How low can we go?
FOR years, others and I have been writing about Pakistan’s low standing in the community of nations.
Thanks to a recent BBC survey on how popular various countries are around the world, we now know just how low we have sunk.
According to this poll, conducted among 24,000 respondents around the world, Pakistan is joint last, together with Iran. One place above us is North Korea, and fourth from the bottom is Israel. This, then, is the company we are keeping in the eyes of the world.
Many will reply to these rankings with a defiant “so what?” So plenty. The reality — whatever the overheated fantasies of armchair warriors and studio supermen — is that Pakistan is a wretchedly poor, violent and increasingly isolated country.
In short, we need all the help we can get to dig ourselves out of the hole we are in. To this end, we constantly hold a begging bowl in one hand. However, we also hold a gun in the other: occasionally it points at others, and the rest of the time it is held to our own head.
As the BBC survey shows, the rest of the world is getting tired of our posturing. In Washington, there is a growing crescendo across the political spectrum demanding a reduction or a suspension in aid to Pakistan. Several American readers have written to me expressing outrage over Dr Shakil Afridi’s 33-year prison sentence over his role in tracking down Osama bin Laden.
The fact that he was not allowed any legal representation, and was sentenced by a junior civil servant and not a judge, further erodes Pakistan’s stand that due process was followed. Clearly this was a kangaroo trial, and nobody is fooled by the pretence that Dr Afridi was actually punished for helping extremists and not the CIA.
Another reason Pakistan is in such bad standing abroad is the extortionate stand we had taken in our negotiations over the rate we want to charge Nato to transport supplies to Afghanistan. While it is perfectly reasonable to expect compensation for the damage to our roads caused by this increased traffic, jacking up the cost from $250 to $5,000 per truck was, by any standard, highway robbery.
And it is not just this 20-fold rise that caused anger in Nato capitals: by holding up military traffic for over six months, Pakistan has forced Nato to spend much more on transport. A period of recession and budget cuts is not a good time to blackmail countries that are supposed to be our friends and allies.
In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, our ambassador in Washington was Dr Maleeha Lodhi. When asked what Pakistan would demand in return for its help to the United States, she replied, in effect, that in a crisis you don’t “nickel and dime” a friend. This Americanism refers to the price gouging US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta recently accused Pakistan of.
$18bn in aid later, Americans see us as not only helping the Taliban, but also seeking to profit from the war in Afghanistan. Even friends of Pakistan such as John Kerry and Hillary Clinton are appalled by the hysterical level of anti-Americanism they see in our media, as well as in the actions and statements of supposedly responsible politicians and officials.
But Pakistan’s image abroad began taking a battering long before the recent deterioration in our relations with the US and Nato. From our support of Islamic extremism to our appalling treatment of women and minorities, the world has seen a country tearing itself apart in the name of religion. A. Q. Khan’s nuclear proliferation activities certainly did not help. Worse, we are widely viewed as the epicentre of Islamic militancy, training and motivating foreigners to commit mayhem in their own countries.
Our paranoid worldview has convinced vast numbers of Pakistanis that the rest of the world is out to get us. But what most foreigners would really like to happen is for Pakistan to just somehow vanish, together with all the headaches it is causing the world.
I might have missed Pakistani reactions to the BBC survey, but I don’t recall seeing any soul-searching over the rankings. Were they discussed in our interminable TV chat shows, or did our anchors just ignore these damning findings? If so, this shows our indifference to what others think of us.
But we ignore world opinion to our peril: as dangers — most of them of our own making — multiply, and our economy sinks further into a black hole, we desperately need more, not less, external help. Although our generals are the biggest hurdles in evolving a healthy relationship with the West, they are also the ones who are most addicted to US aid. Without modern American equipment and spare parts, they cannot mount a credible defence against the vast Indian war machine that they so fear.
As we are witnessing, our hostile attitude can cost us dear. Already reductions and restrictions are being written into US aid. And this is only the beginning. After Western forces have withdrawn from Afghanistan in 2014, we will have virtually no leverage in Washington. If Obama will not see Zardari now because of our stance over land routes, do we really think he will even pick up the phone to talk to a Pakistani president after 2014?
In all probability, our generals calculate that the US needs Pakistan to allow an orderly withdrawal of equipment and in the coming negotiations with the Taliban. Again, they might be overplaying their hand. Just as they thought they could force an apology from Obama over the Salala incident by blocking Nato supplies, they feel our cooperation is essential for Western forces to pull their heavy equipment out.
The reality is that such intransigence will cause unnecessary bitterness in Washington. We must remember that militarily and economically, we are minnows compared with the American behemoth. Indeed, I was appalled to read an article by a retired ambassador on this page recently in which he casually discussed the possibility of a nuclear exchange with the US.
This offhand comment tells us why we are at the bottom of the BBC’s popularity survey.
The writer is the author of Fatal Faultlines: Pakistan, Islam and the West
irfan.husain@gmail.com
"countries that are supposed to be our friends and allies"
I think this is an important sentence to understand. We are not angry at others because they are not giving us enough "AID" but because we do not see them as our friends, and rightly so. Our current disaster of a government is in place thanks to the handy work of the then US government and our Military. Both of these need to stay out of the next elections to allow a government to evolve the the Pakistani people can call their representative. As for the military they are busy building Golf courses and are the most incompetent on the face of this earth, lets be honest here what happened on May 2nd is a great source of shame for the military on many accounts. Lets work together and forget about any help from others to dig ourselves out of this hole. The first step is a change of government and ishaAllah that is coming next year (hopefully not NURA LEAGUE though). Pakistan Zindabad.
Good article as usual
Correct observations and sane approach.
Americans sooner or later have to realize that Pakistan is not a free meal. It is an independent country which can and which should decide on the price of any facility it is providing.
Very well said. Obviously Pakistani women are wiser, have more intelligence, awareness, and courage to see the truth than their male counterparts. Thanks.
Irfan ,
I live in the US and even from here I get suffocated when I see Pakistani anchors exploiting human tragedies for their ratings or to be giving soft exclusive interviews to a total clown. Each day I get more convinced that creation of Pakistan was a big mistake as it gave an entire country to an ideology that Muslims some how can live together with non Muslims . Muslims can't even live with each other .
Sir,
Please do not misunderstand me but I think it happened for good. If there there had been no partition then the energy of the state would have been directed to maintain peace and there would have been no resources left for improvements.
The mistakes made in the early years of Pakistan are the cause of the problems we face today. I would advise every person who wishes well for Pakistan, to read it's history from 1947-1958.
Great Article..Spot on. Some questions though:
1. Do the vast majority of non-English speaking Pakistanis ever read/discuss things ike this?
2.. Why does discussion (see comments) – even among the English speakers/writers of Pakistan – have to involve religion?
3. The big one….do the ISI/Military/Political elite care?
It will be interesting to see. You asked: "How low can we go?" Well, we are looking at a nation that is fallen in a ditch, but hasn't stopped digging. . . Only time will tell.
The mindset that thinks that saying "Allah Hafiz", instead of "Khuda hafiz", makes one a good Muslim, is one of the causes of Pakistan's decline.
Thank you Sir, You hit the nail on the head. I was further informed (by people of this mindset) that the reason behind this thinking is that Allah is Arabic whereas Khuda is Persian. Hence being a Muslim one should only say Allah Hafiz….good to know…apparently now even God has a language! Sorry state of affairs., indeed.
The great error Pakistan made in the eyes of the world was hiding the wanted outlaw Osama bin Laden. At the same time the international media picks up on every acid attack on women, every murder of a daughter by her father, every stoning while the merry-go-round of the religiously insane just keeps spinning.
Ibrahim al-Buleihi said, "We sharply distinguish between Islam in itself, and what people do in it's name."
+
The problem is that the non Muslim World cannot see that. They do not believe you.
The law cannot allow murder. The West sees that in Pakistan murder is sanctioned.
God knows well that how long this downward journey of this country and nation will continue. Who is responsible?Either people in power or the Nationas a whole. We desperately need a liberator. A sincere and capable leader, who could lead the nation towards right direction. This is unfortunate that we remained deprived of true,eligible and responsible leadership. Now this is the high time for us to choose honest people to govern this country.
Brilliant article ! The Gun and the Pulpit rule Pakistan, all Institutions exist at their convenience.
Right from childhood I have seen that Pakistanis have a 'feeling of grandiosity', be it from cricketers to bureaucrats, from politicians to military men and to some extent some portion of the general population… I used to wonder that they give more importance to intolerance than tolerance, to hatred than love, to violence than non-violence..I believe that a country is as good as its people.. the people should have the mentality of love and peace..not kill other religion people and become intolerant..
Mr Hussain keeps forgetting that it is by toeing the US line that pakistan got into this mess in the first place.Never did we see a nation so pliant to the whims of foreign powers than Pakistan.Raymond Davis was deported with full protocol.Did that help improve Pakistan's image?On the contrary,we sunk to even lower depths.At that time,all Mr hussain could do was to bleat feebly that what would we have done had an arab sheikh been in place of raymond davis._So Mr hussain,I think you will understand if we don't take you too seriously.
Well said Mr. Irfan Hussian. your writing is commendable and you have spoken the truth. Would have been better if you wrote this for an URDU daily where atleast 50% people in Pakistan would have chance to read. One question :
What are you doing in UK when Pakistan badly needs people like you who are level headed and truthful.? For your information , I always read your article and I am not a Pakistani either.
Mr Hussain,
Less of how bad things are in Pakistan and more of who really is responsible for its degenaration. It is so very easy for ex pats like you to talk about how bad things can get without contributing anything conrete to the problem.
we are suffering from intellectual and moral bankruptcy thanks to the establishment and the armed forces. Irfan, keep up the great work and persevere to wake up the nation.
Mr Hussain forgets 'Higher than Mountains , Allwether Friend China'. There is no need to worry, becoming another North Korea is an option.
Again and again, Irfan Husain proved to be one of the rarest intellectuals which Pakistan desperately needed.
You know nothing about him…
Mr Irfan needs to explore the role of Pakistan's dominant elite in this scenario, especially from Zia and the so-called 'jihad' in Afghanistan to the confused and directionless current PPP regime!
It is a marvellous article – as usual of Irfan Bhai. We can come to one conclusion : to point out things like this and alike is like "Bhens ke samne been bajana".
Isn't Pakistan independent enough to decide on the price of something it is selling? If someone cannot afford to buy, should better find an alternative.
Exactly. That is ransom.
hehehehe
Thank goodness the US is talking about stopping the aid. All aid has done is to benefit the fat cats rather than the deserving poor. It's about time we started grappling with our problems, rather than have others identify them and impose external solutions. They may be brilliant in concept but have they worked? We've not really owned them.
But it's not going to happen. The uneasy hypocritical relations will persist. The army will continue to run foreign policy, it will continue getting the latest in weaponry. And the deep state will continue to nurture the mullahs.
Excellent and very sobering analysis…
@ Noor Khan
Who cares about you personal life, do what you like, and please do not blow your trumpet in the space meant for reflection and analysis….