Rise and kill yourself first

The title is borrowed, deliberately, from Ronen Bergman's acclaimed book, Rise and Kill First. But this piece is not about Israel. It is about us.

A nation state's policies are determined by its cold national interest. The national interest can be a subject of speculation and debate but, if truth be told, it is essentially a cold calculus of ways and methods to improve the nation's chances of survival and success. Emotions, ethics, morality and ideology have nothing to do with it. Do not get me wrong. These are clever devices for policymakers and the elite to move their constituents, consolidate power and perpetuate policies.

But politics is a secular business and does not have any truck with such high-sounding concepts. Some politicians and states may claim to have a moral or ideological core but such claims are secondary to the merciless, hard dynamics of power. Likewise, democracy, institutionalism and constitutionalism all sound great but, hiding behind such useful fiction, power wants what it wants anywhere else. So forget about the texture of a polity for a second and remember that even if you give your lawnmower another name, its key function remains mowing down grass.

For the greater good of your nation sometimes you have to make unsavoury choices. Two ideological states near us, Iran and Israel, may use religious and ideological language and symbolism but the past two decades of their actions bear testimony to states seeking influence in the secular domain. It is stunning that despite their professed ideological differences they have exhibited many similar behaviours to gain influence, expand territory and get favourable outcomes. Israel played a major role in influencing America's 2003 invasion of Iraq, but it was Iran which expanded influence through Shia militias.

The vacuum thus created in the region was exploited by both states. As the administration changed in Washington, both Israel and Iran dynamically adjusted their proxy networks, tactical alliances and red lines. From targeted assassinations and the arming of violent proxy militias to the calculated destabilisation of sovereign neighbours, they have employed every ruthless tool available to secure their respective spheres of influence. They do not paralyse themselves with debates over ideological purity; they simply recalibrate the lawnmower. The human cost of such cold calculations is easy to forget. Remember Aylan Kurdi. Remember Omran Daqneesh.

Now let us talk about our national priorities. Compare this ruthless clarity with the theatre of the absurd playing out in our own polity. Right now, Pakistan is engaged in Operation Ghazab Lil-Haqq, an open, kinetic conflict on our western border against terrorism emanating from Afghanistan, an immediate, literal threat to our internal security. Yet our media treats it like a footnote. But the moment foreign missiles strike Tehran, our television studios instantly transform into war rooms, populated by emotional anchors weeping for a neighbouring capital. Please do not confuse my meaning. I love the people of Iran. My critique is not based on apathy towards them but on what matters to our media and what does not. For two decades we were told that content was driven by ratings. Now that such a rating system no longer exists the mask is off and we know these rants always reflected the biases of management rather than any rankings.

In the immediate aftermath of APS Peshawar I had such an angry quarrel with the channel management of the time that I threatened to resign. I was asked not to do a show on the tragedy that had befallen us but on some distant Islamophobic crime in the west which did not challenge the "TTP-are-our-estranged-brothers" narrative. They backed down when I insisted. But within days I was told that the Taliban were complaining about me, so they were given my contact information and asked to settle differences with me directly.

Now back to our current crises and current clown show.

This exact same suicidal pathology dictates our macro-level discourse today. The intelligentsia that demands we protect "estranged brothers" or bleed for foreign causes recoils whenever the state actually attempts cold, secular statecraft to secure its own footing. We practically fell over ourselves at literary festivals last month to fawn over Vali Nasr, importing the architect of ruthless Middle Eastern proxy wars as a celebrity, yet we scream treason whenever our own state attempts even a fraction of that realpolitik. Any attempt to secure our strategic autonomy, whether it is joining the Board of Peace or cementing the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement with Saudi Arabia, is met with panicked, ideological objections by our compromised civil society and punditry.

If our elite wants to ignore my warnings it does not mean other countries are not listening. On February 7 this year I wrote: "When it became clear that the India-Israel alliance was the worst outcome for the country, logic dictated that an attempt ought to be made to break the nexus through diplomacy. The Abraham Accords presented an optimal route. But our moral sensibilities would not want to discuss the notion even if the idea was to join after every other Muslim nation."

Of course, a lot has changed since, and it is no longer a question. Last week, we saw Narendra Modi capitalising on that exact sentiment, going on a calculated charm offensive in Tel Aviv. It is my firm belief that this visit ended America's pressure on Israel not to do anything impulsive, bailed Netanyahu out of his isolation, and forced the Trump administration to go along with the invasion of Iran. New Delhi practised the cold calculus of survival, while we simply secured a front-row seat to weep over the casualties.

The brutal truth of statecraft is not just that ideology is a poor substitute for national interest. The ultimate tragedy is that preferring ideology over national interest compromises even your ability to serve that very ideology.

I am tired of getting kicked around for doing what I think is right by my country. In the past week alone I received many body blows for doing that. I do not shill for the deep state, any foreign power, or any other vested interest. But do me a favour. Ignore me if you want but stop killing yourself.

Tu agar mera nahi banta, na ban, apna to ban.

(If you cannot be mine, so be it; but at least be true to yourself.)