It is said that the distance between dreams and reality should never become insurmountable. Each should live in the protection of the other. However, if the distance separating them exceeds the realm of manageability, the two may find themselves on a collision course with unpredictable ramifications. Not only are the pages of history replete with recording such happenings in the past, but their frequency has only increased with the passage of time, thus creating ever more fault lines to contend with.
We live in a strange world, becoming stranger with every passing day. With shrinking space for dreams even in countries that have been its most traditional and devoted proponents, all its attendant benefits, most notably democracy and shaping of a future, are all but vanished.
Freedom of expression is the most appropriate barometer to judge the state of rights in a country. In a recent article by Martin Baron, a seasoned journalist, on ‘Global lessons from a press in peril’, he wrote that “I no longer assume that the constitutional order will hold in the United States. Or that the rule of law will prevail. Or that free expression – not just for the press, but all Americans – will endure”.
He further said: “And perhaps most concerning to me is that we now live in a time when people are unable, or unwilling, to distinguish between what is true and what is false…Yet, today, we cannot agree on how to determine a fact. All the elements we have historically relied upon to establish facts – education, expertise, experience and, above all, evidence – have been denigrated, dismissed and denied”.
These words are a minuscule reflection of what is happening in the US, where, till some time ago, it could not even be imagined that, in the presence of the First Amendment, any curbs could be placed on basic human freedoms. That has proved erroneous, as ominous threats are lurking for the state to confront.
Martin goes on to draw a parallel between democracy and an independent press. Beginning with our inability to determine the most basic facts, he goes on to say that “an independent press cannot survive without a democracy. And there is a corollary to that. A democracy cannot survive without a free press”.
But, ultimately, the real target of autocrats is truth itself by “destroying all independent arbiters of fact whether they happen to be judges, scholars, scientists, statisticians or journalists”. Let’s also face the fact that when truth is taken out of the equation by the authoritarians, state institutions are corrupted and societal progress comes to a halt. It is in such times that decay would set in to take us back to the dark alleys.
For us in Pakistan, this sounds familiar. Having long been used to such treatment, it still feels strange that this could also be happening in the US. This is fast emerging as a trend that is influencing the entire world, including the democratic countries. Yet, in the presence of functional mechanisms for relief, particularly the judiciary, it may still be possible to resist this onslaught, but for countries where institutions have long been destroyed, there is no recourse to salvation as the dark shadows of injustice and deprivation keep spreading their tentacles.
Should we, therefore, be reconciled with the prospect that we are headed towards a less free world where it would be difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood and facts would remain unknown; where right would not be separated from wrong and where light would not be told from dark; where uncertainty will bedevil our beliefs and decisions; and where a step into the future could be a step into nothingness. Immersed in a vast conglomerate of uncertainties, it would be well-nigh impossible to find the way forward.
History tells us that curtailment of freedoms has never served the purpose of authoritarianism. And it is untenable in contemporary times, where people have long been used to enjoying constitutionally ensured freedoms, particularly in the democratic world. Human nature is such that unwieldy strictures would inevitably breed resistance whose intensity and direction would be impossible to predict. It can even spiral into uncharted territory and may ultimately become uncontrollable.
In the chequered times that we are living through, it is sanity that should be paramount. I talk of dreams and reality and the distance separating them. Inherently, both are key constituents of life that must be secured, even nurtured. Imposing unreasonable restrictions is not the remedy. We should let sane voices, which are present in abundance among us, do their magic. Conducive conditions should be created to make space for them. Freedom is the prescription because suffocating societies are prone to peril, as is amply evidenced around us.
One should also heed caution. Wounds should not be left lacerating, and disputes should not be allowed to simmer, as this would cause deeper maladies that would be impossible to nurse. A disease, if left unattended, will only grow with time to become incurable even by the best of doctors. Pakistan is confronted with serious challenges of multiple dimensions that cannot be wished away. Simultaneously, these can neither be ignored nor left untreated, with time catching up fast.
If focus is pivoted on myopic gains, it will not provide a remedy for a permanent cure. It will only restrict the wound from bursting, but with time, its treatment will become that much more difficult, even impossible. That is when the entire country will suffer its drastic consequences.
In the end, it will always be a question of that one dream, that one step: the dream is to see Pakistan emerge as a formidable country poised for economic resurgence, and that one step would reflect the determination to make it happen through forging unity and initiating a process for political reconciliation that encompasses all stakeholders who have a say in shaping the national destiny.
No one should be ousted from this effort as that would render such an exercise unjust and unsustainable. All prejudices should be buried, and all likes and dislikes spurned because such a monumental task cannot be sacrificed at the altar of a myopic ego trip.
Besides other freedoms enshrined in the constitution, Article 14 asks the state to ensure the inviolability of the dignity of the people. This is the key to all freedoms. Stripping people of self-respect is neither sanctioned by law nor humanity. Let’s not deny people their dignity and their right to freedom. Let’s instead restore them to the status of being the principal arbiters of the fate of the country.
We are aglow in a crucible of fire. We need to come out. Time beckons, but it does not wait.
The writer is a political and security strategist and the founder of the Regional Peace Institute. He is a former special assistant to former PM Imran Khan and heads the PTI’s policy think-tank. He tweets RaoofHasan