Taking a flight from Islamabad to Karachi, the flying time is likely to be about two hours if you also account for the boarding and taxiing of the plane on the runway. Flying along the path of the river Indus, one gradually moves to Karachi, passing Lahore on the left and Quetta on the right.
The time taken to get to the airport, depending on which sector of Islamabad you are starting from, is from forty-five minutes to one hour and a distance of about twenty miles is covered. In just double the time the distance covered is well over a thousand miles in a plane. But the feel of the Indus can also be judged by navigating in a boat, may be just for a few miles, or making a trip to the northern valleys amongst some of the highest peaks in the world and by dipping your feet in the icy waters of the roaring river.
Back in the seventies, a Pakistani ambassador serving abroad mentioned a wonderful practice adopted by him on each of trip to his home country. International flights, then, operated only from Karachi and he would make sure that one journey between Islamabad and Karachi was made in a train. During the recent floods or the devastating earthquake, the people of this nation showed an unparalleled unity. In case of a national crisis or an external threat, the national identity assumes a new role. Where does the national identity stand vis-à-vis the familial, the linguistic or the regional aspects? We are in search of a Pakistani mind.
Pre-industrialised societies were strife-stricken as economic rivalries pitched factions against each other. Industrialised societies tend to work towards peace and order for the market to function, if for no other reasons, which there are many. To trade and seek economic cooperation, a nation has to engage itself with the wider world. It is essential for its people to work towards a feeling of ‘cohesiveness’ for the outside world to see, in the midst of all the diversity in culture, custom or language. In fact, this very diversity lends a kind of richness and depth to the experience of the place.
There are, in these turbulent times, a few things that pose a challenge for the people of a nation.
The information revolution, the internet, Facebook, the deluge of foreign cultures and the recurrent pressures to adopt a particular lifestyle are aspects of one’s daily existence. But challenges also bring out the best in a man or a woman. A Pakistani immigrant returned after spending a period of nearly three decades abroad and complained that the country was not the same as when he left it. Of course, it could not have remained the same. It evolved. It evolved in experiencing its own history, in facing the challenges of the particular geo-political position it is placed in and, most important of all, the ‘patterns’ of its economic development.
The think-tank or group of people engaged in the effort to save green areas is doing a yeoman’s job. In such endeavours, there is what you call a concern for the place. A picture of a national identity begins to emerge. In 1947, Pakistan did two things at the same time. It broke off with the colonial as well as with the imperial past extended to many a century. But by doing so, it did not lay aside the perspective of an evolution of more than a millennium in economic, psychological, linguistic and cultural values.
It is ingrained in and is part of the collective memory of the people residing in this country.
There are many different histories of trade, commerce and allied activities that have helped us shape the economic development achieved so far. There were several currents of movements that blended in to what we call today as the Pakistani way of life. As the melting pot of many influences this area has been in the business of fostering trade and commerce for centuries. Now that global events are happening and changing at a faster pace, to face these challenges, we must continue to be empowered by a strong sense of national identity.
The writer has served as consultant to the UN and other developing economies on the issues of trade and development
