What we need is to restore supremacy of the Constitution in Pakistan and transform it into a welfare state.
LAHORE: This is with reference to M Ziauddin’s column, “A sad spectacle” (April 24). Pakistan today faces a far worse security crisis than it could have, had we been in a declared war. Although this security nightmare that daunts us has been of our own making, those whose task is to tackle this nemesis seem to be too involved in trivial egoistic pursuits. We are reaping the harvest of sins committed by our establishment, which needs to understand that all institutions exist because of Pakistan and no individual, be it Musharraf, should matter.
Had we pursued and followed the path of constitutional rule, as desired by the Quaid-e-Azam, in all probability there would have been no Taliban, nor target killers of Karachi, neither insurgency in Balochistan, neither the massive illiteracy that has reduced our human resources to cannon fodder. For nearly 200 years, the subcontinent was under British Raj, ruled as a security state, with only one agenda to fill the coffers of British crown, with no regard to the damage done to the life and property of natives who lived here. State lands were distributed to buy the loyalties of natives, willing to betray the motherland.
In 1947, we sought liberation from the British Raj, so that Pakistan could become a welfare state, with resources focused on developing human resources and achieving self-reliance in industries, science, economics, arts and social sciences, whose citizens enjoyed equal rights, opportunities, freedom of expression and the fundamental right to practise their religion.
However, we forgot to undo the remnants of British Raj, by taking away land, titles allotted to natives, serving the British Crown, not for the specific duration, but as long as they were loyal to colonial masters. In Punjab, this specific group comprised Muslims under the banner of the Unionist Party, who chose to form a coalition government in 1937 with Hindu and Sikh beneficiaries of the Raj largesse, rather than struggle for independence. As a consequence, habits of grabbing state lands and upset the democratic process immediately after the death of the Quaid-e-Azam. What we need is to restore supremacy of the Constitution in Pakistan and transform it into a welfare state, that our founding fathers wanted, so that no individual group, or cult could impose their polluted version of national interest and everybody, including our elected politicians, submit to the supremacy of constitution, with no room for individuals who have no stakes in this country.
Malik Tariq Ali
Published in The Express Tribune, April 25th, 2014.
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