Book launch: Troubleshooting Pakistan’s problems head on

Easy-to-read narrative helps defeatist mindsets think proactively on broad scale.


Our Correspondent May 07, 2012

ISLAMABAD: An optimistic outlook on the future of Pakistan, “Will and Skill”, written by Mowahid Hussain Shah, was launched at Islamabad Club here on Saturday.

Instead of being driven by rhetorical positive thinking, the book explores the problems faced by Pakistan logically and suggests practical ways of improvement. This balance of optimism and constructive criticism was made by Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain while speaking as chief guest to an audience at an overcapacity room of 250 people.

“Pakistanis need to polish their skills and work on their willpower in the present for a better future,” the author said. He added that lack of communication and presentation skills is detrimental to Pakistanis worldwide.

The book also analyses the tumultuous relations Pakistan has with the West. He stated that we need to protect our interests while working with other countries and preserve our individual identity as a nation. He further noted that “there is a glaring exclusion of Muslim entities from power centres and decision-making organs.”

He cited the example of the United Nations Security Council, where there is not a single Muslim nation which has the power to cast a veto.

The author acknowledged that Pakistan’s biggest problem is subpar leadership, which is unable to lead its people and be good global representatives.

He commented, “Leadership [in Pakistan] is based on money rather than merit and perpetuates and increases poverty for the working classes. Bad leadership leads to bad results, simple,” he added.

Shah also dissected Pakistani mentality, causes and effects, with the example of marriage patterns. He said marriages are heavily based on social standards of wealth and whether the union will lead to climbing up a rung of the social ladder. “There is no consideration for quality of life,” he said.

He dubbed this an unproductive and superficial obsession with garnering success that further feeds into the failure of individuals adding to the weight of what he referred to as “crushing complex”.

Commenting on the book, Senator Mushahid Hussain, the brother of the author, said, “We as a nation have the skills but need to work on our will to overcome current challenges and this book shared some interesting insights and ways of how to achieve that.”

He praised the author for using success stories of other countries, such as Turkey, that inspires hope. Shah, he said, is someone who knows the West but has his roots in the east which makes him qualified to analyse and give suggestions on the conflicted relationship.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 7th, 2012.

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