Pakistan’s narrative of impotence

Pakistan is a nation constantly on the brink of a nervous breakdown. Whether it’s a bomb blast in Boston or a hostage situation practically anywhere in the world, the first thought racing through our minds goes something like this: ‘Dear God, please don’t let this be another Pakistani doing something ridiculous that doesn’t represent me’. There is a palpable sense of fear that we have a knack for messing things up, for ourselves and for others. If we were to go into group therapy to treat our nervous breakdown, what treatment would psychologists recommend for a nation that believes it can do nothing right?

The answer to that question is already weaved into the stories we tell others — and ourselves — about Pakistan. We tell our children that Pakistan was once considered an economic role model and Karachi was a city full of lights and life, before our incompetence led to squandering many opportunities to give Pakistan a better future. We tell our children that the British left us an extensive rail network and instead of building and expanding that network, we looted and plundered our own resources. We tell our children that Pakistan previously had an abundant supply of gas as a natural resource and today, we struggle to supply enough gas for the residents of our capital city to cook dinner. In other words, we tell our children an overpowering tale of Pakistan’s impotence. It’s no surprise then that when it comes to results, we receive exactly what we expect from Pakistan: an inability to deliver when and where it matters.

This leads to a very revealing insight: the stories we tell ourselves about Pakistan don’t just define our past, they also shape our future. If we can change the existing narrative around Pakistan, we could influence our future in a meaningful way. Let’s begin this process by asking, beyond impotence, does Pakistan have a story worth telling?

Pakistan does have a gripping narrative beyond the tales of its monumental impotence, but it doesn’t have storytellers that can celebrate the country, without being branded as ‘apologists’. Yes, Pakistan’s problems are real and significant. But so are Pakistan’s achievements, which are overlooked by the country’s storytellers.

Every now and then, a storyteller breaks onto the national stage and changes the way we look at ourselves. Recently, it was the promise of a Naya Pakistan that electrified the nation. It wasn’t a specific policy proposal that inspired the nation. It was the promise of a new narrative about Pakistan that encouraged a tsunami of young and first-time voters to show up at polling stations around the country. Without changing anything on the ground, one gifted storyteller managed to lift the national mood by promising a new narrative around Pakistan. This is a vivid example of the power of storytelling and how it can influence outcomes in the real world.

The power of storytelling can be used to influence the destiny of a nation. By being more strategic about the stories we choose to tell about Pakistan, we can reimagine the future of the country. We can transform Pakistan’s story not by eliminating negative stories currently etched onto our national narrative but by introducing more positive stories to balance our national conversation. This will automatically transform the meaning of the negative stories currently populating our national narrative. Ultimately, how we interpret reality will matter more than reality itself.

In many ways, Pakistan is like the family that avoids going to expensive restaurants and stores because we’re certain that our children will break something — even if they aren’t as mischievous as we imagine them to be. We’re a nation that settles for less because we believe we can’t achieve more. This vicious cycle can and should be broken by the new government.

As a reality check, it’s important to note that post-modernist buzzwords like ‘storytelling’ and ‘positive thinking’ can’t solve Pakistan’s real problems by themselves. But they can significantly enhance our capacity to solve problems by empowering us with genuine confidence in our approach to challenges. In fact, Pakistan could turn its biggest weakness into a strength by using its crippling impotence as a starting point for a great turnaround story. After all, behind every great nation, there is always a great turnaround story.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 6^th, 2013.                                                                                          

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