Our ideological dilemma
Ideological manipulations for personal gain over the past 70 years has caused so much foundational damage
The writer is a professor at the University of Western Ontario in Canada
Pakistan is going through a very critical time due to the hostile situation on both internal and external fronts. On external affairs, Pakistan has been almost isolated on the global stage and labelled as a terrorist-harbouring state. It has hostile relations with three out of four neighbours that share over 90% of its borderline. On the domestic front, terrorism, religious extremism are tearing apart the social fabric of the country while, corruption, unsatisfactory law and order, scarcity of basic amenities are threating the survival of common citizens.
An effective strategy or line of action to address these issues can only be developed after a realistic analysis of the country’s past history that embeds the roots of present-day problems. In other words, before adopting any approach or developing strategy to address these issues, it is very important to first understand why the country got into this situation in the first place.
The leadership and establishment always define Pakistan as an ideological state. Both civilian and military leaderships over the last 70 years used the narrative of protecting this ideology and defending the ideological boundaries, as to justify their policies and decisions. However, a major dilemma is that this ideology and its boundaries have never been well defined since the country’s creation.
History does not provide any evidence of the development of a specific ideology after independence. Besides that, the primary structure of any modern-day country is founded on the primary pillars of socio-economic well-being of its citizens, protection of their rights, good governance, law and order, and justice. Hence, all countries, by default, share the same ideology of protecting and strengthening these pillars. A political or religious movement may have a specific ideology but an independent country does not draft a specific ideology that either ignores or supersedes those primary pillars. Any deviation or negligence in protecting those foundational pillars leads the country into chaos and instability — this is what happened in Pakistan. The leadership in the country from its early days, declared Pakistan a state that was hinged in a specific ideological charter, without any clear description of it. Taking the advantage of this ambiguity, every subsequent leadership since then brought forth their specific interests by portraying them as the defenders of this ideology. Whether it is the animosity and rivalry with India, the hostile relations with Afghanistan or the support of non-political and radical domestic groups, all were justified in the name of ideology’s defence and protection of its boundaries.
As a result, the strengthening and protection of the foundational pillars were never the prime objective or the top priority. A country advances through the advancement of its people on socio-economic fronts. If Pakistan has to come out of the hostile internal and external affairs, the leadership has to revisit its ambiguous ideological road map and put the welfare of Pakistani people as the top priority. Peace is the prime ingredient for prosperity and well-being of any nation.
Peace with neighbours through strong economic ties, ease of cross-border trade and travel, and political goodwill are the initial steps towards prosperity. Whatever the factors that have led to the tense and hostile relations with India and Afghanistan, they were tied to the circumstances in the past. These relationships need to be redefined based on the present-day circumstances in the context of the well-being of the country and its people in particular, and the regional harmony in general. In the global stage of politics, no country is an absolute friend or absolute enemy. History has shown that countries that were worst enemies 70-80 years ago and have sacrificed millions of people in two World Wars are now not only friends but also share resources and have formed an alliance on common interests.
The barriers in the name of ideology that have been erected and misused by the leadership in the country over the past seven decades for their own interests are primarily serving as barriers between the people of Pakistan and their prosperity. Several strategic decisions on internal and external affairs that have been justified and sold to the people of Pakistan in the name of ideology are backfiring.
Pakistan’s three primary neighbors, India, Afghanistan and Iran, have established close economic ties and Pakistan is left out alone. Pakistan through its geographical location could have played a primary role in this regional economic alliance, which would have benefited the country and its people, but the leadership preferred hostility to prosperity and threw the country in isolation. CPEC was sold as the floodgate of prosperity in Pakistan, which still lies in uncharted waters with unknown pathways. There is no question that good relations and economic cooperation with China is vital for Pakistan but other neighbours should not be ignored.
Similarly, the support and promotion of a specific religious mindset as an ideological manifesto is now reaping its fruit. The social fabric of society is ripped apart by sectarian rift and religious extremism. It is now evident how foreign funds rolled into the country to destroy its tradition of religious tolerance — all sold in the name of national ideology. Thousands of innocent civilians have been sacrificed and the religious intolerance has created deep fissures in the social structure of the country but no one dares to challenge this unknown ideology.
The ideological manipulations for personal gain over the past 70 years has caused so much foundational damage to the country that if this manipulation continues further, the point of no return will not be too far. It is not too late to stop this approach and redefine the domestic and external policies and strategies to prioritise the welfare of the people of Pakistan and secure a status of reputable nation among neighbours and the rest of the world.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 24th, 2018.
An effective strategy or line of action to address these issues can only be developed after a realistic analysis of the country’s past history that embeds the roots of present-day problems. In other words, before adopting any approach or developing strategy to address these issues, it is very important to first understand why the country got into this situation in the first place.
The leadership and establishment always define Pakistan as an ideological state. Both civilian and military leaderships over the last 70 years used the narrative of protecting this ideology and defending the ideological boundaries, as to justify their policies and decisions. However, a major dilemma is that this ideology and its boundaries have never been well defined since the country’s creation.
History does not provide any evidence of the development of a specific ideology after independence. Besides that, the primary structure of any modern-day country is founded on the primary pillars of socio-economic well-being of its citizens, protection of their rights, good governance, law and order, and justice. Hence, all countries, by default, share the same ideology of protecting and strengthening these pillars. A political or religious movement may have a specific ideology but an independent country does not draft a specific ideology that either ignores or supersedes those primary pillars. Any deviation or negligence in protecting those foundational pillars leads the country into chaos and instability — this is what happened in Pakistan. The leadership in the country from its early days, declared Pakistan a state that was hinged in a specific ideological charter, without any clear description of it. Taking the advantage of this ambiguity, every subsequent leadership since then brought forth their specific interests by portraying them as the defenders of this ideology. Whether it is the animosity and rivalry with India, the hostile relations with Afghanistan or the support of non-political and radical domestic groups, all were justified in the name of ideology’s defence and protection of its boundaries.
As a result, the strengthening and protection of the foundational pillars were never the prime objective or the top priority. A country advances through the advancement of its people on socio-economic fronts. If Pakistan has to come out of the hostile internal and external affairs, the leadership has to revisit its ambiguous ideological road map and put the welfare of Pakistani people as the top priority. Peace is the prime ingredient for prosperity and well-being of any nation.
Peace with neighbours through strong economic ties, ease of cross-border trade and travel, and political goodwill are the initial steps towards prosperity. Whatever the factors that have led to the tense and hostile relations with India and Afghanistan, they were tied to the circumstances in the past. These relationships need to be redefined based on the present-day circumstances in the context of the well-being of the country and its people in particular, and the regional harmony in general. In the global stage of politics, no country is an absolute friend or absolute enemy. History has shown that countries that were worst enemies 70-80 years ago and have sacrificed millions of people in two World Wars are now not only friends but also share resources and have formed an alliance on common interests.
The barriers in the name of ideology that have been erected and misused by the leadership in the country over the past seven decades for their own interests are primarily serving as barriers between the people of Pakistan and their prosperity. Several strategic decisions on internal and external affairs that have been justified and sold to the people of Pakistan in the name of ideology are backfiring.
Pakistan’s three primary neighbors, India, Afghanistan and Iran, have established close economic ties and Pakistan is left out alone. Pakistan through its geographical location could have played a primary role in this regional economic alliance, which would have benefited the country and its people, but the leadership preferred hostility to prosperity and threw the country in isolation. CPEC was sold as the floodgate of prosperity in Pakistan, which still lies in uncharted waters with unknown pathways. There is no question that good relations and economic cooperation with China is vital for Pakistan but other neighbours should not be ignored.
Similarly, the support and promotion of a specific religious mindset as an ideological manifesto is now reaping its fruit. The social fabric of society is ripped apart by sectarian rift and religious extremism. It is now evident how foreign funds rolled into the country to destroy its tradition of religious tolerance — all sold in the name of national ideology. Thousands of innocent civilians have been sacrificed and the religious intolerance has created deep fissures in the social structure of the country but no one dares to challenge this unknown ideology.
The ideological manipulations for personal gain over the past 70 years has caused so much foundational damage to the country that if this manipulation continues further, the point of no return will not be too far. It is not too late to stop this approach and redefine the domestic and external policies and strategies to prioritise the welfare of the people of Pakistan and secure a status of reputable nation among neighbours and the rest of the world.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 24th, 2018.