VIEW: Pakistan for the 21st century —Shahid Ilyas

The Pakistan that belonged to the previous century, which sought legitimacy on the basis of Islam, in which dictators had a free ride, and in which the province of Punjab virtually meant Pakistan at the cost of the other component units, is no longer feasible

The world is changing fast. If resurrected, a man who died a hundred years ago will be shocked at how different the world looks from the one he had left behind. The economic, political, social and technological advances have been enormous. People are enjoying the fruits of unprecedented economic growth, technological innovations and democratic plurality. Gone are the days when feudal lords exploited the common man and dictators in centralised states violated people’s rights on one pretext or another. Ours is a world of a fast growing middle class that seeks economic and political rights. States can no longer sustain themselves by virtue of grand ideologies. They are left with a grave choice: either deliver on economic growth and political freedoms or vanish.

Pakistan is an example of this. The Pakistan that belonged to the previous century, which sought legitimacy on the basis of Islam, in which dictators had a free ride, and in which the province of Punjab virtually meant Pakistan at the cost of the other component units, is no longer feasible. It faces the proverbial choice between ‘to be or not to be’. Therefore, a process towards forging a new Pakistan for the 21st century is an urgent need of the day and it requires attention by both the leadership of Pakistan and the international community.

Before moving on and delineating the contours of Pakistan as it should be, having a quick look at our current situation will be instructive. The Pakistan that was founded in the last century sought to justify itself solely on the basis of Islam. It refused to recognise the fact that its constituent population had certain distinct characteristics, which needed to be taken into account in order to ensure political stability, territorial integrity and sustained economic growth. Bengalis were rebuffed by no less than the country’s founder who told them that the Bengali language was not going to be given the national status that they were fiercely demanding, and that only Urdu was going to be the national language. Another characteristic of the old Pakistan was a highly centralised state — often ruled by military strongmen — that was controlled by a Punjabi-dominated establishment in Rawalpindi/Islamabad.

The consequences of the old Pakistan are now crystal clear for us all to see. Half of it has long been lost, while the rest of it is crippled by insurgencies of different kinds. Ethnic strife is rampant, the country overall is overtaken by religious bigotry where Shias are killing Sunnis and vice versa, and religious minorities are hiding for their lives. The state dignitaries can hardly leave their offices for fear of assassination by terrorists. The country is in an economic stalemate, paralysed by energy and water crises and survives on foreign aid. Indeed, nothing offers a reason for optimism, and worst still is the fact that there is no light at the end of a long and dark tunnel. Light can probably be seen if we forge a new Pakistan for the 21st century, which is not likely to happen because of the well-entrenched forces in our state structures that thrive on the continuation of the same old Pakistan.

The question that remains is, what should the new Pakistan look like?

First, a very big and clear ‘no’ has to be said to those who seek to reach political power on the basis of religious faith. The only legitimate way of seeking political power should be to contest elections for public office on the basis of a clear economic and social programme (to achieve the promised goals), and without reference to any religious belief. The candidates should be obliged to seek political power on the basis of their understanding of issues that affect the day-to-day lives of Pakistani citizens, rather than invoking the day hereafter.

Second, all religious seminaries should be abolished and the state should take control of religious instruction. It should devise a system whereby the citizens receive religious instruction enough for their basic understanding of Islam, and which inculcates in them a profound love for all human beings, regardless of whichever religion they belong to. Nobody should have an opportunity to get a job on the basis of his/her knowledge of religion alone. Modern disciplines such as humanities, arts and sciences should constitute an integral part of the curriculum for those who choose to get religious education in state-run schools.

Third, the constitution of the new Pakistan should devolve all powers to the federating units except those pertaining to currency, defence, foreign affairs, and other subjects that are deemed by the genuine representatives of the federating units to be of such a nature that they could best be managed by the federal government to the benefit of all. Balochi, Punjabi, Pashto and Sindhi should be given the status of national languages. The practice of appointment of governors and civil servants by the federal government to the provinces should also be abolished.

The main roads and boulevards in the central and provincial capitals should be named after the heroes of the peoples of the federating units, and the provincial assemblies should be entitled to select and propose equal numbers of such heroes with their respective majority votes. Naming our places after eminent foreign personalities at the cost of our own idols is indicative of the lack of confidence in ourselves.

There are many other things that need to be done in order to make Pakistan relevant to the modern world. Briefly, these include civilian supremacy over the military, a rotating mechanism for high federal offices between the federating units, making the armed forces more inclusive by inducting more personnel from the smaller nationalities, a united province for all the Pakistani Pakhtuns, a province for the Seraiki-speaking population in Punjab, breaking the hold of Punjab and Karachi over different industries and spreading the same to the other federating units, non-interference in the affairs of neighbouring countries, and so on and so forth. The choice is ours: do we want to follow the same road which leads us to annihilation, or the one that includes a difficult u-turn, yet leads towards hope?

The writer is a freelance columnist. He can be reached at ilyasakbarkhan@gmail.com