Independence without freedom

A look at the factors impinging on our freedom

Do we become independent when we create territorial borders? Do we become independent when we have our own flag and national anthem? Do we become independent when we make a separate constitution? The answer to these questions is that we become independent when the purpose for choosing to live a certain way is fulfilled – be it political, religious or social. Thus as a country, are we really independent? Are we really fulfilling the purpose of this country’s existence? The answer sadly is that we are not a free nation where its decision makers are pursuing the purpose of its existence independently. Why is it so? Let us look at the chains limiting our freedom.

We, as a nation, cannot negotiate with countries we want; we cannot buy from people we like; we cannot fight with people we dislike; we cannot prevent people from encroaching our territory; we cannot decide the prices of our utilities; we cannot imprison people who are proven criminals; we cannot choose our own direction; we cannot move our own destiny. Does this remotely resemble a country that is free and independent? Not really.

A country that has been under army rule for half its life is never really free. Autocrat governments are all about subjugation and coercion by their mode of rule. Since they rule by force, their modus operandi is to impose such laws that restrict the freedom of all who dare to oppose them. In Pakistan’s case, autocrats used to seek America’s graces by compromising many national interests. Ziaul Haq and later Pervez Musharraf amply demonstrated how White House defined and determined every policy domain of the country. Similarly the democratic governments have mostly been incompetent and corrupt and thus driven by the convenience of US dole outs in return for country’s sovereignty. In the last government we saw not only drones droning against the will of the people and parliament of the country, but also a territorial assault without permission in case of the Abbottabad Operation to take out Osama bin Laden.

These were the very factors on which the newly formed government played its cards to win elections. They talked about the complete subjugation of PPP government to US designs and promised otherwise. However, in the first 60 days of its taking oath, it is a frightening repetition of our-hands-are-tied excuses. Familiar sounds, familiar statements; and they say familiarity breeds contempt. The deterioration of the state of Pakistan is once again proving that any estimates of how worse the situation can become is a big gamble. Every day people are shot and every day prices shoot up. The response of the government remains what we have seen for decades; condemnation, investigation and no solution. This is how internal positions remain unchanged. However external positions have also started sounding alarmingly familiar. John Kerry’s visit was termed as a restart of US-Pakistan relations by many wise analysts. It turns out that it was a restart of US diktat on Pakistan’s foreign policy. All the talk of PML-N government about their independence vs a subservient Musharraf and a sold out Zardari, went out of the window with PM Nawaz Sharif’s admission to the media stating that if we moved ahead with Pak-Iran pipeline project, the US would impose sanctions on us. This is ominously similar to the post-9/11 statement of Musharraf when he said that the Americans had threatened that if we did not ally with them in that war, the US would bomb us to the Stone Age.

The answer then and the answer now is that despite towing the US line for so many years we are in the Stone Age. We are without electricity, we are without gas and we will soon be without water as well. The familiar excuse of “we will die our economic death if the US is not comfortable with our foreign policy and other policies” has really cost us our independence. The war on terror has cost Pakistan $60 billion in return for the American aid of barely $20 billion. This figure itself speaks volumes of the fact that Pakistan economy is bankrupt not because we have not done enough for the Americans but because we have done too much for them. Even more tragic is the loss of human lives that are estimated to be around 50,000, more than from three wars with India. These numbers prove the fallacy of the excuse that our existence and independence is at stake if we defy the American wishes.

Similarly it is common knowledge that IMF formula all over the world is of economic slavery. Many a research carried out in countries dependent on IMF support show that IMF conditionalities cripple and constrain economies burying them under the debt burden to an extent where they are bound to follow IMF recipes of debt for more debt. Why then is the present government set to follow the path proven to be a failure? The reason is that they have given up their freedom to look for other sources of income by agreeing not to tax the tax evaders, be it the parliamentarians, the agriculturists or the big businesses in return for their support in the elections. This automatically closes down the most obvious avenues of raising revenues.

Whenever compromises are made on principles, on promises, on laws, the result will be short-term relief, but long-term entrapment. True freedom cannot be gained without struggle against a system of corruption and self-interest. True freedom cannot be gained without hardships; that is where leadership by example counts; that is where these leaders need to pay taxes themselves to be able to tax others; that is where these leaders need to declare their true wealth and bring their overseas money in to get others to do the same. With hidden wealth, hidden deals and hidden agendas, freedom is always going to be limited. When Quaid-e-Azam conceived this independent country he wanted it to be based on the three core values of unity, faith and discipline. It is the absence of these core values that has made independence just a 14th August event and not a moving force that can transform a country into a nation.

The writer is an analyst and columnist and can be reached at [email protected]