I can see Pakistan rise once more
It has been long, but I can sense it again. After years of despair, I feel optimistic, even bullish, about Pakistan.
Why a sudden change in perspective, you may ask. It’s all about the context.
The recent ruthless murders of innocent civilians in Beirut, Nigeria, and Paris; the harassment of public intellectuals and artists in India; the murders of bloggers in Bangladesh suggest that these are hard times all around.
But, why then the optimism?
Recent developments in India have something to do with it. A climate of fear and intimidation, fostered by the ruling BJP, has made me realise that even during the darkest days of late General Zia’s dictatorial regime, labour leaders, poets, politicians, and the left-leaning intellectuals were not afraid. General Zia closed down dissenting publications because he failed to intimidate them otherwise.
It's not the same in India. It pains me to see that a cultural shift is taking place where even the intellectuals are hesitant to express their opinions. Many have strong words to say about the state of their nation, but only off-the-record.
A rising tide of intolerance can also be witnessed in Bangladesh where intolerant individuals and mobs have hacked dissenting bloggers to death. Even publishers are not safe, Faisal Arefin Deepan was murdered in November.
So, why am I bullish on Pakistan?
Could it be that I am deliberately ignoring evidence of intolerance, press censorship, and violence? Or that there has been a shift in the state of affairs in Pakistan?
I present my case below.
Let’s start with the terrorist violence that until recently was crippling Pakistan’s economy and society. I believe that the numbers suggest a significant decline in violence.
While we can debate what led to the decline, we cannot dispute that the frequency and scale of violence have significantly dissipated.
According to the data maintained by the South Asia Terrorism Portal, I see a 40 per cent decline in terrorism-related civilian deaths from January to October in 2015 than for the same period in 2014.