will establish the economic policy of resource distribution hence giving us the supply of water, electricity and pastures we need. This was evident in Andalusia where the Islamic State created water transport facilities to all regions of every city for people to drink water wherever they may be. Public baths were available for the poor and street lighting was present everywhere without fail.
This is the Khilafah state, which was ordained by Allah سبحانه وتعالى and it will only return if we work for it. So join this work and establish the following qualities to aid you in this mission.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اصْبِرُوا وَصَابِرُوا وَرَابِطُوا وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
“O you who have attained to faith! Be patient in adversity, and vie in patience with one another, and be ever ready [to do what is right], and remain conscious of God, so that you might attain to a happy state!”
Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Mohammed Ubaid