The state of general affairs
Given our internal rifts, political, religious, sectarian, government-military related heartburns, bad governance and with foreign policy in a shambles, Pakistan is becoming increasingly isolated from the rest of the world. While the opposition, the army and the judiciary hound Zardari & Co. and call the US policy in Afghanistan a threat to Pakistan’s security and even integration, the world just walks past us.
Any news emanating from Islamabad on the global grid is expected to be bad news or ‘news of the weird’ at the very least. All this while we have a tireless ability to put out more and more of the same variety and then cry ourselves hoarse about our tumbling image abroad.’
It has come to the point where we take pride in our notoriety, fancying ourselves for all the wrong reasons: the world worries about our nukes; no peace shall return to Afghanistan if we are not part of the US-led endgame next door; if we’re allowed to sink economically, jihadis, whom our interior minister thanked profusely last week for allowing us to have a peaceful Ashura this once, will go out in all four directions to avenge our downfall; and so on and so forth. Today’s Pakistan simply defies logic, internally as well as externally. One longs to hear a voice of sanity from any of the relevant quarters.
At 64, the country has no plan to rescue itself out of make-shift, ad hoc arrangements that serve as fire fighting tactics to put out fires that keep re-igniting, and are of our own making for sure. The problem is that we keep waiting for an elusive messiah, who at best exists only in imagination. The truth is that no such messiah comes to rescue a people steeped up to their ears in ignorance of the outside world; leadership, for better or for worse, is only born of the circumstances and the universe that surrounds it.
Our circumstances have slipped to the point where there can be no consensus on any positives today, whilst we all agree on all the negatives that stare us in the face. What to do that we haven’t done and discarded in the past to rid ourselves of our demons? Get rid of one corrupt elected government and you are stuck with a decade of dictatorship in which corruption only grows until you are back crying for the will of the people to prevail again, even if that means reinstating the same corrupt politicians at the helm with a fresh mandate to rule.
Reinventing the wheel every few years has clearly not worked. The army’s intervention in politics has only led to more fissures in society along ethnic, religious and provincial lines instead of bringing unity and cohesion in our collective conduct. It has created new ruling classes with seething appetite for corruption to fill up their coffers while the sun shines on them. It has weakened the armed forces’ professionalism and the ability to comprehend, let aside deal with the shifting sands of the threat posed to national security from external forces.
Who needs external enemies when we have become self-sufficient in creating armies of enemies from within, most with a divine mission to wage jihad on one another, or running over our borders in utter desperation to raise a spectre of horror in our neighbourhood? As Khaled Ahmed, a senior analyst deftly puts it, and one adds to it, living in the controlled, sterile environs of the cantonments, mentally or physically, has a debilitating effect on one’s thinking process.
The military mind thus has a limited intellectual capacity to cough up solutions outside the war arena; which is not to say that even in a war arena an inept military strategy will not lead to a sure defeat. When similar minds assign themselves the task of delving in civilian affairs and because they have power as a tool of enforcing their limited vision, the lethal combination can play havoc with society as it sets out to redefine civic norms, of which governance of a nation state is an inalienable part.
Faulty as our democratic dispensation is, faulty it will continue to be anywhere in the world unless some genius somewhere comes up with a hitherto non-existent Utopian system of representative governance, the process must go on unhindered. Whilst a military mind is seldom able to learn from the wrongs it commits, politicians, due to self-interest they find in being part of the ruling clique via the process that keeps sending them back to the voters every few years, are more likely to learn from the wrongs they commit.
If the process continues, democratic system overtime can reform itself to the point where it is both responsive to public demands and needs, as well as, accountable before the electorate. The same cannot be expected from a group of generals who define national interest and security prerogatives in complete isolation from public scrutiny. However, in their professional capacity the generals must continue to undertake that exercise and advise the government as and when such advice is sought, and must leave it at that.
Generals and politicians are both human and liable to err whilst making decisions. But because politicians have a greater capacity to learn from their faults and make amends due to the sheer nature of their self-interest and how it is achieved, it is they in Pakistan as elsewhere in an imperfect world, who must be trusted more than the generals for making decisions in national interest.
The democratic process must not be derailed in the hope of finding a divinely guided messiah who only exists in the imagination.
The writer is a member of the staff at Dawn Newspaper.
What is the point of this article? It has just stated the "general state of affairs" but has offered no solutions other than to let democracy run for it to right itself….eventually. But earlier in the article the gentleman states that we keep electing the same corrupt politicians back to office once rid of another military coup. Waste of time..
The real issue is what do people in Pakistan want? Are they not sick of the rot yet? Why has the Arab spring not energized the masses in Pakistan? Even Putin's Russia is now witnessing an upheaval. What are the real Pakistanis doing? If the Arab spring has taught us one thing it is that no matter how powerful the Army or how corrupt the regime, the will of the people is really the ultimate answer.
It seems it is out of their hands to do anything. Things have gone too complicated. What they really need is collective political will.
A very good post, but what will it achieve? Nothing.
The way forward for Pakistan is neither easy nor short. Pakistan has gone forward on a wrong path for so long that it will take at least as long to correct course. Any effort to this end must start with the basics. A lot of soul searching is needed.
You need to introspect. Pakistan has been uniquely unfortunate in not having any national leader with foresight and wisdom, either civilian or military. You need to think, think, think, think and think.
To start with just do two things. Firstly, give up all falsehood, and stick to the truth even if it is humbling. Secondly, become self-supporting. Do not depend on any foreign power. Stop being used.
And, if you can, rid yourself of hatred and fear of India.
Very true. Practical and bold article. I haven't seen such realistic and practical article in recent days. However, the general mass is still in illusion and misconception. We need to wake up and carve a realistic and practical policy which is in harmony with the rest of the world.
Thank you, Mr. Murtaza Razvi for an in depth analysis. I am impressed with your clear vision. Just wish there were more and more such sane voices in Pakistan. This is not to say that India is much better. There are flaws in our system too. But here in India democracy has reined for the whole period after independence. The defense forces were, and are still are, strictly under the elected governments. Religion does not have any official role in governance. Even though there are occasional communal flare ups, by and large people belonging to different religions co-exist peacefully. In my State of Kerala, Onam, mainly a Hindu festival, is celebrated equally joyfully by Christians and Muslims. Same is the case with Christmas and many Muslim festivals. The Indian Muslim population is almost the same as that of Pakistan. Three of our Presidents were Muslims. Our present Vice President is a Muslim. Actually, people of both India and Pakistan have a common heritage, common culture, history, languages, rivers and even common way of wearing dresses. It is time India and Pakistan stand united. May be I am a bit off track, but excuse me for my over enthusiasm to see India and Pakistan developing hand in hand. Together, we can become a great force in this world.
BRAVO!!! Again, a prehensile, honest,factual and courageous analysis of the desperate state of affairs in Pakistan.
Keep up, Dear Murtza. You and few others like you in DAWN are the only voices of sanity that Pakistanis can count on.
Hope your articles are being published in Urdu as well all over Pakistan. It is the poor masses who need your message more than people like me who are on the same wave length.
I agree to the fact that military dictatorship is not working for us, but we must also realize that even democracy is not working for us. It looks like people here are either very foolish or have some short term memory loss they choose same leaders again and again that takes country in negative direction.
A major portion the democracy in Pakistan may rightly be called feudalism where election is won by biggest & most powerful feudal, rest of it is colonialism where the bigger province rule over others and smaller part fall in hand of racist & nationalist. Intervention from judiciary, military & secret agencies makes the matter worse.
To have a better government we must think as one nation so that we can get rid of all these evils, rather than waiting for a bad system to correct itself.
Very good article. And good replies. Unfortunately with a leadership with severe reading disabilities, dont expect it to produce even a ripple of change in the mind set. With a tremendous brain drain because of lack of any opportunity, all that are left behind are rogues. Expecting these people to set things right is a utopian dream. These are the very people who let the problems fester and get bigger. The first step in setting things right is Good Governance and the supremacy of the rule of law. And an accountable Government and its functionaries. This is the very least that we expect a Democracy to deliver.
Its a good rebuttal of intellectual ideas! Military since long is out of the picture and an elected parliament which is at the helms of affair! I would like to quote few examples against the notion of "Military dogmas" which the author wants to sell across:-
The restoration of present judiciary was not through the long march but through the final pressure by the GHQ.
The NRO was a military dictators mistake; but has the political government implemented the Supreme courts verdict since 2009?
The memo case and Mr Haqqani's resignation are testament to military's indirect intervention in national interest and pressure on the government to formally inquire the case!
The present economic conditions, complimented with scores of corruption in every sphere of government institutions are clear examples for the wise!
I do not propagate the military rule; but at least stop lamenting the army for nothing in present times! The rumors of a coup and making the masses to turn from reality while criticizing the army for nothing is just to make the public wander in wilderness!
It is a wake up call for the people to question the present regime and their failures and please do not unnecessarily drag the defenders of the soil!!
The only solution lies in the last 3 paragraphs, of your article. Only people will learn with time but Military take only pushes us backward no matter how sincere. "The democratic process must not be derailed in the hope of finding a divinely guided messiah who only exists in the imagination."
Why are the comments missing?
Gist of this blog is that Pakistan does not have Plan B in case of any eventuality which is worrysome.
Members of the staff at Dawn Newspaper have been constantly giving us very practical, analytical and truly nationalistic article. What we, out side Pakistan, fail to understand that as to why all this good work falls on deaf ears and Pakistani people fail to see that " The democratic process must not be derailed in the hope of finding a divinely guided messiah who only exists in the imagination." Why do the Generals get popular support in spite of repeatedly failing the people's aspirations and expectations? Why every civilian government falls in such short times? Unless the Army is put in the barracks what is going to happen is unimaginable.
Thanks goodness there are a few rational minds in Pakistan. Keep up the good work Mr. Razvi and thanks to our Indian friends for taking interest and positive feedback. Tanveer (London)
I find better news about India in pakistani web sites and vice versa.
Nothing is better and timely what Murtaza Razvi has said in the given situation of Pakistan. Political process is like flowing dirty water which keeps on cleaning itself as it flows. Back in 1990’s decade if political process was not interrupted we would have completed several cycles of elected governments and our situation definitely would have been better than in what we are now. Politicians are the only who are accountable to us as their only power is our votes. Politicians know the art of possible and only toughest are suppose to survive as they need to learn by their mistakes. Let politicians run the country, let’s safeguard our democracy
Is not time to revert to the ways of the founder of the nation, Qaid-e-Azam? He wanted a peaceful, prosperous, secular and modern Pakistan.
Well said Shafi. Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s 11th September, 1948 speech to constituent assembly of Pakistan could have saved us to reach at present state of affairs. He spoke of an inclusive and impartial government, religious freedom, rule of law and equality for all. He also seemed to advocate the separation of church and state (reference Wikipedia)
ZAB had a window of opportunity to cut army to size in 1972 and make it subservient to political leadership. He lost a 'never to be avaliable again' chance. Instead he went for strenthening the military and consequently lost out on all fronts. In the process of self preservation, he messed up, paving the way for yet another martial law and the subsequent islamisation of the army, leading to unsustainable national jhadist policies and his daughter, son-in-law and mian sahib did nothing better. Sorry Pakistan.
what a waste of talent!
Sanity is a thing of the past and now only confined to Dawn. If only they read Dawn in Islamabad and Pindi….
Is not there any Pakistani left to comment on this blog?
Excellent point, but it falls on deaf ears as we are force fed on the mantra that the civilian government/democratically elected parties/dynasties will save us. The foreign devils will not save us, they will not educate us,they will not improve our infrastructure,our morals etc….they will loot, plunder,pillage and leave us destitute,blind,with no where to go but on posters like Somalia begging for UN aid to feed its dying culture and population. What we need is a new breed of people with no experience,no baggage,but with morals and self determination to lead us on a straight and narrow path towards the right road to self determination. We are morally corrupt,we sell ourselves,our culture,our children,our future so that we can go live in a foreign country on looted wealth. Remember if there is no country,then who are you but slaves to someone else in their country.Please wake up kick the old parties out,no more dynasties, no more business as usual.
This article is a a mix of introspection and analysis, but interesting enough for all that. A question for the author, though: he mentions only politicians and the military. Is there not a third entity in the mix – the religious leadership? To an onlooker it would appear that their case for running Pakistan would appeal increasingly to the poor.
As one who is trying to understand and learn, I would appreciate a revert from the author.
If you visit the Horn of Africa – particularly Somalia you can witness first hand the ability of human beings to survive – even in the harshest of socio-economic and political conditions. Pakistan will survive – may not be in its present form but survive it will. In fact the elite- the Generals and other influentials will not just survive they will thrive. Their assets and holdings in Pakaistan and overseas will grow AT THE EXPENSE of the bottom 99% of Pakistani society. All of Pakistani institutions are crumbling, the Military, PIA, PR, PSM, you name it, are all on a downward spiral and Pakistanis need to wake up and take stock if hey want to leave a better country behind for future generations. All institutions and individulas must support the elected government in power. The Military must be confined to its barracks. The maulvis to the mosques and religion must be practiced in homes and mosques only. Today there is killing everywhere, the Sunnis are out to get the Shia. The Punjabis are after the Baloch. The majority make life impossible for the minority communities. Can't Pakistanis see this? And as the author points out Pakistan is being isolated in he world. WAKE UP PAKISTAN AND TAKE STOCK!!! Let's have peace in the region. You have problems with the U.S., with India and just yesterday there was a huge public rally against Pakistan in Kabul. Why can't you see the writing on the wall? The Quaid is probably turning over in his grave. WAKE UP!!!
Dear Summat Bhalla
I very positively and honestly agree to you, Yes we need to wake up, Yes allowing democracy will help, Yes we have to look into our matter more positively , as pointed by author. But I seriously see current scenario as USA war against 'humans not ready to abide USA' using Pakistan's ammunition against Pakistan nation's consent and now, ultimately the Generals and politicians are agreeing to that. Now it's USA vs Pakistan war in covert with both sides forced to fight rather than willing to fight.
It's high time that we work collectively to secure and strengthen our infrastructure our institutions and let all institutions work in their respective boundary and we as PAKISTANIS identify our eternal enemy and we should also weak up to see that it has grown more and is eying to be future super power.
Good analysis…democracy as self-correcting mechanism. I agree. I can find many examples in India….BJP not coming to power in center, Lalu getting routed in Bihar, CPI debacle in Bengal, DMK defeat in TN are few such examples.