Shabina Riaz, an MP in Pakistan

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Shabina Riaz is a Parliamentarian in Pakistan's Provincial Assembly of the Punjab. Mrs. Riaz is a member of the majority Pakistan People's Party and just got elected as the Chairperson of Punjab's standing committee on "Women Development, Social Welfare, and Bait-ul-Maal". In an exclusive interview with The Exception Magazine, Mrs. Riaz sets the record straight on her country.

The Exception: What is the biggest misconception of Pakistan?

Mrs. Riaz: Pakistan is often viewed as a rogue state harboring terrorists and our society has been frequently labeled as intolerant which is quite contrary to reality. More than 90% of our elected parliamentarians hail from political parties with progressive and moderate manifestos. The mishandling of the Afghan War resulted in an influx of Arab, Tajik, Uzbek, and Afghan fighters to our bordering areas. These foreign elements have been conspiring to destabilize our country through brutal attacks on our political leaders and countless innocent people. We, as a nation, stand united in our resolve to face this threat head on. A unanimous resolution recently passed by our Parliament clearly reflects that resolve.

What is the status of women's rights in Pakistan?

Over the last decade, women employment rates have climbed sharply. In our national and provincial legislatures, we have special reserved seats for women to promote their participation in the political process. For the first time in our history, we have a Speaker of our Parliament who is a woman.

We have a come a long way in terms of protecting women rights, but still a lot needs to be done. Women literacy rates are still lower compared to men. Our government is making continuous efforts to provide equal education and employment opportunities. Since our society is socially conservative, most victimized women do not openly speak out about their sufferings. However, this too is changing with support of an independent and powerful electronic media and recent amendments in women protection laws that have undone some discriminatory practices of the past.

The official name of your country is the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. What legal rights do Christians and Jews have and in your opinion, how are they treated by society?

All minorities enjoy equal legal rights. Our constitution also guarantees special reserved seats for minorities in our Parliament. There is a department for minority rights in our federal and provincial governments headed by an elected minister.

We have had a Chief Justice (Mr. Justice Rana Bhagwandas), who belonged to the Hindu faith.

What do you think is the root cause of terrorism towards the West?

Pakistanis felt isolated and betrayed when Americans left us in total bewilderment after the Afghan-Soviet War, especially after we had played a major role in bringing down the Soviets. Western support of dictatorial regimes in the Muslim world further distanced the people from the West. Invasion of Iraq on totally unfounded reasons made people further doubt the US’s intentions in the region.

News reports of countless innocent civilian casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan and NATO’s unilateral drone missile attacks in our North-Western part provide stirring rhetoric for extremist foreign elements to manipulate poor, frustrated, and disgruntled youth in our region. The West needs to understand that there is no military solution to this problem. Unless we address basic issues like extreme poverty, lack of education and stop unilateral military operations, peace cannot find its roots.

Is there anger over the Israel-Palestinian conflict and if so, does this affect the political views of Pakistanis?

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a deteriorating law and order situation in our tribal belt has put the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a backdrop. Currently, Pakistanis' biggest concern is the raging threat of domestic terrorism that has put our country’s existence at stake.