Unplanned democracy

Ever heard of mothers accidentally expecting a baby? That is what democracy in Pakistan is resembling. This is the story of how a foreign factor or an external stimulus, while actually negative, could lead to something very positive.

Scientists say that life on Earth might have come from Mars. That the building blocks of Earth-life actually came from Mars after Mars was hit by some giant asteroid causing Martian substances to rise up enough to leave the gravity of Mars and land on the nearby Earth. Thus began the first steps toward life as we know it.

When I look at the Earth map on Google Earth or one of those office globe spheres, I cannot put my finger on a single country where I can say with confidence that this is where true democracy exists and thrives. For the umpteenth time, a ballot is no guarantee of democracy. It is rather a great deception mankind has invented. That said, some countries do have better practice of democracy than others. When I look at Pakistan, it has been a fertile land devoid of true democracy, in desperate need of democratic seeds.

When we look at the United States, it was never perfect, yet, the democracy over there is better than all other countries in the world. A foreign stimulus such as the 9/11 attacks, rallied the nation around the flag but America ended up reducing its democracy at home. Civil liberties became a favourite target of successive American presidents in the name of security. In Pakistan, a foreign stimulus, such as the cypher controversy, has done the opposite. It may have created problems in the practice of democracy in the start but it has caused the rejuvenation of a more united yet fighter, steady yet aggressive population, which is not going to put up with the status quo.

The interesting part about this new urge to stand up for the nation’s integrity is that it has the urge to kill the very thing that created it: foreign interference or conspiracy, depending on who you ask. It is true that the biggest driver of Pakistan’s problems is chronic corruption. I also want us all to realise that foreign interference and corruption go hand in hand. In the absence of corrupt leadership, foreign nations with ulterior motives and selfish national interests cannot execute their nefarious plans. For that, there has to be a system in place that is willing to sell its nation’s integrity and sovereignty for a price.

While the fight against corruption is an important one, the current national urge to rally around the one man is actually an urge to end all foreign interference that has for almost the entire history of Pakistan decided the fate of every citizen. This is a fight to take their country back from the control of those who don’t live here.

They say Pakistan may not get another Imran Khan in the near future and I concur. However, I must say that Pakistan may also not get the same generation of Pakistanis that are there right now. The generation ahead may not have Imran Khan but they also may not have the odds against them that this generation has. I came across an online video recently in which a man was giving a speech. He said, “Tough times create strong men. Strong men create easy times. Easy times create weak men. Weak men create tough times. Many will not understand but you have to raise warriors.” This team right now, the shalwar kameez wearing selfless man and his followers, is one strong group of warriors created by the tough times they have lived and survived in. I pray that we keep the warrior instinct alive. This article of mine is a love letter to all those warriors.

Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 3^rd, 2022.

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