A priceless opportunity!
There is, however, no doubt that the present situation is fraught with danger. Pakistan is facing, perhaps the greatest crisis of its existence, by challenging the might of the US at “Chicken”. But great crises have always offered great opportunities; if someone is wise enough to grab them!
Pakistan has, over time, become a nation divided within: ethnic divisions and grievances, sectarianism, increasing religious intolerance and diversity of religious interpretations, and finally, of course, the diverse sources of terrorism.
However, I can recall moments of crises when the nation was united: the 1965 Indo-Pak War; even 1971 when, despite defeat, there was a semblance of unity; and the judicial crisis created by Pervez Musharraf. All of these united the nation and the last one, in fact, forced the dictator to quit and leave the country. Also consider what happened when the Taliban took over Swat after the infamous peace deal there — this also united the nation to support the use of force to exterminate this evil within us. This last determination, to root out extremism from within, is present to this day.
Now to the present. Given the force of the anti-American feeling in this country and the general feeling that our politico-military masters have never had the gumption to stand up to the US and say “No”, this ‘declaration of independence’, whatever its other fallout(s), again offers a priceless opportunity to unite the nation.
Currently, no political party can muster a gathering of an impressive crowd as a show of strength; the people are fed up with our current lot of politicians, across the divides. However, if the all parties conference that the prime minister has called for, was to, unanimously, ask the people merely to come out in the streets in front of their homes/offices/places of business/shops, or wherever they are at a certain time of the day, for five minutes, to express their solidarity with the policy of ‘not succumbing to US pressure’, I think the response would be astounding and, if covered by the media extensively, will certainly give the US pause to reconsider unilateral action against a united Pakistan!
But far more priceless is the opportunity to address the real existential threat to Pakistan from increasing religious extremism, not in our tribal areas but all over the country, including (most of all) Punjab; the breeding ground for terrorists and suicide bombers being preached to hate by our Saudi-funded madrassas; a fact that our political leaders are not even prepared to recognise. After all, the logic behind the breeding of this hate against the Pakistani state stems from the accusation that ‘our politico-military leadership consists of gutless idiots who have sold themselves and the hapless citizens of this country to the greatest kafir (infidel) of all; the US —the country that provides unconditional support to Israel so that Israel can slaughter innocent Muslims at will. The same US that is at war with Muslims the world over, in illegal occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan’.
Well, if that is the logic for declaring all citizens of Pakistan as indifels and, therefore, legitimate targets for suicide attacks, then here is that leadership demonstrating its will to “challenge the US might and face the consequences”! That hate can now be garnished and redirected towards a (perceived) common threat and prevented from being directed within to target the innocent citizens of the country. With a nation united in its stand to respond to a unilateral US action, the opportunities are as many as we can make. This opportunity can be seized to bring peace to Karachi, it might even have some impact on the disillusioned and disgruntled, hopeless Baloch youth.
If we have decided on the dangerous course of brinkmanship with the US and are determined not to blink, let us squeeze every little bit of advantage that we can from it.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 28th, 2011.
COMMENTS (27)
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@Bilafond
I call S males I have a plan to keep you all — right in FRONT
Yes, that is the right strategy. Hide behind them. That is something you must be good at.
I am really surprised after I read the comments of all 'shemales" above who shudder by even reading that we should stand up to the US. Don't worry we can and we will stand up. You only die once and when it comes to survival we wont care. For you whom I call S males I have a plan to keep you all --- right in FRONT
@MD: Yes, there should be a national unity, but, that should be for the war against poverty and disease.
But that is not exciting as war and terrorism! Pakistan has brought itself to the level of Somalia. Who cares for it's people who are fed on an overdose of religion? What counts is the elite gang's interest.
If everyone came out and expressed a solemn vow to pay their taxes fully and faithfully we might get someowhere. In the meantime the US will count on the fact that we are a nation of tax cheats and parasites and will remain aid-dependent on whosoever gives it to us.
That is what needs to be fixed. Not some empty protest.
Thus spake the military!!! The summary of the article is - 'Lets put the country on a path that will pave for another military takeover of the country and preserve the gods-like position of the military in the country'
Long back, had Pakistanis stood against PA and said NO to them, Pakistan would have been in different state by now. The coming together of Pakistanis during Indo Pak wars is not "for Pakistan" but for "against India". This is evident as many Pakistani readers have pointed out, as happened during 1971 war when Pakistan lost half its territory. Even today, if they come out, it will be against US, but not for Pakistan. That right to fight "for Pakistan" rest solely with the Pakistani army.
Mr. Qadir: Undoubted, your position indicates that you'd like to see good come out of the current crisis and you mean well. You'd like to see the current crisis used as a leverage to dismantle the infrastructure of religious extremism and militant ideology.
The problem however is that Pak's military leadership have created this crisis precisely to defend that ideology and its actors. So the direction this crisis is likely to take, is unfortunately to make the problem worse, since during brinkmanship each side adheres to their positions more firmly. The pity will be that the biggest losers will be the well-meaning and peace-seeking citizens of Pak, who are already facing an existential crisis and becoming a minority in their own land.
Sincerely, Santosh
@faraz: Relative to the rest of the non-Muslim world, we are living in medieval times! We have no real industry to talk of; we rely on agriculture produced by the feudal lords; we don't do much trading (because we don't produce much anymore); we receive money but never repay it; our education levels are dismal; no real health care to talk of; water electricity and gas are prized commodities.... It is sounding all to similar to what I would imagine life in medieval times to have been like.
What you are suggesting is that the people must come on the streets to support the Establishment thinking that allies (Taliban terrorists) must be supported. They should not use their brains, must simply support non state actors and the "strategic depth" policy. It seems you prefer collective suicide rather than informed debate.
I suppose, to live with pride and stand against a liar & an oppressor to implement justice(in true sense, with respect to every citizen) will definitely need sacrifices.
Are we all talking about materialistic dependencies quoted as 'WAHN' in below Hadith?
On the authority of Thawbaan , the Prophet said:
**“The People will soon summon one another to attack you as people when eating invite others to share their food.” Someone asked, “Will that be because of our small numbers at that time?” He replied, “No, you will be numerous at that time: but you will be froth and scum like that carried down by a torrent (of water), and Allah will take the fear of you from the breasts (hearts) of your enemy and cast al-wahn into your hearts.” Someone asked, “O Messenger of Allah, what is al-wahn?” He replied, “Love of the world and dislike of death.”**[An authentic hadith recorded by Abu Dawud and Ahmad]
May Allah guide us all.
US does not have to be in classical war with PAK.
Refusing to underwrite PAK bonds in international market by US and London financial institutions, freezing PAK (and PAK military leaders and PAK politician assets) assets in US, and freezing US-PAK trade are good enough.
There is no need for active sanctions. Since the last two days how much foreign exchange did PAK loose when rupee started sliding?
Stop kidding around, kiss and make up, and export the mangoes. Haqqani and Omar are not worth it.
Don't waste your money by burning US flags. PAK needs every rupee now.
Is this author serious? Unity behind hate is ridiculous idea but unfortunately it is the story of Pakistan.
@Babloo: Sadly my friend it is not a joke but a true reflection of Pakistan military mindset. To sum it up the brilliant minds at GHQ think that despite never having won a single war against a pretty ordinary Indian army, they can take on a superpower ! Despair....
great crises have always offered great opportunities; if someone is wise enough to grab them!
I am strongly agree, in particular with this point of author. nothing is better than stand on your own feet. the morning is, when you wake up. initially this crisis may bring bad things but in long run, i think this will give an opportunity to realize ourselves and make pakistan more strong.
Please tell me that this is not serious but some kind of a joke. Please.
Now what a daft idea. So if two hundred million of us held hands and sang 'ae watan ke sajeelay jawano' the US would quake in its boots and run away.
Full marks for originality though..
1971 and national unity? Really? Unless you never considered East Pakistan part of Pakistan to begin with.
So religion has failed to unite us and so we should become a nation driven by hatred and anti-Americanism. That sounds pretty facist..never a happy ending when one goes down that path.
I wish we were living in the medieval times when the feudal economy was not dependent on industry, trade or loans. Human resource, education, health, water, electricity or gas was never an issue. People didn’t use oil driven vehicles to travel, and the civilization existed on nothing but a source of water.
Said unity will last about 5 minutes. After that all the cleavages will simply reassert themselves. Pakistan most of the time has not been a country that has thought about its long term future. Decisions are usually made by way to knee jerk emotionalism.
"However, I can recall moments of crises when the nation was united: the 1965 Indo-Pak War; even 1971 when, despite defeat, there was a semblance of unity;" huh? What semblance of unity during 1971 war? Does not the brigadier know that pakistan was "dis-united" with its eastern wing? Or perhaps this shows the amry's mindset, they never considered east-pakistan "pakistan".
I think Mr. Qadir has really come up with a brilliant idea. Really, the only reason other countries call Pakistan a failed state is because Pakistanis have never before come out on the street and expressed their unity as one nation. If only the Pakistani establishment was sensible enough to heed this advice, tell the US to take a hike, and prepare the Pakistani nation to be unified for war so as to solve its existential crisis. Truly an opportunity in crisis indeed!
I firmly believe that Mr. Qadir above as well as Col. Riaz Jafri are the most under appreciated yet prolific writers in the English language Pakistani media.
If everyone stands outside his house for 5 mins, the US will quake in its boots and will run away from the scene !!!
Anything else? How about asking everyone to come out burn US flags? Oh, we have done that, already, haven't we?
Right from our independence, we have taken money from US on some pretext or the other. How will we survive in this priceless moment ? On more slogans? Don't you think the world will think of us being hypocritical and ungrateful?
Before challenging the might of US, we need to ponder on a few facts; 1.) We are not equals. In case, the US carries out another unilateral raid, we cannot do anything. 2.) Our economy is in bad shape and survives on donation. What will happen to our economy if there was sanctions on our country? And what will happen if US closes down its consulates? Do we want our youth to be returned from US airport immigration counters? 3) When we challenge the versions of US, we should know that no country in the world supports us or buys our version. In the fight against US, we are alone. And we fight against a superpower with borrowed money. A sure recipe for kindling dormant fissiparous tendencies in the country.
You say that we should draw advantages from this brinkmanship. What advantages?
Setting the country back by several decades does not look like an advantage to me!