Pakistan in its glory – and gloom

There it is: today’s Pakistan, in all its glory, hope and gloom – the passage of the Woman’s Protection Bill by the Punjab Assembly and the Maulana Fazlur Rehman-led incessant criticism of the bill, the hanging of late governor Salmaan Taseer’s assassin followed by expected widespread protests and anger of groups of lawyers, religio-political leaders and their followers.

This coming Friday has been announced a protest day while the Islamabad Bar announced February 29 as a ‘black day’ to protest the ‘judicial murder’ of Salmaan Taseer’s assassin. On February 29, the Lahore High Court awarded death sentence to two brothers who murdered their sister in the name of so-called honour killing.

And, coincidentally, on the same day Pakistan’s world-class filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy won her second Oscar for a documentary against honour killing. Earlier, many in Pakistan basked in the borrowed glory of the unique achievements of two Pakistani-Americans. A professor who has developed a technique for early detection of cancer and another astrophysicist had teamed up with other scientists to build upon the great Einstein’s landmark scientific breakthrough on gravity.

Lahore and Karachi showcased literature festivals, pulling in impressive national, regional and international talent while Islamabad held the Mother Language Literature Festival, giving a boost to local languages and identities. Ayesha Siddiqua also organised a well-arranged memorial for her mother Jameela Hashmi, the talented Urdu writer. Extending beyond this were the broader Pakistan stories, some new and some ongoing.

Accountability, for long a political tool in the hands of the elected and the military rulers against opponents, has surfaced again – though now with greater pressure for transparency. While the silent khaki factor may have some role in this revived focus, the prolonged joke of accountability juxtaposed with stories of some among politicians, generals, bureaucrats and now even the media, going from average incomes to becoming billionaires, will keep up peoples’ pressure on accountability. Lahore’s Orange Line has become controversial while Karachi’s Green Line has been welcomed. Pressure on political parties from the people, via social and mainstream media, to perform and reform increases rapidly. Pressures are destabilising Pakistan’s political landscape.

Stories of social violence continue to be reported. Two heart-wrenching stories also surfaced. One of a 15-year-old child chopping off his hand because a masjid imam thought it was sufficient retribution for the child’s committing of blasphemy when he accidently did not raise his hand in response to the imam’s question on which of the students loved the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh). The imam, Shabbir Ahmad, was soon arrested when an FIR was registered against him behalf of the state under both the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Pakistan Penal Code. A mother, meanwhile, killed her eight-year-old son on the advice of a fake pir.

On the external front important developments, potentially signposts to new architectures of trust-building, are the dominant story. With both India and Afghanistan, multi-track engagement presents an upbeat picture. Standing by its commitment to cooperate with India over the Pathankot terrorist attack, Pakistan – after forming a JIT and registering an FIR – has begun investigations. A JIT is expected to visit India next week. Can Pathankot become the platform for Pakistan-India cooperation to fight terrorism and to resolve outstanding disputes? Pakistan is doing its share.

On Afghanistan, the challenge is greater but so is the effort. All the efforts on the political, military and diplomatic front will finally be tested on how the Kabul-Taliban talks proceed. Even before the quadrilateral teams met for the early February round, Islamabad and Kabul had nearly worked out the future work plan. Goodwill exists as does the required institutional and critical goodwill. Pakistan’s elected leadership and the military command both recognise that Pakistan’s future peoples’ progress, internal security, success of mega projects including the CPEC, Tapi, Casa and international standing depend on cooperative engagement with its neighbours.

So here then is the range and kaleidoscope of Pakistan, the patchwork of life’s struggle, the blunders, the beauty, the repression, the resistance, the multi-layered and unending contestations on every challenge that straddles the canvas of life. Here is the chorus of critics, the call of rebels, the Orwellian chat all in sight, the collapsing hierarchies of thought control replaced by the chatter of suspicion and distrust, of hope and hate, of compassion and chaos.

The words, the beliefs and the practice are of a million shades all clashing for space, for marking support, for winning hearts. Unhinged by failures, the old had to give way, had to lose control. Some discontinuity is in the air, some difference is palpable – and so is cynicism – in this peoples’ Pakistan where via social media a million voices occupy public space. Partial and selective is not enough – neither justice, nor dignity nor respect, nor accountability, nor economic progress, debate too can’t be selective.

Endless voices with endless complaints have erupted in public spaces, with as many opinions, varied emotional frameworks, conflicting perceptions, engineered conspiracies, doctored-truths, photo-shopped visuals and irresponsible talk of authoritative people in the political, security and religious vanguard , every matter ranging from ideology to religion to nationalism, from Basant to Valentine’s Day, from Malala to the Women’s Protection Bill, from the hanging of Salmaan Taseer’s assassin to the absence of across-the-board accountability and selective application of law, from clashing interpretations of religion to that of patriotism.

Few countries in the world have all this to showcase; so much potential, chaos, hope, energy, internal dialogue, reflection. So much of damage from past policy blunders but also the attempt to opt for course-correction. Clearly Pakistan is a work-in-progress across the entire spectrum of collective human existence…from politics, art, culture, economy, ideology, religion, security etc.

Rising and varied consciousness among the people is throwing up complex questions. This has generated a context of rising expectations, increasing frustrations and call for accountability by the people. The politician’s obligation now is to perform. Democracy is not in question. The danger is now to the social contract. The collapse of legitimacy is attributed by social consensus, parliamentary acts, judicial writ and experiential wisdom to the democratic structure.

For Pakistan there is no life beyond democracy. We have tried the various shades and colours of military rule. That no longer is or can be on the cards. Vigilantism and militancy-laced killer squads parading as messiahs too, which finally blow the death-knell on the state, as in Iraq, Libya and Syria, are not part of Pakistan’s political DNA. They cannot be because, above all the armed forces of Pakistan, remain committed – and are now in a rejuvenated form – to the survival of Pakistan.

We already have a sociological and political ‘no’ to militancy and extremism in Pakistan. Our answer lies in democracy. But a democracy in the twentieth century calls for a major overhauling of the agenda and architecture of democracy so that it can deliver in this hugely challenging context of the 21st century.

The writer is a national security strategist, visiting faculty at NUST and fellow at Harvard
University’s Asia Centre.

Email: nasimzehra@gmail.com

Twitter: @nasimzehra