Pakistan is poised at the edge of a precipice in terms of its polity, economy and culture. It may be helpful to examine the nature of the contradictions in each of these spheres, the connection between them and the possibilities of public action inherent in these relationships.
In last week’s article, I had indicated four main contradictions which contain the potential for change. The contradiction between the militant extremists and the state of Pakistan; the ideology of hate, bigotry and violence of the militants as opposed to the Islamic religious tradition of love, knowledge and peace; the despotic political order of the militants counterposed by a democratic political system; then we have an elite-based economy, incapable of sustained growth with structural tendencies for generating unearned incomes for the elite, aid dependence and persistent mass poverty. Counterposed to this is an alternative economic structure, predicated on broad-based competition, with opportunities for the middle classes and the poor for investment, high wage employment, productivity increase and innovation.
These four contradictions are configured around a central and fundamental contradiction: a despotic order based on bigotry, coercion and inhumanity pursued by the militants; against this, there is a democratic order that through freedom, equality and fraternity, provides opportunities for actualising the human potential — an order that gives a voice to the people in the process of legislation.
The resolution of these contradictions does not lie in a ‘compromise’ within the status quo. Rather these dialectics contain radically different possibilities for the future. This is a conjunctural moment in history when a point of inflection has been reached: the status quo in Pakistan is unravelling.
We can, therefore, move towards a Taliban state and descend further into oppression, disorder and disintegration. Alternatively, we could reconstruct a democracy that has so far failed to deliver, resurrect a dysfunctional economy and pull back a society descending into barbarism. The reconstruction would require a decentralised and participatory democracy that provides opportunities for election in each tier of the political structure to all of the people rather than merely the elite. Political democracy must be reinforced by an economic democracy that provides equitable access to the middle classes and the poor over productive investment, skills and public services. At the cultural level, there is a need to rediscover the tradition of the universal spirituality of love, beauty and justice that lies at the root of all religions. Pakistan’s polity and economy need to be underpinned by the age-old cultural norms of tolerance, of human solidarity, of sharing and caring.
Over the years, the extremists have rapidly gained strength. They are organised, highly motivated, well-armed and adequately funded. Their declared aim is to capture the Pakistani state and establish an ‘emirate’ to impose their own notion of the Sharia.
In the pursuit of this objective, the militant extremists have seized significant swathes of Pakistan’s territory in North and South Waziristan. They have also captured parts of the ideological space in the rest of Pakistan, have penetrated the media and some of the mainstream political parties. To the dismay of most citizens, the extremists also appear to have penetrated the security apparatus, including the military, as was demonstrated by the recent court-martial of a few middle level army officers. They have also launched a series of successful attacks on key military installations, killed a number of military officers and have assassinated political leaders, including, most tragically, Benazir Bhutto.
In the face of this ominous advance of the militant extremists, it is right and proper that army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has declared them the main threat to Pakistan. The elected democratic government had earlier declared militant extremists the enemies of the state and the way of life of its people. In the coming elections, the worth of a political party ought to be judged by its aim and ability to wage this, the battle for Pakistan on the political, economic and cultural fronts.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 3rd, 2012.
COMMENTS (13)
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@ Gary But who will do it in Pakistan, whether angels from heaven
@jLaLi FaqeeR: I agree with both, you and the author. Think Pakistan can solve many of her problem's by making her political and economic institutions more INCLUSIVE, PLURALISTIC, OPEN, ACCOUNTABLE and TRANSPARENT, instead of disenfranchising people from holding office based on degrees, religion, etc etc.
You say Taliban are the problem. They are nothing more than a manifestation of a far bigger disease called apathy to which all of us are a party. We become a party by either active participation or passive complicity or inaction. As I have said time and again, when a country and a society, collectively continues to marginalize and dispossess a large swath of its own people, consciously or not, then a time comes when these people first beg, then ask and finally shove their salvation down the throat of the so called mainstream society. Since the marginalized and dispossessed have no voice of their own, groups such as Taliban, Hamas, IRA, ETA, Tamil Tigers and others, who have their own agendas, fill that void and provide the medium of violence to shove that salvation down the collective throat of society. When society through socio-political and socio-economic framework continues to perpetuate illiteracy, poverty and disenfranchisement of the mass of its own people, then all who either actively participate or are passively complicit towards this perpetuation are part of the problem. Eventually every society with such variables reaches a point where its Taliban or its Hamas gets manifested and subsequently metastasized. Next time, don’t say Taliban are the problem and the government should fix this problem. Have the courage to stand up and say, I am part of the problem and intend to do something about it. If you continue to be complicit, and indifferent to the far bigger problem of apathy then one day you will not just be looking at the victims but will become the victim.
jLaLi FaqeeR May 30, 2009
Is there any solution to the problems mentioned by the writer. And if there is a solution who has the courage to implement?
Dr. Akmal Hussain! Firstly, do you have any logic behind saying that the millitants assassinated Benazir Bhutto? Secondly, who urged these extremists to be,what they are now ; Is this General Zia who made them or General Musharaf who infuriated these millitants? Thirdly, all of us, Pakistanis, are grown up enough that we can understand that the assassination of Benazir Bhutto was carried on for political motives right before the elections.
And the changes in economic structure, polity and cultural practices are, in your view, possible without first rationalizing the structure of and expenditure on the armed forces?
Religious intolerance and the resulting rise of militant Islam have, in part, filled a vacuum created by the likes of Zia-ul-Haq who defaced Islam to perpetuate his illegitimate rule, and General Musharraf who did nothing to either convert or dismantle the more than 35,000 madrassahs that churn out militants.
The one intervention which can help pull Pakistan back from the "precipice" is to divert funds from the non-productive sector to the production of trained teachers.
It is difficult to fathom how untrained teachers could possibly be expected to produce critical thinkers rather than standardized test centered robot learners.
Excellent analysis and concussions. I may add that such debates always turn into pleas for liberal tolerance, for a respect for other people's opinions, drawing strength from thesis that, whatever else is amiss, the world is becoming a less violent place. But tolerance is itself a privilege of security. Intellectually it is appeasement. I do not want to tolerate those who disagree with me; I want to persuade them they are wrong. Many may cry, "Why can't we all just get along?" The answer is we can't. The best we can do is not murder each other in the process. And that is the main problem we are faced with in Pakistan. The remedy for this extremism is not play around with words and tells it the way it is. Nobody believes our words if we do not admit that certain beliefs need change, or at least reinterpreted in the mode of 21st century. Islam is a good religion, but history tells us that violence entered the caliphate after the death of 1st caliph. Obviously political Islam needs reformation, if we want things to go peaceful. The discussion about religious intolerance will not bear fruit unless we bring the whole truth in black and white.
Same old story in difficult words; needs to discuss the solution
The religious extremism is so much overwhelming that all cities of Punjab have been besieged by it. Moreover in Punjab It is a controlled as well as an independent phenomenon. It has basis in Iqbal's Islamic thoughts and the support it gets from Saudis and a section of our military, judiciary, bureaucracy and the filthy rich As far North Waziristan, Chitral, Hazara and Quetta are concerned the extremism over there is not that Independent as it is linked with Pakistani military establishment's strategic assets business. Alongside this controlled and independent extremism, another form exists. It is based on group interest; these groups are of war lords. drug traffickers and arms smugglers. So Pakistan is under siege from within in a big way. Yet situation is not out of control. As long as ANP, PPP are around. there is hope. There is a hope that army too will one day realize that extremism will eat up every thing if it is not finished. However what seems impossible is that the radicalised judiciary, bureaucracy and PTI and ML (N) and other religious parties who are on the side of extremists will ever shed their Islamic idealism and that might kill whatever hope we have. And that authenticates author's prediction that the militants can take over the state.
The religious extremism is so much overwhelming that all cities of Punjab have been besieged by it. Moreover in Punjab It is a controlled as well as an independent phenomenon. It has basis in Iqbal's Islamic thoughts and the support it gets from Saudis and a section of our military, judiciary, bureaucracy and the filthy rich As far North Waziristan, Chitral, Hazara and Quetta are concerned the extremism over there is not that Independent as it is linked with Pakistani military establishment's strategic assets business. Alongside this controlled and independent extremism, another form exists. It is based on group interest; these groups are of war lords. drug traffickers and arms smugglers. So Pakistan is under siege from within in a big way. Yet situation is not out of control. As long as ANP, PPP are around. there is hope. There is a hope that army too will one day realize that extremism will eat up every thing if it is not finished. However what seems impossible is that the radicalised judiciary, bureaucracy and PTI and ML (N) and other religious parties who are on the side of extremists will not shed their Islamic idealism and that might kill whatever hope we have. And that authenticates author's prediction that the militants can take over the state.
From Quaid's Pakistan to Qaeda's Pakistan ! I'm loving it.
Dr. Sahib, Your arguments well taken. A couple other reasons of low productivity are: enormous population growth, and failure of the state in containing bigotry and culture of intimidation. The state has, actually, encouraged it for the short term interests of the elite. This whole ideological nonsense and galvanizing the past is absurd and runs parallel to the concept and purposes of the modern state. One cannot justify every human action through religious dogma. It is very difficult for me to comprehend that a culture that was shaped by the extreme living conditions of the desert should or can provide guidance for the twenty-first century. .
Brilliant article but what a terrible title chosen by ET.