Mujhe dushman ke bachon ko parhana hai

Maybe we should educate the children of those enemies who sit in high offices of powerful countries

When the APS incident happened in Peshawar back in 2014, one of the narratives that was furthered was that terrorism would be defeated not with guns and sheer power but rather with education and enlightenment. One propaganda song that was played repeatedly on television across the country was the one that basically said that we would teach the children of our terrorist enemies, that we will reply to guns and knives with pens and books, that education will take care of this menace, that while the enemy was out against kids’ education we will teach even their kids and turn them into what our enemies hate: educated youth. While that may have touched some hearts back then given the sheer sadness in society at the time, today, it sounds like absolute nonsense.

I mean seriously, what are we as a nation going to teach the children of our enemies? How to cater to foreign powers and remove popular leaders at home? How to impose a test tube government that operates on life support? How to destroy an economy within months? How to turn your own people against you? How to forcefully achieve customised justice at midnight while the rest of the country would have no justice? How to fight against free speech and the existence of an informed citizenry by banning broadcast channels and harassing, intimidating and jailing journalists? Can’t we see that the enemy is so eager for us to show up and educate their children? Why shouldn’t they, when we are so good at what we do?

While we may wish to educate our enemies’ children, in the meantime, it seems as though the enemies have turned our elders into beings just like them because they hate an informed and educated nation that questions their actions. Perhaps, it would likewise be wise to argue that far from creating educated kids inside the enemy’s house to turn them away from the bad, we may have rather turned our very youth into the same disillusioned, psychologically disturbed, emotionally hurt and a politically weak lot that just might break bad. Pakistan doesn’t really have enemies. Not because Pakistan is at peace with all but truth be told, it doesn’t need enemies.

Maybe what we should do is to really educate the children of those enemies who sit in high offices of powerful countries. Maybe their next generation of children should be taught to stay away from meddling in the affairs of foreign countries. Because this current lot of powerful leaders around the world are not going to change their thinking and their foreign policies. Changing regimes when those governments don’t do their bidding is seen as a sign of great diplomacy. Making good on threats given to leaders and nations around the world is usually called ‘credibility’ in the American jargon. Maybe the next generation of Americans, if taught well, might be convinced to focus inward and help their own nation rather than using taxpayers’ money to do regime change, purchase journalists and other powerful men in foreign countries.

Because there is a harsh truth to deal with: our people are not showing any signs of imminent change. In fact, the more desperate times become, the greedier the next generation would be. It would be harder to convince the next generation of powerful men in Pakistan not to sell out. It would be seen as counter intuitive and almost laughable to argue with them against money and in favour of protecting the integrity of their soil. Yes, I can argue that sometimes change doesn’t come from within. It just might come by teaching the children of our enemies that when they are grown up men and in charge of the government of the land of the free and home of the brave, they should leave alone their counterparts in the land of the pure. The biggest American help for Pakistan would be to just leave it alone.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 23^rd, 2023.

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