Pakistan - The Way Forward

Allama Iqbal said:

“In every age this alone marks a vibrant nation that every morn & Eve its future changes”

I asked my self, what really is the way forward for Pakistan?

The West is forcing Pakistan to reinstate democracy so I asked, Is Democracy the Solution – The so-called democracy which infact was an elected dictatorship and which had turned into a Mob rule! Or the Democracy that was only true for less than 10% of the so called Elitists – Or perhaps that excellent western concept of a democratic system which has evolved over centuries, the system that is well developed and well tested and that no doubt works well for the West. But aren’t we forgetting something here? That the Western System that is being forced on Pakistan and its people where the majority of people can’t even define democracy!

What I really mean is that a Western System can hardly be a solution for people who are not only different by Religion, but also their Culture; Morals, Ethics and their Socio-political and Economic problems are all completely different to that of the West.

This Global approach to a System does not address the uniqueness of Pakistan and its Social, Economic and Political problems and the challenges that it faces today.

If we ask a Pakistani belonging to the masses who is probably slaving in a carpet shop or laden bent-backed as a porter struggling through the markets that does he prefer a democratic System of government, he will probably say – “I bloody don’t care..!!”

Imagine if you were struggling to survive would it really matter to you what kind of system should there be? Of course not. But what you would like to know is that what the system is going to do for you.

So I discarded Democracy and asked my self, perhaps Dictatorship is the answer to the dream of Pakistan. Well Pakistan has seen three military dictatorships since its existence, but unfortunately they have failed to give a stable platform for its growth and progress. To be fair we did see some signs of National stability during the military rule, but at the expense of International relations.

Well perhaps Islam is the Way forward? The most established political parties in Pakistan wanting to turn Pakistan into a “True Islamic State” have so far failed to secure a decent number of seats in the last two Elections.

Well then what is the right way ahead?

My personal favorite is what currently taking a positive shape in Pakistan – A supervisory military rule which is clearly a strong authoritative institution and that can see through a Task Force – Technocratic style of government to stabilise the gigantic national and International challenges that Pakstan faces today.

This supervised democracy has the right mix of apparently sincere Military authority with a civilian Task Force government and courts.

It may well be that Pakistan needs more than anything, a benign autocrat with a steady hand and the ability to make swift decisions for the common weal. Before we pass any value judgements against General Musharraf; should we not assume, at least for enough months to perceive a difference, that Musharraf is a man of honest purpose and not just another weak and greedy politician about to scrape what has left at the bottom of the honey pot?

Any change is difficult to implement. Corruption and looting is so deep rooted in Pakistan that a superficial cure is hardly going to make a difference. It’s the roots that needs to be cured and in some cases re-planted..! Corrupt bureaucrats need to be jolted out of their comfort zones and bad habits. Military is the only institution that can bring about such a change and has the ability to implement that change.

Although it seemed a good way forward to me, but it didn’t stop me from questioning my self yet again…Is that really the way forward?

For us to simply sit and wait for things to go wrong again so that yet again we can blame others? I think not.

Lately I came across numerous Pakistanis who were very despondent with the happenings in Pakistan, they were somewhat angry with Pakistan, and they had their very valid reasons. They were angry probably because of what they saw and heard or perhaps due to their experiences when dealing with the authorities in Pakistan.

And of course the Western media who has nothing positive to say about Pakistan doesn’t help.

Yes I admit Pakistan has a lot of problems, but let me give you an analogy. If a part of your body is infected you don’t simply cut it off and throw it away- No - you try and cure it - you try and fight the infection. Likewise consider that the body of Pakistan has some infected parts and you being Pakistanis and being part of it has a duty not to simply detach yourself and think that others will solve it and disown Pakistan.

Its YOU who have to take charge, take ownership, before things go wrong again. I want to make a pledge, please don’t disown Pakistan, but fight against those corrupt politicians who are a disgrace to the dream of Pakistan, “the land of pure”, that our forefathers saw and believed in. It’s these social evils that we as Muslims need to Jihad against.

So the way forward is YOU – the way forward is us the young generation, who are sincerely concerned about the well being of our country, our identity and most of all our existence as Pakistanis.