Dear Jinnah, I am sorry to disappoint ...

Honourable Mr Mohammad Ali Jinnah,

I’m convinced you’re well and in a much better place. I’m a citizen of Pakistan and after having enough, I thought I should speak to you – inform you about the Pakistan you fought for on our behalf.

Sir, we have your picture on Pakistani currency which we use for bribing. We also have your picture in our government offices, under which our managers (I’m sorry Sir, but I don’t find any leader in this country as of now) sit and rape (literally) the constitution and tell lies.

Sir, the Pakistan you thought of, we are nowhere near it.

I’m sorry but I have to tell you. I don’t intend to give you pain, but in my opinion you need to know.

Sir, in your address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on August 11, 1947, you said and I quote, 

“You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed — that has nothing to do with the business of the State... We are starting with this fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one State... I think we should keep that in front of us as our ideal and you will find that in due course Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the State.”

These were your words on August 11, 1947.

I’m afraid but people are not free to go their temples Sir. Last Eidul-Fitr, Ahmadis were stopped from going to their prayer houses in Rawalpindi.

We as a nation have lost patience and tolerance. The fundamental principle that we are equal citizens of one state still seems like a dream. Sir, let me also tell you that Shia’s are being targeted in this country and we have lost young men, children, women in blasts which have shaken the country. The recent Quetta and Abbas Town incident is yet another tragic mark in Pakistan’s history. Shia’s are being targeted and killed during processions whilst they remember Hazrat Imam Hussain’s shahadat.

Sir, in your speech at Islamia College for Women on March 25, 1940, you said and I quote,

“I have always maintained that no nation can ever be worthy of its existence that cannot take its women along with the men. No struggle can ever succeed without women participating side by side with men. There are two powers in the world; one is the sword and the other is the pen. There is a great competition and rivalry between the two. There is a third power stronger than both, that of the women.” 

Sir, I’m afraid that’s not how things are being carried out. Young girls have been buried alive in Balochistan. Malala Yousafzai was shot at point-blank range, just because she raised her voice for women’s education in Pakistan. Women are being raped in this country every other day. Women are being killed in Pakistan, just because the ‘Panchayat’ thinks she’s having an affair. Sir, women are also being killed because they commit the greatest of the sins, by choosing a life partner for themselves.

My Dear Quaid (and when I say Dear Quaid, I mean Mr Mohammad Ali Jinnah and not any other ‘leader’ referred to in the same way – another confusion which we are going through!) women in Karachi and also in other parts of the country are now being kidnapped as well.

Sir, the worst of the story is we let America take one of our daughters from Pakistan. She’s behind the bars and she’s lost her senses. I’m extremely sorry Sir, I can’t look into your eyes but this is what Pakistan is, as of now after 66 years.

Sir, in your address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, Karachi, August 11, 1947 you said and I quote, 

”You will no doubt agree with me that the first duty of a government is to maintain law and order, so that the life, property, and religious beliefs of its subjects are fully protected by the State…..…if we want to make this great State of Pakistan happy and prosperous we should wholly and solely concentrate on the well-being of the people, and especially of the masses and the poor.” 

Sir, the present government has valued your statement. Yes, they have looked after the masses especially the poor. A support program gives Rs1,000 to the poor every month, generous indeed.

The present government is giving fish to people but what I understand from your statement above is to teach people how to fetch a fish. Unfortunately Sir, the poor in this country is getting poorer every passing day.

Just these few months back Sir, a man lit himself on fire in front of the Parliament because he couldn’t afford the price-hike. Sir, there have been reports that parents have “sold” their children because they couldn’t afford them.

In 2011, about 1,600 people decided that suicide was the only escape from poverty. The previous year 2,399 people killed themselves and poverty was a significant factor, but a precise breakup was not available, the commission said.

In another incident, Bashiran Bibi jumped in front of a speeding train with her two sons and daughter, all under the age of 3. 58% of Pakistan’s population suffers from ‘food insecurity’. Sir, I know these are depressing facts, but I thought I should share with you.

Sir, in your interview to the Daily Worker in London in 1944, you said and I quote,

“Muslims in Pakistan want to be able to establish their own real democratic popular government. This government will have the sanction…of the people of Pakistan and will function with the will and sanction of the entire body of people in Pakistan, irrespective of caste or colour.” 

Sir, we want to have a real democratic government in this country. Over these years, this country has been in the hands of a few families. After you left for a better world, democracy was nowhere to be seen and few years later the army took over the country.

Then came Mr Bhutto; he had a great following but was hanged by the army again. Then came the Sharif’s – they were thrown out. Then came Benazir Bhutto; she was sent home as well. To our surprise, again came the Sharif’s and were thrown out once again, this time by the army which stayed for some good time and then came Bhutto’s again, and still are in power.

Sir, I’m just telling you, this country is being tossed between two families. As for the government to function with the will and sanction of people of Pakistan, let me also inform you Sir, the government has put sanctions on things in this country.

The telephone system is shut down every now and then. Two people together are not allowed to ride a bike because that’s what target killers are doing. We have banned a technology platform, known as YouTube, just because it has blasphemous material on it not realising it’s a source of religious education for the people here. We have a social networking platform known as Twitter and for the last few weeks, I’ve seen people talking about what security measures to be taken while commuting in cities.

Sir, this country is going down-hill. Sir, our Pakistan is going down-hill!

Sir, while addressing a public meeting in Dhaka on March 21, 1948 you said and I quote,

“The government can only have for its aim one objective – how to serve the people, how to devise ways and means for their welfare, for their betterment. What other object can the government have?”

Sir, I say this with utmost grief that this is not how things have been in Pakistan. We are not being served.

There’s a larger picture to things Sir.

The hospitals in Pakistan, I must inform you are in worst situations. We as citizens are not getting the basic necessities of life.

Sir, every Pakistani is suffering. People are dying. This is not the Pakistan you wanted for us.

Sir, people are talking of leaving Pakistan and settling abroad. The youth is leaving too. People take pride when they apply for American or European nationalities Sir. This is not how it is supposed to be. I know you can’t do anything about the current situation for what you’ve done for us already … we’ve not been able to value that. You were the source of freedom. You gave us a country. You gave us Pakistan but Sir, today, with extreme sadness and embarrassment; I inform you that we have failed.

We have failed as a nation.

We have failed at the government level.

We have failed miserably at justice.

We have failed.

I know it’s far more honourable to fail than to cheat, but one must strive towards success and that’s what we are not doing.

Sir, things are extremely bad in Pakistan but there are some little good things as well. We have Edhi Sahab, who has given his life to the country. We have Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, who recently took Pakistan on to the global level and won an Oscar.

We have Malala, who has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. We had Arfa Kareem, who was a tech wizard. We had Abdus Salam, who is the only Nobel Physics Prize winner, but one fine morning when he woke up, he was declared a kaafir. Sir, we have the best sportsmen in the world.

We have amazing talent and these people will keep on doing things in their personal capacities, but it takes the leadership to make a country prosper by their justice and transparent processes. The government needs to govern and not earn!

Dear Sir, I hope this country will be what you thought of it. I and other people are putting in their best in our own capacity, but I have a feeling this will not have a massive effect on the betterment of Pakistan. Sir, I sincerely pray that in the upcoming elections, whosoever makes the government, this time does things for Pakistan only and not for their own benefits. I’ll speak to you next year, same time and give you another brief and the progress of this nation.

May you get the best of the world you are in Sir.

Regards,
Taimur Rehman
Pakistani.

Follow Taimur on Twitter @taimurbhai