Patrons, not allies

Pakistan’s persistent need for foreign aid mirrors a historic quest for patronage rather than true self-sufficiency.

I remember a TV commercial ad for a cigarette brand called Cash King Size Filter. It had this young guy come across Aladdin's Wonderful Lamp. He rubs on its side and the genie appears who asks the young dude what he wished to have. He quickly utters, "I want some cash." The genie instantly puts cash in front of him, but the young guy says that he actually meant Cash the cigarettes instead of the cash money. After he smokes, both the lad and the genie appear to have a happy ending. It was a wonderful piece of advertisement because it triggered an extreme emotion inside the viewers, which is why I still remember it too.

We grew up in Pakistan always hearing the news and the rhetoric that Pakistan was in genuine need of cash from the IMF or the World Bank or whatever other sources it was able to cultivate for this dreaded need for cash. But just like the genie and the guy, I think the genuine problem that Pakistan always had was not cash as much as its perpetual need for patronage from some powerful or rich state.

Shehzad Roy sang that beautiful song where he said that at age 10, he saw the news bulletin where Pakistan was going through a delicate phase. And then at age 20, he saw the same thing. I grew up watching Pakistan always seeking help from foreign states. Somehow, this nuclear armed nation can never provide support to other states. It always needs it and seeks it.

From the outset, since the creation of Pakistan, there was a need for "borrowed power" for which America became our main ally without further ado. Pakistan gladly tied itself in Baghdad Pact, Seato, and Cento to have an insurance policy against an aggressive India and to satisfy its own innate tendency to rely on other states. America may have called Pakistan an ally during the Cold War and after 9/11 but, truth be told, Washington DC never saw it more than a pawn for countering communism and then terrorism. Needless to say, Pakistan never expected to see itself anything different either.

Pakistan's relations with almost any state are rooted in this idea. Saudi Arabia is Pakistan's ATM. But this time around, we may have to sell some very precious resources to get some money. And we will call it investment instead of sale. The IMF pays our bills and then we fail to pay their bills. China is our go-to state when we need money. We also need help from foreign powers when we need to go off of the greylist despite spending enormous resources in fighting the very war against terrorism that caused the greylisting.

Even if Pakistan becomes a wealthy state tomorrow, it may still have the habit of using foreign powers to do political engineering from within because old habits die hard. We don't have allies. We have masters because we seek that relationship. Our prime ministers make foreign trips not for diplomacy and to cultivate relations in order to further national interests of Pakistan and other such things that normal states have. But rather the trips are meant and designed to ask for money and help.

When I was a kid, Pakistan needed help and patronage. When I, as an adult, came to America, those were the days when Pakistan was always in the US mainstream news as a state that caused trouble for India and others by supporting the Taliban and others. Today, Pakistan is this emaciated state that needs help all the time.

It may sound absolutely mental but I truly miss that bad coverage of Pakistan where it was depicted as a villain state that created problems for India. At least, it was a badass Pakistan which, for once, didn't need help but rather put others in a condition where they had to repeatedly ask for Pakistan's help in pulling the plug because the pain that Pakistan caused was too much.