Start Telling the Truth – Shall We? Our Standing in the Comity of Nations

[aligul11]

Start Telling the Truth – Shall We? Our Standing in the Comity of Nations
The Tale of Pakistan

By: Najeeb Amer Gul

There is a narrative which dwells in the minds of many in Pakistan.

This narrative holds that we are a great nation: strong as a rock and powerful as the rocky surge which is an avalanche. We are holy like angels. Our social, political, and justice systems are transparent, clean, efficient, and unprecedented. Our incumbents are better than their predecessors. Economically, improvement is constant as our agriculture thrives and our educational system excels. With over 170 million population, the sole Islamic nuclear power possessed of a strong military equipped with state of the art nuclear missiles and conventional arsenal, we stand tall in the Muslim Ummah and the comity of nations.

People view us with admiration – perhaps jealously. We have benign policies towards our neighbors and bear them no malice. Go beyond the region, you will find talented Pakistanis proving their mettle, earning respect globally for competence, honesty, and fine deeds. In a nutshell, our present is better than past, and our future is even brighter. We are the indispensable allies of the U.S and others in the war against terrorism. So what if some of our neighbors and their wicked friends from the West are bent upon hatching conspiracies against us? – after all they are jealous of us.

This is the narrative that we live in, and will possibly continue to believe for decades to come. Tragically, it is a figment of our collective imagination.

Now, let us see our actual face and examine why, despite our tall claims and boasts, reality is different. Perhaps it is also true that we deserve the miseries and distress that we are going through. Plunging deeper, might we even discern why the world – especially the Muslim Ummah – does not recognize our significance? Could it be that reality does not align with our beliefs?

Let us start with our so-called rich cultural values filled with love, care, and concern, of which we so often boast. In reality, our social values have deteriorated to the lowest point – we communally kill two boys in broad daylight and not a single person in a mob of hundreds – if not thousands – feels mercy saving their lives in the name of God.

Go out in the streets and you will see hundreds of old and ailing persons begging for a loaf of bread. Some of these are forced to live in shelter homes of Eidhi and others places even as their children live a prosperous life in comfortable homes. Our patients die of minor illnesses in the hospital corridors, and doctors do not attend them mere for nonpayment of advance fee.

If social justice may be seen as lacking, formal justice is worse. Go to any police station with a complaint and see the insolence and inhuman behavior that our custodians of law will unleash upon you. Our police are among the most corrupt in the world. This is where the perversion of justice begins. Move further, and the inadequacies of the court system compound the damage.

So it is with our educational system. Charged with producing citizens, the institutions of education in Pakistan are a maze of sheer chaos and perplexity, ranging from madrassa to international standard schools. The results are sadly lacking. Our elite come from swanky seminaries at home and abroad – and move on to key posts and public office. The masses, consigned to the lowest possible levels imaginable, can but succumb.

The majority remains engaged in pursuit of livelihood. Still, they cannot merely be absolved of all blame. In a democracy, it is ultimately they who are responsible for the political and social setup. Our long-suffering lower orders are as corrupt, dishonest, and mendacious as those at the top.
If we turn to the results in the streets, some have already observed that Pakistan is in what looks and feels much like civil war. The harsh reality is that we live in a country where a booming metropolis like Karachi is as lawless and unsafe as the tribal areas. The situation is no different in Peshawar, Quetta, or elsewhere. Pakistan is rated as one of the most unsafe countries in the world. Insurgencies in FATA and Balochistan feed upon historical neglect and present indifference, and the Baloch Liberation Army has declared war against the state. The international community and our neighbors condemn us as a state that harbors terrorists. Indeed, terrorist safe-havens have long since moved from the likes of FATA to core locales such as Abbotabad.
Contrary to our official stance and popular belief, our security policy is as vague and uncertain as any other of our policies. In a recent interview, the retiring U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, stated, “Pakistan's government has chosen to use violent extremism as an instrument of policy." He added, “By exporting violence, they have eroded their internal security and their position in the region. They have undermined their international credibility and threatened their economic well-being."
In fact, our principal South Asian neighbors, India and Afghanistan, perceive us as hostile, while even Iran views us with suspicion, particularly on the issue of Taliban and the anti-Shia activities which surface regularly within our country. Even China, which we seek to play off America, remains baffled, thanks to our inconsistent policies. It is certainly no secret that our foreign policy is vague, inconsistent, and perplexing to the point that even our own diplomats and parliamentarians cannot gain clarification as to just where we stand on any number of issues.
Our business community has never felt as insecure as they do today. Our industrialists are shifting their factories abroad, our agriculture increasingly has no room for the small farmer, and the economy as a whole spirals downward. Cost of living increases have overwhelmed the masses, even as the once burgeoning middle class rapidly shrinks (if it has not already breathed its last).
Our social polarization has reinforced our natural diversity to produce a balkanized nation. At the top is a privileged elite of leading businessmen, politicians, feudal landlords, and the privileged establishment types. This class has no worries of any sort, neither are they concerned about the masses or the country itself.
Beneath them, a now-marginalized middle class struggles to make ends meet. Though comprised of patriotic, capable, self-made people, mostly engaged in small businesses, agriculture, and government and private jobs, they effectively have no voice. They are joined by the majority, who are poor – to whom the elite caters but maintains in a structural position of disadvantage.
Finally, there is the mullah class. Though this group has increased sharply, its members remain largely unregulated. Hence their numbers exceed those of either the middle class or the elite. They are divided into different sects and sub-sects, some graduates of the myriad madrassas, others simply followers of pirs (spiritual leaders). Still others have authority only because they are followers of various jihadi and militant organizations, or are associated with Tablighi Jamat, (the preachers).
These people view all other classes as infidels, and each one of their groups wants to impose their brand of Islam on the country. Tragically, most are uneducated or less educated and lack any real skills. They seek power through enforcing the Shariah (certainly the one according to their own interpretation of Islam).
Ordinary people are not much better off when it comes to seeking education. Our public sector schooling system is on the verge of collapse – if not already irreparably damaged. The standards of education have badly deteriorated. Into the vacuum have flowed the madrassas. Graduates of these will soon (if they do not already) outnumber college graduates. Yet, as with our schools, the madrassas lack uniformity of syllabi and standards. The consequent already mentioned is an endless variety of mullahs, all claiming to be “real Muslims” even as the populace is denounced as “weak Muslims” or apostates.
In summary, then, we are a nation in crisis, with no national purpose or discernable strategy of action. Leadership does not exist. Consequently, we have lost our credibility in the comity of nations.
Though bitter, it is this reality from which we must proceed. The central question that remains unanswered is a way forward. The precondition for action, though, is to start telling the truth. The policies of lies have not worked for us.
Let’s start facing the realities, and let’s commit ourselves to building anew. We must begin by asking the Almighty’s forgiveness for our transgressions. Only then can we become the country of our narrative

[PakiPatriot]

Its sad that we as a nation are declining in our ethical and moral values, where as we should be strong due to our binding to Islam. I hope we all look in our own self and improve ourselves.