The first ever political government
completes its much trumpeted five years and the political parties are preparing
for next general elections scheduled on May 11, 2013. During these five years,
the ruling coalition had complete freedom to make policies and run the
government. Yet, their achievements remain mundane at best. Most of the
legislations that were hurriedly passed by the elected representatives were
aimed at bolstering political image rather than creating lasting impact on the
well being of Pakistani people. Similarly, various development works and
schemes, barring a few, essentially focused on drawing political mileage. No sincere
efforts were made at the national level to address the grave challenges faced
by the country and alleviate the misery of common man. A review would be
essential to highlight challenges that the next government would inherit.
The recent terrorist attack on the Shia
community in the Abbas town, Karachi, has again reminded us of the painful
agony that the innocent people of Pakistan continue to face. It is continuation
of the recent spate of anti-state terrorist activities to further the gulf in the
society by instigating Shia-Sunni divide. The ongoing killing of the Hazaras in
Balochistan and the targeting of Shia population in Karachi is a case in point.
As if this suffering wasn’t enough, burning down the houses of Christian
community in Lahore compounded the misery and sense of insecurity amongst
religious minorities. There has been no letup in the targeted killings and
lawlessness in Karachi and Balochistan. Since the time we decided to side with America’s
(Global War on Terror) over the last decade, the country has been gripped by
violence unleashed by terrorists which has been cashed by the criminal elements.
Despite the resilient and brave fight by the Pakistan Army deployed in FATA and
Waziristan, especially the major reversal in Swat, the terrorists continue to
operate and target with virtual impunity in major cities.
The unabated wave of terrorism has further
dented the already damaged societal fiber of social harmony on religious and
ethnic lines. While there may be foreign influences involved in these perpetual
acts of terrorism, acute poverty, illiteracy and a general sense of insecurity add
to the deterioration matrix. Resultantly, Pakistan is being portrayed as a
lawless country which is a safe haven for terrorists. Understanding the gravity
of the situation is most vividly needed. Preserving our unity is a major task to
successfully navigate through this quagmire. While our ancestors got us
independence against heavy odds, we are morally bound to preserve our ideology,
sovereignty and national integrity. It seems that a scripted narrative is at
play to weaken the very foundations on which Pakistan stands. On the other
hand, opportunists
amongst our leaders are embroiled in their competition for power and influence.
The state has thus been at the mercy of individuals, whose only objective is to
cling to power, whatever it takes. The deepening differences among the
provinces and sub nationalities tend to decimate our notion of nationhood. The
viciousness of the situation has divided and scarred our people. One cannot help recalling the dismemberment of Pakistan’s
eastern wing in 1971 that caused a serious blow to our integrity. While because
of our nuclear capability a full-scale conventional war would be inherently
risky, sub-conventional warfare is being perpetrated by our adversaries. We
must express and sustain our resolve – never again.
To implement such a resolve, the
absence of a true and visionary leadership remains a vital challenge. We are
besieged with plethora of complex challenges that starkly stare us in the face.
Successive martial laws that put military dictators in power, have failed
badly. Besides highly fragile economy, major
challenges include an acute disunity as a
nation, confusion of identity, sectarian disharmony and a huge ethnic
divide
that cuts across the nation. Due to colossal mismanagement
of economy, rampant corruption, exorbitant increase in proportion of
foreign
loans, huge debt servicing, shortage of electricity and gas etc have
made the country vulnerable to further manipulation by foreign powers
and international financial institutions. To add to the complexity,
the dysfunctional institutions heralded by politicized or disillusioned
bureaucracy, less than perfect judiciary, rampant corruption and
incompetence
of our leaders impedes formulation of just and fair national policies,
judicious allocation of resources and above all the implementation
snags.
Despite our large natural reserves of
gas, copper and coal, huge human resource, vast coastline, weather, diversity
in terrain and an advantageous geostrategic location, we have never fully
capitalized on our advantages. We must learn to stand on our own and capitalize upon our strengths,
before the windows of opportunity start to close. This nation and its armed
forces have weathered many calamites. Only a resilient nation can survive what
we have passed through the last few years. The prevailing situation merits very
serious endeavors for developing cohesion within the country and to put it on the
path of prosperity.
A number of steps can be taken to achieve these
objectives. We should hold the resolve that led to the creation of Pakistan. We
must endure this tough test of time with strong will and determination. We
direly need sincere leadership chances of which are bleak at best. But it has
rightly been said that “when the going gets tough, the tough get going”, our choices
will make the difference. We must vote for change because drawing room talks
and criticism will not change anything. The political
and military leaders must jointly evolve a comprehensive strategy to counter
the menace of terrorism and religious intolerance in the society. The
political leadership should endeavor to embed our ethnic
and linguistic identities of Punjabi, Pakhtun, Sindhi, Muhajirs or Balochi merge
under a national banner. Print and electronic media can be used as effective
tools for promoting the national harmony. Recalibration of foreign policy with the
US, India and Afghanistan will be an important undertaking for the next
government. Post-May 2013 elections, huge challenges await the next government.
Pakistani people have placed very high hopes in the future leaders.
(The writer is a Ph.D
candidate at Quaid-i-Azam University. She can be reached at ayesharana1972@hotmail.com)
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