Haunted by 1977

July 5, 1977 was a black day in our country’s history. It is remembered for being the day that our civilian government was taken over by one of the most hypocritical and brutal military dictators in Pakistan’s history. Gen Zia used religious extremism to suppress all dissent inside the country, used American anxieties around the cold war to acquire financial support for his illegitimate government.

Gen Zia’s era is singularly responsible for accelerating the culture of sycophancy in the country. But perhaps his greatest crime was his decision to make Pakistan an American base for its covert war in Afghanistan, causing unspeakable mayhem in the entire region. Predominantly, it is the disorientation he caused by wiping out the culture of ideological debate and principled politics in the country that continues to haunt our present. The only way to fight the ghost of Zia’s rule is to reignite a vision for a just and equitable world. The moment we start dreaming again, we will start moving past the endless nightmare unleashed on that dreadful day.

Naveed A Maitlo

Rawalpindi