This can be done if the problem is tackled seriously.
Lebanon’s late famous philosopher/poet, Gibran Khalil Gibran, the third-most best selling poet of all times (behind Shakespeare and Laozi), portrayed people like us with these words:
“Pity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion./Pity the nation that wears cloth it does not weave,/eats bread it does not harvest,/drinks wine that flows not from its own wine press.
“Pity the nation that acclaims the bully as hero/that deems the glittering conqueror bountiful./Pity the nation that raises not its voice save when it wakes in a funeral,/boasts not except among its ruins/and will rebel not save when its neck is laid between the sword and the block.”
If we read ‘curse’ instead of ‘pity’, ‘dictator’ for ‘bully’ and ‘medals and badges’ for ‘glittering conqueror’, we have a true picture of our country.
The PM recently announced an attractive package for farmers. If honestly implemented, it can go a long way to help them. However, some critics are calling it a gimmick to cheat farmers in connection with the forthcoming local bodies elections.
Almost 80 percent of the world population is engaged in agriculture. The developed countries have a very well-planned infrastructure for the preparation and cultivation of crops, storage, use of proper fertilizers to minimise dangerous side effects, etc. Even though fewer people depend on agriculture in those countries, their expenditure on it is relatively high. This is done to ensure good and clean food and water. We badly lack initiative and infrastructure in this field. Our nation faces two serious problems – a fast-growing population and the use of fertile land for housing schemes, thus destroying millions of acres of arable land. We must tackle these problems on a war footing or face dire consequences.
Being well aware of the corrupt and inefficient system in vogue in the country, I had suggested that the army chief utilise his efficient and organised manpower for the development of the country and the welfare of its people. In this connection I would like to mention the large tracts of land between Islamabad and Lahore that consist of unused, soft land which has been rendered useless due to heavy rains and erosion.
If the government provided some heavy duty machinery to the army and levelled the land in question without any cost to the owners, it would immediately become ready for cultivation – beneficial both to farmers and the government. We must be proactive, not reactive only. Foresight is the need of the day – foresight to see what can be done rather than sitting by helplessly. Didn’t Almighty Allah tell us that we get only what we strive for?
After the Indian nuclear explosion there was no doubt in my mind that our very existence and sovereignty was in jeopardy. I did not hesitate to offer my services and, by the end of 1975 we moved to Pakistan without asking for any special favours.
There were many intrigues, but we stuck it out for the sake of the country. It took six months before I received my first salary – Rs3,000. Then, after giving it our all for 25 years and after my patriotic colleagues and I had made this country into a formidable nuclear and missile power, I retired with a monthly pension of Rs446. I did not ask for, or accept, a single yard of land or any other favour. The technology I gave to Pakistan free-of-cost was worth billions of dollars. Money was not the motivation, patriotism was.
What I would like to emphasise here is that it is time to act, not sit and daydream. Dreams alone achieve nothing. One needs foresight and hard work to achieve goals. Dying for one’s country is the supreme sacrifice but making one’s country strong so one can live honestly and peacefully is a real service. Bragging and boasting about bravery is of no use without practical and immediate action.
To be continued
Email: dr.a.quadeer.khangmail.com