Pakistan Zindabad?

Is Pakistan a failed state or on the verge of becoming one? A question that has repeatedly been asked by the media, pondered upon by think tanks, ignored by the ruling class and dreaded by the West. Corrupt politicians to a disenchanted populace and an appalling education standard to a deeply fragmented society are just some of the issues that we can agree Pakistan faces.

In this article, I will use a five-point framework presented by Jared Diamond in a TED Talk about the collapse of societies, and use that to analyse Pakistan and see what is going wrong. The first item on the framework is society’s impact on its environment. Issues such as illegal timber logging in the Northern Areas of the country are a prime example of our impact on the environment. Pakistan has Asia's second highest rate of deforestation. With only two per cent of the land covered by forests, compared with the 25 per cent global average, the country will utilise its forests in the next 15 years. For those pointing out that environment is the least of our concerns, Easter Islanders would beg to differ. Our fate is inexplicably linked to our environment, and we are destroying ourselves by destroying our ecosystem.

Next is the climate, or more specifically climate change and its impact on society. No one needs to be reminded of the devastation caused by the 2010 floods. The economy is still reeling from its effects. Natural disasters of such scale are becoming a norm and our infrastructure and institutions are barely able to cope with the devastation. With drought, famine, severe flooding and erratic weather becoming prevalent, we need to be prepared, which we unfortunately are not.

The third item on the framework is relations with neighbouring friendly states/societies. Now, for Pakistan, there is only one neighbour that we can assume as a friendly state — China. Well, it's no secret that our friend hasn't been too good of a friend. One would argue that it has helped us militarily by sharing nuclear and military technology, but those actions have limited or no impact on the economy or society. People argue, it bolsters our defense, but against whom? The threat is internal and it can't be fought with planes! The Chinese haven't been too forthcoming with aid either. They hardly played a part during the 2010 floods, giving a paltry $18 million compared to the $683 million given by the US and the $151 million by Saudi Arabia. Even India gave us more aid — $26 million.

Next is relationships with neighbouring hostile states, and those we have plenty of, or at least perceive to have many. India to the East, Afghanistan and Iran to the West. Our relationship with none of these countries can be regarded as a friendly one. This is a result of our failed foreign policy and it is a huge factor in the instability of the country.

Finally, come the social, cultural, political and economic factors of a society. Our society is morally bankrupt. There is blatant disregard of law at all levels of society, our politicians are corrupt and our bureaucrats incompetent. The writ of the state does not reach further than the capital. People are misled, they have been fed propaganda and it is starting to show its impact on society by way of intolerance towards minorities, sects and people with different opinions. Religion is being misused for justifying the very thing it stands against. The economy is in the doldrums.

The purpose of this article is not to cast hopelessness, but to accept the fact that we are in a struggle for our survival even after six decades of existence. We have to let go of the perception that we are mere puppets controlled by so-called 'external forces'. Whatever has happened to us, has happened because of our own failings; and failings at all levels. There is cause for concern and trepidation, but not all is lost. We are the masters of our own destiny and we need to change if we want to survive.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 5^th, 2013.

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