Chaos under the heavens

The last few years have seen our nation being bestowed with several not-so-flattering epithets. Either we are ‘the most dangerous nation’ or ‘the most resilient nation’. We annually grace the honour rolls of the failed states index as well as the most corrupt index.

Sometimes, amidst the inexorable slide, good news comes out and we see our stock market being declared the best performing market. However, such good nuggets are fleeting, and the reality is that Pakistan is sinking and action is needed.

The last few years have left the country reeling. Al-Qaeda, the TTP and other extremist organisations have massacred 20,000 Pakistani citizens along with 6,000 Pakistani soldiers. Three thousand people have lost their lives due to drone attacks. Karachi, our financial hub, has been paralysed by mafia gang wars and violence.

Approximately 2,000 Pakistani citizens belonging to the Shia sect have been mowed down since 2001. Pakistan’s minorities are at their most vulnerable and sectarian intolerance is at its peak. Violence in Balochistan and lawlessness in other parts continue to exact an additional toll on the collective nerves of the nation.

The death knell has sounded for even cricket, our favourite pastime – thanks to the 2009 incident involving the Sri Lankan team. International institutions have estimated huge losses for our economy due to the lawlessness being faced by our citizens on a daily basis all across the country.

In the face of so much killing, we have become increasingly paranoid, confused and numb. If ignoring this violence wasn’t enough, the levels of corruption reached in the last few years really took the cake. According to the previous NAB chairman, Fasih Bokhari – appointed by the PPP government – Pakistan was being ripped apart and looted to the tune of Rs8 billion a day.

At a time when the nation was facing an existential threat from extremism and militancy, our rapacious elites and interest groups were busy devouring the weak, hobbling state of Pakistan. The governance levels attained in the tenure of the previous government were so astronomically bad that one still can’t reconcile oneself as to how it was even possible for our rulers to be so callous and blind to the situation.

They either believed that Pakistan was the gift that could keep on giving or they just didn’t give a hoot. When the sitting prime minister of a country tells a foreign media channel that those who wish to leave the country are welcome to do so – one sort of gets an idea of the thought process.

And this corruption was not just confined to our political elites. Corruption has aggressively penetrated each and every one of us.

The security apparatus for a country like Pakistan, which faces so many threats – both externally and internally – needs to get its act together. Having lost so many brave jawans and officers, the institution needs to maintain its moral high ground not through suppression of the truth or by projecting false perceptions of itself but by leading by example and introducing greater self-accountability.

An institution that has rightfully prided itself on the notions of merit must not rest simply on past laurels. The best way to defeat a conspiracy is by correcting one’s own weaknesses. Conspiracies cannot succeed when there are no weaknesses left to exploit. Pakistan’s survival depends on this; the sacrifices of so many cannot be in vain.

The lower judiciary has to be reformed if we want to stand even a chance of preventing extremists with their notions of ‘speedy justice’ from filling the vacuum. Though independent, different organs of the state need to work together instead of becoming competitors or rivals. Accountability is needed – but self-accountability is much more important before accountability of others can work. Sometimes letting the heavens fall can leave everyone worse off. Pakistan has to come first.

The year 2013 promises to be the year of change. Politically we have already witnessed general elections with a historic turnout as well as a peaceful subsequent transfer of power. The incumbent ruling coalition, led by the PPP, was dealt a massive electoral blow. A new political force, in the form of the PTI, has emerged on the scene and has been handed the tough challenge of governing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The PPP has a chance to go back to the drawing board. The PML-N has been given an unprecedented third opportunity to deliver on its promises. There will be two new heads of our most important state institutions as well.

There can be no honeymoon period for anyone because the nation is in a bad state. Repairs can’t happen overnight but the direction of the nation can be reset and restored. The free-for-all that was witnessed during the previous regime can never happen again. An effective accountability body – NAB – and other checks and balances need to be put in place so that such things can be stopped from happening on such a scale in future.

Developing a robust counterterrorism policy with consensus from most stakeholders is the need of the hour. The blood of Pakistani citizens has to be valued more. Intolerance and hate have to be checked, challenged and reversed.

Improving relations with our neighbours and the lone superpower should be on the agenda. There is no way the world’s sixth-largest population with one of the largest youth population can afford to be in a perpetual state of hostility with the world. If Pakistan and its citizens come first, then full engagement with the world is a must. We already have millions of brilliant ambassadors in the shape of expatriate Pakistanis who would gladly do the bidding of the Pakistani state for such an endeavour.

For the new federal government, the vision of Pakistan as an Asian Tiger is a good one. However, they must seek not to repeat the mistakes of the 1990s.

Deregulation and privatisation of loss-making state enterprises is the need of the hour but this must be done in a smart and transparent way by taking the nation and stakeholders into confidence. Without competent and empowered regulators, deregulation will end up in a disaster.

Cronyism and growth of personal businesses on state dime and through nepotism must be avoided. The new leadership of Pakistan need not feel daunted. Sincerity to Pakistan and its citizens is what is required. Every crisis is an opportunity. Our multitude of crises provides the perfect cover for bringing about meaningful and structural change. As Chairman Mao so eloquently put it all those years ago; “there is great chaos under the heavens – the situation is excellent.”

The writer is a director at a consulting firm. He tweets @jerryshah. Email: jarrar.shah@gmail.com