KARACHI:
While I have utmost respect for the writer and contributors of the book Pakistan: Beyond the Crisis State, I beg to disagree with some of the ideas that have been displayed. While mentioning the various root causes of Pakistan’s predicament since independence, the book has severely criticised the military’s involvement and their “authoritarian” approach.
Undoubtedly, the state was not only deprived of the experts that it needed to withstand the internal and external adversities but the people also lacked a foolproof plan to run the newly born country. But what if the military of Pakistan never intervened? What if Pakistan was left in the hands of the feudal lords? What if things, particularly foreign policy and domestic affairs, were to be managed solely by the not-so-aware and politically ill-trained civilians? Let’s take a holistic view of this imagined scenario for a moment without indulging in the democracy vs dictatorship debate; Pakistan would have become a playing tool in the hands of western democracies. Our not-so-friendly neighbour India would have certainly attained hegemonic power in the region, which it still direly wants. Pakistan would never have become one of the most powerful nuclear states in the world.
In short, the survival of Pakistan would have been a lost dream. The need for reforms is surely inevitable but at the same time we must acknowledge the potentially unavoidable part our military played in helping Pakistan survive.
Saman Aftab
Lahore
Published in The Express Tribune, July 20th, 2021.
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