Cripples, schemers and bigots

Pakistan has always been a bit of an international headache, hasn’t it? What with its meddling in Afghanistan, its problems and wars with India, the nurturing of terrorists and terrorism within its borders (and of course, its eventual export), and those bloody nukes, we’ve always been a bit of a bother.

And for the longest time, the world at large has been wondering what to do with us. They’ve tried everything sans annexing the territory. Both the carrot and the stick have failed miserably in getting us on what they think is the best path for us. Organisations and think tanks are devoted wholly to figuring out a) what to do with Pakistan and b) once we have a plan, how to get the Pakistanis onboard and actually get them to follow through?

And this is just on the international scene. Internally, Pakistan, the great bastion of Islam, has always been a constant failure in vision and planning. Save for rare (and temporary) spurts of growth and development, the country has generally been on a rapidly downward slide, although every successive government (and dictator) has promised to take us out of the hole dug by its predecessors.

Take the current government as an example. Brought into office on lofty promises of resolving the power crisis and tackling the menace of terrorism, the PML-N government has not been able to take even baby steps in the right direction.

As for resolving the energy dilemma, the government is busy taking over prime agricultural land in the heart of Punjab as sites for its upcoming solar power projects, so once they give you a few megawatts, it will be at the cost of putting food for your family on the table. Not to mention the environmental hazards.

And it doesn’t end here, does it? One-sided religious intolerance is at an all-time high, with Shias bearing the brunt of it. Reports suggest that in 2014 alone, over 600 Shias have lost their lives in what can only be called systematic genocide with the state looking the other way.

Let’s throw in the law system as well, while we’re at it. Blasphemy laws and issues around them have already led to many being persecuted, and today it is the weapon of choice as media groups go for each other’s jugular. Whatever the outcome of this bout of cannibalism, blasphemy accusations remains a loaded machine gun any one of us can use to take someone else’s life. As long as we’re from the majority.

One also cannot omit the learned Council of Islamic Ideology, which has the unenviable role of advising the government on matters of religion. But which version of this religion are we talking about here? Anyway, in the eyes of the CII, under-age marriage is permissible for young girls and that, by and large, the Muslim Marriage Law of 1961 is – you guessed it – un-Islamic.

What this means for child rights, specifically the girl child’s rights, and their future as adults is horrifying. Just take a look at your nine-year-old daughter or sister or cousin. She’s probably watching a cartoon on TV or playing with a set of dolls. Now, imagine her morphed into a child bride and being led into a bedroom. There also exists a parallel system of justice in the panchayats and the jirgas that dole out verdicts of gang rape and murder to settle cases of love, property and honour. How utterly humane.

Let’s not forget polio. The world’s moved on from this horrible and utterly unnecessary disease, yet here we are, murdering those who come knocking on our doors to give our children the two drops they need to ensure that they’ll be able to walk, run and fly. And in the off chance that we don’t murder these brave men and women, we occasionally, and very literally, let loose our hounds on them.

This is Pakistan today. Sure, the eternal optimist can point out a handful of exceptions, but a few good men/acts, scattered across 67 years, do not make a nation – nor a history.

Pakistan is well on the road to becoming a nation of cripples, schemers and bigots, and there seems no way to change direction.

What now?

Recently, some big brains of the civilised world got together, in a beautiful European city, to find the answer to the exact same question. And after a few days of deliberation, came up with zilch, zero, nothing. Pakistan is beyond help. And then it dawned on the participants that we don’t have to worry about this country, we just need to distance ourselves, and god willing, it will take care of itself.

And the eternal optimist wakes up again – yes, yes, Alhamdulillah, we will take great care of ourselves. Pakistan will rise from the ashes to take its rightful place at the apex of the world.

No. That’s not what they meant, but thank you for a glimpse of the grand delusions you harbour. What they meant was that Pakistan is fast headed for an internal collapse and it’s best to keep a safe distance, redesign the relationship on formal business terms, and let the region bear the brunt of the inevitable implosion.

Of course, it’s not that simple. One can’t simply turn a blind eye to Pakistan. Or can they? The time that this question is answered is arriving sooner rather than later, and to be honest I don’t want to find out.

The writer is a media consultant and trainer.  He tweets @aasimzkhan, Email: aasimzk@gmail.com