By the looks of it, the Romans considered civilisation as a way of living, an attitude of mind, of which the foremost principal was equal respect for men and their beliefs. They assessed the degree of civilisation of each nation not only by its laws or constitutions, or its literature or culture, or its wondrous edifices, but also by how much respect its society offered to its fellow man and his beliefs. By such a yardstick we are in the Stone Age, and regressing.

While our society is divided between the rich and the poor, the literate and the illiterate, the powerful and the weak, it is the desire of all, rich, poor, weak, strong alike, to have more of the necessities of existence regardless of the respect owed to their fellow man, which is troubling. And it is religion that deficient societies such as ours exploit to obtain for themselves an advantage.

Sadly, more wars have been fought, more turmoil generated and more lives lost in the name of religion than any other cause in world history. Religion has been used to motivate the populace even when power and lucre have been the goals. Muslim nations fighting each other declare their adversary kafir before they join the battle. This makes it easier for them to go on a killing spree which even genuine kafirs would balk at.

As Pakistan comprises (virtually) only Muslims, one would have thought that religion could not be made an issue or exploited as an instrument of social or political change. But because without religion no fight seems worth dying for, sectarian differences are bandied about as reason enough to kill. The length of the beard, the manner of the dress, the extent of covering of the woman’s body and the observance of rituals–all are made to count. And all this in a society where priests do not (as yet) rule.

Thus, today the Annual Confidential Reports of all government officers require the reporting officer to indicate whether the officer being reported on is a good Muslim. That Pakistan’s greatest hypocrite, Ziaul Haq, a declared accessory to a (judicial) murder, was responsible, says it all. In Pakistan, the murderer and his victim, the robber and the robbed, all seek His help, which is understandable, but what is not is how one of them expects to retrieve his property while the other make off with it at the same time, and all with God’s help.

Needless to say, in a society which places prime importance on a man’s religious obligations rather than those to his fellow men or the state, which is the case in Pakistan, turmoil will prevail. Especially if each sect believes that any other interpretation of the Sharia is heretical, nay, beyond the pale of Islam. Our clerics wrangle for religion, fight for it, and die for it, anything but live for it. They prefer to politicise Islam rather than make politics Islamic.

Today, those who would have us forcibly abandon our beliefs, and our interpretation of the Sharia, are the Taliban. One would have thought that because they were a small minority and because their beliefs were against the grain of our culture and ethos society’s response would have been swift, united and decisive. That was not the case. It required the Taliban to visit mind-boggling cruelties on the populace over a considerable period of time before the tide of public opinion finally turned against them. And this should have been a signal to our rulers just how badly they are perceived and how woeful their performance has been that antediluvian medieval bigots could be considered as rivals for public affection. And, more so, how deep is the malignancy that afflicts society and the danger that the malaise might become terminal unless drastic remedial measures are taken.

And yet, today one has to strain to see if anything is being done. Action, it is said, will furnish belief. However, the only action one sees is by the army. More must be done to reclaim lost hope in the areas affected by the insurgency. Those who teach and preach our Islam must return and relocate among the people. And teachers, health workers, civil servants and judges do the same. The unemployment and poverty which coexist with acts of murder, sabotage and public demoralisation, like the destruction of police stations, hospitals and schools that seem to have become the pattern with the same destabilising aims, must be thwarted. All of which is possible, but none of which will be, unless a completely new paradigm is in place.

With the civil government unable to cope, the key lies in transforming the role of the army from a mere deterrent force to one that will not only “clear and hold” but also “build.” Every home destroyed or damaged as a result of the fighting must be rebuilt. And while all this is going on the populace must be protected and secured against the depredations of the enemy, which only the army can ensure.

The effort must be a comprehensive one. Education makes us what we are. Not only has the fate of the country but also the power of government depended on control of the schools. Alas, this power has slipped from the grasp of successive governments.

Of the 33,000 madressahs which are functioning today, only 13,000 are registered. The rest operate largely unmonitored and unsupervised, free to teach what they wish, even though education is the soul of a society. Of course, not all of them are churning out potential recruits for the Taliban, but many do, because 11,000 students annually emerge from madressahs with nothing else but the ability to recite the Quran by heart. Their intellect “is perfectly and permanently preserved at the stage of boyhood.” Well-developed bodies and underdeveloped minds. In any case, as a great teacher once said, “What is the use of transmitting knowledge if the individual’s total development lags behind?” What, indeed, one may ask, is the point of being able to read if one is unable to distinguish what is worth reading?

In this regard, it is not that this government has no plan, it does not even know where to begin.

The crisis that Pakistan confronts today is far greater than any experienced in the past. We are witnessing a comprehensive and systemic failure of governance. Nor can we merely sit on our hands as the clock winds down to the predictable denouement. If we believe that things are bad, we have a duty to prevent them from worsening, regardless of the consequences.

The government claims that it is doing its best, but clearly its best is not enough. And neither the politicians nor the military can do it on their own. The government cannot tackle the extremists by itself as the police, though brave, are decrepit. And the military needs help to mobilise public support. The two must, therefore, come together. Perhaps one way to start would be the formation of a government of national unity.

The writer is a former ambassador. Email: charles123it@hotmail.com thenews.com.pk