Oh Myopia, Thy Name is Pakistan

Pakistan`s geostrategic location means that external factors will continue to impact the country`s foreign policy. Many of these external factors are beyond Pakistan`s control.

The best that Pakistan can (and should) do is to brainstorm a series of scenarios in its immediate neighbourhood and accordingly propose strategies to deal with those scenarios. By staying one step ahead, Pakistan can be proactive instead of being reactive about international events.

Basically we need to ask questions like...

External Events:
What if Karzai is assassinated and Afghanistan slips into anarchy?
What if a counter-revolution occurs in Iran in the next 10 years?
What if the rift between France and US becomes wider next year?
What if Vajpayee suffers a stroke and is replaced by a Hindu hardliner in office?
What if communal strife erupts in India in the next 5 years?
What does each of these event mean for Pakistan`s economy, foreign policy and security? What is the likelihood of each of these events happening in the next 5 years? Next 10 years?
How should Pakistan hedge its bets?


Internal Events:
What if Musharraf is assassinated?
What if a water crisis occurs in the next 5 years?
What if sectarian strife erupts in the next 5 years?
Is there a risk mitigation plan for each of these risks?


The US State Deptt routinely performs such studies, not only for the US but for all countries of the world. This is the only way a state can formulate a long-term vision that also includes room for unexpected events.

SameerJB # 10

Good comments on the article.

Iqbal Sahib`s article is well written and is full of sincerity. But we all come to the Chowk with some pre-conditioning, subconciously, out of the system that we have grown up.

And many fuzzy ideas get quite cleared here.

The Mughals ruled India - they just had happened to be Muslims. Just as the British ruled India - and they happened to be Christians.

There were Rajas, Maharajas, Ranis & Kings who ruled the roost. And then there were the Pundits, Sufis, Gurus & Rabis who lived in their own world.

It is important to understand this historical context.

This is a well-written article primarily for the consumption of Pakistanis in Pakistan with carefully testing the limits of freedom of expression. But it is nothing chowk readers and people writing exclusively for this website. I agree with the myopic vision part but disagree with the historical part near the end of the article starting with, ``The second element of myopia has its roots in the specific historical experience of the...`` in second to last paragraph.

He traces the causes of the creation of Pakistan in classical Pakistani two-nation theory, first chapter in any book approved by the Pakisani establishment. That paragraph kills the whole thesis of myopic vision. The history based upon that paragraph will automatically lead to poor decisions no matter one calls them myopic or not. Islam and Indian Muslims as one people together can never satisfy the demography of Pakistan as it was proven in the creation of Bangladesh. It is unreal and shallow. The building on weak foundations will remain weak no matter what decsion about the living room, bedroom, bathrooms and furniture are made. It is about time after 56 years to let people know the truth and build Pakistan upon the deep truths.

The second sentence, ``The existential situation for Muslims of the subcontinent was traumatic in the period beginning from 1857 till partition.`` is absurdly false and a myth. Muslims situation prior to 1857 was as traumatic as one can possibly think except for the people associated with court and the military. The talk of 700 Muslims rule is garbage. It was a rule by people who happened to be Muslims of central Asian origins. Four out of six major groups of Pakistani Muslims, Bengalis, Panjabis, Sindhis and Balochis were ever represented or benefited in any way from this so-called Muslim rule. Only few elite Pashtuns and Upite/ Nihari Muslims should have any regret for the loss in 1857.

There has not been a single Panjabi or Bengali famous personality during this period. Punjab was basically Lahore and Multan with sufis keeping the lid on masses for any uprising in rest of Panjab. The four years of NS government or BB goverbment have more landmarks in Panjab than the 700 years rule of Muslims rulers - Badshahi Masjid, Three forts, one Shalimar garden and one Hiran Minar. There is nothing in Sindh except some palaces and mosques in Thatha.

The rise of whatever Panjab, Sindh, Bengal or Balchistan today owes it to post 1857 period than pre-1857 period. Had it not been for the British empire, the areas called Pakistan would have been most backward areas of subcontinent. Please blame where it lies and give the credit where it is due. Thanks god for 1857 that most of my family members are educated, have jobs and living peacefully because they are panjabis. Lyall alone has done much more good than M B Qasim, Ghaznavi, Ghauri, Abdali combined and how we reward him? By eliminating his name from the memory and changing Lyallpur to after an Arab King.

Most muslims lost nothing from the loss in 1857 because they never had anything left unplundered to lose. These people showed no enthusiasm for Pakistan for decades until they have no choice left during late forties. It is time for Pakisyan to redognixe these realities of the history of most of the Pakistanis and then make it a republic instead of Islamic republic which has only harmed us during 700 years and since transfer of power in 1947. We, the people of Pakistan, should distance and abhor the history of exploitation by Muslim invaders because it was a rule not by us.

Once this is popularized, taught and believed, only then the myopic and Pakistanis transnational thinking can be changed into pure pakistani thinking in the best interest of Pakistan only. It will also lower militarism and yearning for good old golden rule of Islam when only dust flew all across the land now called Pakistan. The fundamentals are wrong, leading to wrong curriculum, leading to wrong indoctrination, leading to wrong split loyalties between ummah and Pakistan and fills hate in the hearts about look alikes, same language speaking, same culture practicing who happen to be non Muslim neighbors.

Get the record straight before strightening the system.

Iqbal,
Great article! I was glad to read it as it agreed with my views about Pakistan and its leadership. You must read Ayaz Amir (Dawn)`s article on `halwa from heaven` that drops periodically to enable Pakistan get by with its immediate problems.

It would be great if Pakistan would just forget about India, strategic depth in Afghanistan, trying to be a leader of the Islamic world etc and focus on its internal issues for a decade or so.

Interesting portrayal of the fundamental dilemma that Pakistan enthusiastically created for itself without the help of anyone else!!!
But limiting it to general myopia is begging the question.
Pakistan direly needs to recognize the error of its leaders who starting with Jinnah of later years - note, later years, by that I mean after he had returned from England - sowed the foul seeds.
First things first. BEGIN endorsing the unity of South Asia - if want to insist on euphemisms. TREAT people equally irrespective of your perceptions of what India is doing!! Learn what is right. And the right is - Justice, Equality, Fairness AND Inclusivity. To the extent India is ahead of Pakistan is due to what India has achieved in contrast to Pakistan in these areas.
Why Hindu sects are not fighting like Shias, Sunnis, Ahmedias and other dozens of sects? It is because India under the guidance of Gandhi and Nehru treated all Indians as India`s. The aim of Govt and Society, except for nuts like Thackerray, was to improve the lot of Indians. Period.

A nice article indeed.

However, long term planning seldom works in Pakistan. I know this for sure in the economic policy arena. Except for the first 5-year plan introduced by Liaqat Ali Khan`s cabinet, Pakistan has failed to meet the targets of every 5-year economic plan. But that doesn`t mean Pakistan`s economy didn`t progress. It did, but through several medium-term programmes.

It is better to have open-ended, broad goals for the long term... and then formulate specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-specific (SMART) goals for the medium term. After all, these are more manageable and predictable.

IMHO, Pakistan just needs to get the political environment stable. This is the missing ingredient in all our plans.

Thank you T for making me feel at home. I came to CHOWK for stoking reactions and testing the depth of my convictions. I look forward to people holding up mirrors to me, distorted or clear ones. There is nothing so damaging for the mind as basking silently behind your own written words. I certainly intend to be responsive.

I had sandwiched your point about the bane of theological influence somewhere in the article, innocuously. I agree with you it plays a dominating role in our fatalism. I have learned that irrational and superstitional beliefs can best be treated with exposure of their roots rather than crude chopping on the top, which makes them grow more profusely (smile)

Thanks for welcoming me...
I.M

Pakistan needs educated people, who believe in a man`s power first. We need people who are bright and courages. Just like India it needs a capitalist system, where religion has little or no role at all. Trade with India would help. Good effort by the way.

Mr. Iqbal Mustafa

Thank you for ending, your very perceptive observations, on this note:

Something of that nature happened to the generation that struggled, sacrificed and fought for a separate homeland of Muslims in India. Having achieved their goal, the characteristics required for building a nation were quite different from the ones that created it. And those have not developed! Myopia has become an endemic flaw of the nation. I have faith in the post-partition generation which is growing up free of past phobias or distorted perceptions of the world around them.

---

Please do not be discouraged. CHOWK is still rife with some kalloos who pretend to be goraas. Any mention of Islam & muslims as a distinct entity vis-a-vis hindus gets them awash in toad-sweat. They are not aware even now that little by little battles are being won and the anti-muslim exhibitionism is being relegated back into the closet.

The margarine-muslims, some of them thinking writing in english has transformed them into a learned mulla, are running helter-skelter to seek refuge in their masters ``freedom`` garbage. Alas, the master still doesn`t forgive for being even margarine-muslims.

Strike hard at them! and help them to either come out or creep back into the closet.

=== Interact Filtered ===
view this users filtered interacts

Admittedly, I`ve always wished that those who DO choose to leave everything in Allahs hands would start crossing the street without looking both ways.. then we could just leave things to attrition.
Or did I also just suggest leaving everything in Allahs hands? Dang it..
And yes, Pakistan has always lacked strategic vision. Even when we talk about things like `strategic depth` its without any real strategic vision. I`ll add the caveat that that is from a certain point of view. If you are of the Islamist frame of mind then many of our long-term strategies have made sense. Currently, we`ve realized the deficiencies in most of those strategies. Once we finish putting out brush fires climbing up our pants, caused by the past, we can start looking ahead better again.

Iqbal

Welcome to Chowk and I hope you would interact here and not play a hoodbhoy…

You have some interesting observations and am sure your experience in the mud would throw up interesting insights…

…there is one aspect/angle of this (induced) myopia…the religious one…and that one is more fatalistic in the end…reneging on individual effort and leaving everything in Allah’s hands…

rgds,

t