December the 16th is the darkest day in the history of Pakistan when the country was dismembered that witnessed a surrender by the Pakistan army. The loss of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) can be attributed to collective failure of civil and military high command. The major share must be borne by the army as Gen Yahya was the President and CMLA of Pakistan.
It is so painful that even after losing half of the country, no lesson has been learnt as we are more divided than the past. Pakistan is suffering from political and economic mismanagement, divisive policies, lawlessness, rampant corruption and ethnic friction. Pakistan is at crossroads, there are choices to be made now whether Pakistan survives as a dictatorship, a democracy or whether Pakistan survives at all. There is a saying that a country gets the rulers it deserves. That may be true where regular free and fair elections are held, but Pakistan’s election history is not that good. The country is full of ignorant people who elect inept and corrupt people in the elections.
There is no stability in Pakistan’s economy. There is no security in the country. As a country we are like beggars, depending on foreign loans and grants by the IMF and rich countries. We have foreign debts of over $ 59.53 billion. And then we realise that most of these debts were in fact looted by politicians, rulers, bureaucracy and defence personnel and are now in their personal accounts, in Swiss and other banks.
The entire nation is disturbed, perturbed and want change to break the status quo. Pakistan was not created for a few families, it belongs to its 180 million citizens. The country cannot be left at the mercy of corrupt politicians and leaders thrust on the people through selective mechanism who are not the true representatives of the people.
We have suffered a lot on account of trust deficit between the army and the rulers. This must come to an end. All institutions must work within their domain and there should be no interference from either side. Our survival still lies in democracy that suits the people and not the one that is imposed by dictatorial means. The nation has a chance to break the shackles of status quo and reject all those who have been tried again and again and failed to deliver. The country is bigger than the government. Any future disaster will destroy both the government and opposition.
We must remember we are passing through difficult times: let us not wait for that fateful day when someone breaches our sovereignty again. The nation must get united, its further fragmentation would lead to a greater disaster and chances of recovery may be difficult.
LT COL (retd) MUKHTAR A BUTT
Karachi