PENSIEVE: A Pakistani dream —Farrukh Khan Pitafi

Let us think of a future where there is no fear of implosion, where even the poorest of the poor live above the line of basic subsistence. And where merit is rewarded open-heartedly and those with limited capacities are helped to reach their maximum potential

With so much going on in Islamabad, one is often seized by the mad desire to bring one’s own paradigm to the table. I most certainly have dreams for a Pakistan that our children will inherit from us. And then, of course, there is the sad reality of what we inherited from our elders. Perhaps, in order to talk of dreams, we have to appreciate the reality first.

What we have here is the product of decades of a deficit of imagination. Today our politicians are fighting among themselves while repeatedly vowing to continue for the strengthening of democracy. Courts are taking judicial activism to an altogether new level where, at times, you feel that they are also responsible for running the legislative and executive functions of the state. Our defence establishment is busy fighting the monsters that it once so lovingly honed. The media meanwhile is full of sound, nay noise and fury, signifying hardly anything. And it is hard to make any sense of our economy. Then there is the actual matter of our suffering humanity. Yes, we have already been marginalised by the everyday bomb blasts, terrorist assaults, power outages, water and gas shortages, ever-rising prices and news of people committing suicides.

Our relations with our neighbours are also at an all time low. We take one step forward and two steps back on critical issues linked to projects like the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline. Our Afghan policy is in shambles. Personally, I am not too hopeful about the peace process between India and Pakistan. China once was our great ally. It might still be but our failure to reinvent ourselves as an attractive and enduring partner may finally take its toll.

Meanwhile, our nuclear capacity and missile programme appear only as liabilities for we have so conveniently managed to get ourselves framed as proliferators. And things do not end here. In sports, while we are all going mad about the FIFA World Cup, it is painful to see that our sports crazy country is not even represented in Africa.

In this fog of war, taxes, heat and poverty, perhaps there is a need to revisit the premise on which this country was founded. Or at least the Pakistani dream that attracted so many to abandon their homeland in India in order to adopt the nascent state as their new home. A Pakistani dream, if you please. What was it? I know many would drag ideology and the Two Nation Theory into the discussion. But to me it was a dream of better opportunities and equitable economic environment. It is clear that we have done nothing to translate that dream into reality but perhaps we can still try.

If you ask me, I want a country driven by ethics. Here I draw a distinction between ethics and morality because, while ethics can be secular, morality is marred by ideational trappings. And I want an equitable future for our posterity. Is that even closely possible? Why on earth not? We are all human beings and, no matter how much cynics tell you that nothing will change, the truth is that even the worst among us have some sort of conscience. Gone are the days when the corrupt could think that, after committing crimes and making a lot of money, they could flee the country and stay in eternal bliss abroad. Pakistan is now equipped enough to drag back those who have assailed it once or more. I know in certain cases there is lack of political or at least public will and we have a lot of bottlenecks but still, Pakistan now has the capacity to fight such demons.

Let us think of a future where there is no fear of implosion, where even the poorest of the poor live above the line of basic subsistence. And where merit is rewarded open-heartedly and those with limited capacities are helped to reach their maximum potential. These things may seem impossible to you but remember the history books are full of examples where nations have cast away the yolk of slavish complacency and have managed to rid themselves of their major demons. Why go anywhere else? China once was known for its Opium wars. India too once was renowned for its crippling caste system. While some of these evils might still exist, they have been marginalised, at least to an extent.

Now let us talk of the solutions. If we were to begin reforming where would we start? The root of all evil is illiteracy and ignorance. Since a majority of our citizens cannot even read, they cannot keep abreast of everyday developments in the world, in their own field or even their own neighbourhood. I know the media is supposed to fill this gap but without any organised system to process such information, what people may internalise may well prove to be a double edged sword. So what we need above everything else — and I have been saying this for ages — is to impose an educational emergency. If I recollect properly, there is also a mobile company advertisement that shows an improved Pakistan courtesy better education. I wish we could pay some heed to this crucial sector.

Then there is a need to have a firm belief in institution building through democratic continuity. No matter how bad or dysfunctional, the democratic process can build institutions and this is where the supremacy of parliament or the legislature should be emphasised. And last but not least, we need to reform our madrassas and stop wincing at the word “reform”. If we can be brave enough to start confronting our weaknesses, even at a micro level, I am sure we can deliver a better Pakistan. Let us then wipe the slate clean, forgive every past folly and unite to strive afresh.

The writer is an independent columnist and a talk show host. He can be reached at farukh@gmail.com