In light of what it is currently witnessing – the protests and floods – Pakistan is at the forefront of the media all around the world. The past few weeks have been turbulent for Pakistani politics and our image is being tarnished day by day. The fact that Karachi is reckoned among the top 50 dangerous cities of the world is doing no justice to this nation we call home.
Constantly bombarded with statistics on bomb blasts, death tolls, suicide attacks, kidnappings, gang violence, acid attacks and the like, I fail to believe that we are defined by such atrocities.
With our population climbing towards the 200 million mark, we have the potential to achieve a lot, yet our increasing population is deemed to be a negative thing. At the time of writing, as I entered ‘Pakistan’ into my Google search, the top hits included stories on the Islamabad sit-in, new polio outbreaks, a banned cricket player, petty politics and the severe damage caused by the floods. Is this all we’re about? Is this what makes us?
Each of the four provinces is home to a variety of minerals and energy resources. Coal, copper, gold, and semi-precious minerals can be found in abundance. We are among the top 10 textile exporters of the world. We have the seventh largest army in the world. We have a rich cultural heritage enabling us to attract tourism.
With these promising statistics, why are our exports in billions while our neighbour’s exports are in trillions? Why is our GDP not on par with that of India? Despite getting independence at the same time, India excels in every field possible. We have the potential to be so much more and it can only be achieved when we stand united as a nation.
Senior PML-Q leader Mushahid Hussain said in a joint session of parliament recently: “We need to move away from the Mughal mindset to a Mandela mindset.” I couldn’t agree with him more.
This nation is in dire need of change. We need to unite to promote the more favourable aspects of our country.
We need to rid ourselves of the cynical attitude ingrained within us. If we stand united, we are so much more than what the world sees. There is more to us than just sectarianism, bribery, corruption, poverty and illiteracy. There is more to this country than just terrorism, violence, guns and bombs. We are the epitome of resilience.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 31st, 2014.
COMMENTS (9)
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Not many may have noticed but it is flexibility, nay, I would say, fluidity that makes Pakistan unbreakable.
Top ten textile exporters and seventh largest army... ++++++++++++++++++++ In other words a pillow cover-bedsheet economy and an army with a country.
Pakistan to be renamed.... ++++++++++++++ Potentialistan.
"There is more to us than just sectarianism, bribery, corruption, poverty and illiteracy. There is more to this country than just terrorism, violence, guns and bombs. We are the epitome of resilience." Yes, absolutely right: there is more to the problems and drawbacks and what not that the media portrays as actually the negatives are always more conspicuous than the positives. Your article instills hope and that is what is the need of the hour. Please go ahead and show us what makes us resilient, regardless whether or not we are the epitome or resilience. Am I right when I think everyone all sects and nationalities and social and political groups in Pakistan have a lot of freedom. I mean freedom in what they like and what they want to do and not so much as freedom from want? Please enlighten us. Thanks.
@Prada: Good comment. I agree that Bangladesh has done a great job of nation-state building in the areas of democracy, judiciary, and governance, despite all the odds. I also agree with the author about the way she has portrayed the current State of Pakistan from within and this is how most people see Pakistan from outside. Yes, Pakistan is resilient but it is hanging by the thread to survive because of its internally manufactured problems.
@vinsin: Your rhetoric has no basis in truth or history. Your comments are over the top. Totally unrealistic and bellicose. Get a grip.
@vinsin: As an Indian , could not have agreed more .
Japanese will get the epitome of resilience not Pakistan. Most Pakistani disdain their rich cultural heritage rather I will say many subcontinent Muslims. "India excels in every field possible"-disagree, in-spite of partition for secularism, India couldn't become a Secular State. India failed to secure it's border with both China and Pakistan, is responsible for all the issues, from Tibet, Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh. Indian also failed to stop the growth of refugee from Bangladesh, never defined the meaning of non-muslim state, completely failed in population control specially among Indian Muslims. Failed to uncheck the growth of unplanned urban cities. I will say China accomplished far more than India or Pakistan. India might have done better than Pakistan but India could have done a lot had Sardar Patel or Ambedkar had been India first prime minister.
I think the world "resilience" is misused in this context. For me the most resilient nation in the region is Bangladesh. They are sitting on a land prone to massive flooding and they do not have access to resources like Pakistan has in Balochistan. Their region was short-changed by successive rulers - be it the English or West Pakistan. Their infrastructure was non-existent and yet they have made impressive strides recently and it will keep getting better. On the other hand, Pakistan has been going backwards since the eighties. If surviving as a nation is resilience, that may be so. But barely so.