Ive spent a lifetime hoping, praying and yelling there must come a time when Pakistan deserves to come first. There is nothing we have not seen happen. Hit by every possible calamity and enjoyed every possible success. But this wish of mine has not been fulfilled yet.
Ive tried to provide solace to my pain by attributing this to the process of growing up, of evolution, the hyper-emotional character of our people, the list goes on. But each time, the disappointment is greater and each time my belief in those God chose to lead us gets a battering.
The intellectual question of when man puts God and country above all has become purely academic in Pakistan. They cite Gods name in vain. They cite it when they commit murder, arson, treason, terrorism. They choose to steal Him from us and make Him their private property. They accuse citizens of blasphemy when in the strictly Quranic interpretation they themselves commit blasphemy multiple times a day.
The cite country when they punish it for having provided home and shelter. They ravage the land, they terrorize citizens, they destroy hard-earned assets and they loot and plunder to their hearts content.
God and country, in benevolence, become silent bystanders. Silent only until the Day of Judgment, this one supreme fact they forget.
Someone robbed at Hajj. One thing is for certain: it happened. That matter is being investigated. An honorable man, responsible for administering the affairs, has no option but to resign. If for some mad reason he decides to forsake honor, the head of government has no option but to sack him and submit him to the arms of the law. One must assume that the PM did this and support his action.
Support? That has become a laughing matter! All hell has broken loose instead. Congenital blackmailers, and I say this with conviction, the nation is my witness, have once again raised their ugly heads to oppose right and perpetrate wrong.
In protest, members of a religious political party resigned from the coalition at PMs decision and the party chief has threatened the government of not supporting the RGST in the National Assembly. This is how we treat the nations much needed economic reforms. Let my brother remain in office despite . and we will support any and everything. This is the new principle.
Other political parties not wishing to miss the opportunity for extracting benefits join the fray. Damage to the country is far from their thoughts. Suddenly everybody begins to review the coalition. Why? Because for once the government decides to act for Pakistan, putting personas aside.
This protest is no longer a joke. It is diabolical. But it is not something new. How many times has necessary action or decisions been thwarted by blackmail? I dread to even count.
Let us quickly agree Pakistan is not in an enviable position today. Neither economically nor in terms of peace and stability. We do, however, have a democratic dispensation after a decade of a sometimes constructive and sometimes destructive dictatorship. Let us for the moment leave the quality of the current dispensation alone. That leads to another debate and no denying it needs to be addressed some time soon.
So what do we need? Right now to provide political stability; to operate within the norms of consultation and compromise within standard operating principles. These principles are the people and the state and their benefit. And this factor is completely missing.
Instead of leg-pulling and aimless opposition without the presence of considered alternatives, encouraging civil disobedience and relegation of the right priorities in favor of personal gain of politicians and political parties is in vogue.
What difference does it make where the governor of a province is for a couple of hours? This makes national news. If a twenty year old tax, one implemented the world over including neighboring India and Bangladesh, is reformed to document the economy it should be business as usual. But no, it must be opposed simply because it creates a ruckus.
Come on, we are bigger than that. The country has business to attend to. All around us the south-Asian economies are growing at a rapid pace. Ours is the only one stuck in a rut and desperately needs the attention and support of the people. Why is it that the retailers are making a noise about the RGST and not the consumer? Retailers are merely a conduit of collecting and passing on to the Treasury, the consumers are paying anyway. Rocket science is not needed to find the answer!
The last thing anyone wishes to promote is military intervention but does not it appear as if the historical beneficiaries of such intervention are afoot again? The people will suffer. We need to unite to defeat the diabolical forces in play.
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