Who dares, wins
The speech is ready. Who is ready to give it?
The writer is Executive Director News, Express News. He tweets @fahdhusain fahd.husain@tribune.com.pk
“My fellow Pakistanis: I stand before you, the leader of a nation at war. Make no mistake: we are at war. Today we fight to save our present and our future; we fight for our very existence, and for the idea of Pakistan. Today we fight for the ideals of our forefathers; and for the lives and futures of our children and their children. Today, my fellow Pakistanis, we fight for our family; we fight for our homeland; and we fight for everything that is dear to us. So be ready, be firm, and be brave. We fight as one.
"Let it be clear to one and all, we shall fight this war on all fronts. We shall fight with our guns and with our ideas; we shall fight with our resolve and our policies; we shall fight with our clarity and our reformatory zeal. And I promise you, we shall win on every front. We shall win because we have the will — I have the will — to win. We shall not stop till we prevail over the enemy in total victory.
"This victory will not be easy. It will entail pain and sacrifice. Many of us will suffer more than we can imagine. The fires of terrorism that we have lit will consume many before they are finally extinguished. The mistakes that we committed over decades will haunt us yet. There will be agony and suffering. And there will be death.
"But we shall not back down. Hear my words: We. Shall. Not. Back. Down.
"Words alone, my fellow citizens, are not enough. Which is why I will lead with example. The government will lead with example. We will now undertake steps we should have taken a long time ago. We shall now initiate reform that we should have initiated a long time ago. And we shall now — after wasting so much time — rise above our own interests to cleanse the filth that we ourselves have spewed across this fair land.
"Today marks the day Pakistan awakens. Today we shed the baggage of the past and move on; today we wash our sins of yore and move on; today we bury our demons of yesteryears and move on. Yes, we move on and march on with a determination never seen before, and a resolve never felt before. So here I stand before you all, promising to do what needs to be done without fear or favour, without malice or ill-intent, and without any hesitation or reluctance. Here I stand, your wartime leader, pledging to every single man, woman and child, that I will not rest till this country is reformed, strengthened and re-made in the image of the Founder of the Nation.
"We will give to our brave soldiers whatever they require to win this war. We stand fully behind them in every respect. We salute them, and their families, for their courage and valour. We shall harbour no doubts and no ambiguities in our hearts in the waging of this existential war.
"And we shall do whatever it takes to set this country right. We shall start with reforming our police. Yes, I know every ruler has said the same thing, and every ruler has singularly — and spectacularly — failed in doing so. And yes, I can now admit we, the rulers, have used, abused and ravaged the police for our own petty personal political interests. Today, this changes. You know and I know that reforming the police requires political will. We have the plans and the blueprints for such reform, but we did not have the will. Now, I promise to display this will. And I promise six months from today, you shall see a new, revamped, reformed, professional police force that acts independent of any political pressure. I will make this happen six months from today.
"Today I am also ordering a wide-ranging reform of the judiciary. I have already conducted extensive and in-depth consultations with the honourable chief justice of Pakistan, and we both agree this reform must be initiated and completed with utmost urgency, transparency and sincerity. Again, we know what to reform and how to reform, but just did not have the will to do so.
"We will show similar resolve in reforming our madrassas. For too long, this reform has been held hostage to the interests of political and religious personalities. Well, no more. I say to you today, I will not allow any political blackmailing to weaken my resolve to reform the madrassahs and bring them into the mainstream of Pakistani life. These Pakistani children studying in madrassahs deserve a future brimming with options. They must be armed with all the educational skills that every Pakistani child deserves. It is our collective failure that we have miserably failed to provide them the education that is their right and our basic responsibility. We have failed our children. We have a lot to catch up with to make up for our failures. I promise all vested interests controlling madrassahs: be ready to cooperate with the government, or be ready to pay the price. We cannot afford to delay this reform. And we shall not.
"And finally, my fellow citizens, I pledge to you that today we start the process of cleansing all militancy-related ideas from our society. It is my commitment to you — without fear of consequences — that the State of Pakistan will never again birth militant groups for its agendas. It is my commitment to you that I will crack down on every single militant group within our borders regardless of any blowback. It is my commitment to you that I will reform every single curriculum being taught in every single school of Pakistan till there is nothing left that promotes intolerance, bigotry, violence and hatred for other cultures. We must become a nation at peace with ourselves, and with others.
"So my fellow Pakistanis, make no mistake: this is war. I am your wartime leader, and I shall fight and fight till the terrorist and his terrorism is vanquished from this land forever.”
(This speech is ready. Who is ready to give it?)
Published in The Express Tribune, January 4th, 2015.
"Let it be clear to one and all, we shall fight this war on all fronts. We shall fight with our guns and with our ideas; we shall fight with our resolve and our policies; we shall fight with our clarity and our reformatory zeal. And I promise you, we shall win on every front. We shall win because we have the will — I have the will — to win. We shall not stop till we prevail over the enemy in total victory.
"This victory will not be easy. It will entail pain and sacrifice. Many of us will suffer more than we can imagine. The fires of terrorism that we have lit will consume many before they are finally extinguished. The mistakes that we committed over decades will haunt us yet. There will be agony and suffering. And there will be death.
"But we shall not back down. Hear my words: We. Shall. Not. Back. Down.
"Words alone, my fellow citizens, are not enough. Which is why I will lead with example. The government will lead with example. We will now undertake steps we should have taken a long time ago. We shall now initiate reform that we should have initiated a long time ago. And we shall now — after wasting so much time — rise above our own interests to cleanse the filth that we ourselves have spewed across this fair land.
"Today marks the day Pakistan awakens. Today we shed the baggage of the past and move on; today we wash our sins of yore and move on; today we bury our demons of yesteryears and move on. Yes, we move on and march on with a determination never seen before, and a resolve never felt before. So here I stand before you all, promising to do what needs to be done without fear or favour, without malice or ill-intent, and without any hesitation or reluctance. Here I stand, your wartime leader, pledging to every single man, woman and child, that I will not rest till this country is reformed, strengthened and re-made in the image of the Founder of the Nation.
"We will give to our brave soldiers whatever they require to win this war. We stand fully behind them in every respect. We salute them, and their families, for their courage and valour. We shall harbour no doubts and no ambiguities in our hearts in the waging of this existential war.
"And we shall do whatever it takes to set this country right. We shall start with reforming our police. Yes, I know every ruler has said the same thing, and every ruler has singularly — and spectacularly — failed in doing so. And yes, I can now admit we, the rulers, have used, abused and ravaged the police for our own petty personal political interests. Today, this changes. You know and I know that reforming the police requires political will. We have the plans and the blueprints for such reform, but we did not have the will. Now, I promise to display this will. And I promise six months from today, you shall see a new, revamped, reformed, professional police force that acts independent of any political pressure. I will make this happen six months from today.
"Today I am also ordering a wide-ranging reform of the judiciary. I have already conducted extensive and in-depth consultations with the honourable chief justice of Pakistan, and we both agree this reform must be initiated and completed with utmost urgency, transparency and sincerity. Again, we know what to reform and how to reform, but just did not have the will to do so.
"We will show similar resolve in reforming our madrassas. For too long, this reform has been held hostage to the interests of political and religious personalities. Well, no more. I say to you today, I will not allow any political blackmailing to weaken my resolve to reform the madrassahs and bring them into the mainstream of Pakistani life. These Pakistani children studying in madrassahs deserve a future brimming with options. They must be armed with all the educational skills that every Pakistani child deserves. It is our collective failure that we have miserably failed to provide them the education that is their right and our basic responsibility. We have failed our children. We have a lot to catch up with to make up for our failures. I promise all vested interests controlling madrassahs: be ready to cooperate with the government, or be ready to pay the price. We cannot afford to delay this reform. And we shall not.
"And finally, my fellow citizens, I pledge to you that today we start the process of cleansing all militancy-related ideas from our society. It is my commitment to you — without fear of consequences — that the State of Pakistan will never again birth militant groups for its agendas. It is my commitment to you that I will crack down on every single militant group within our borders regardless of any blowback. It is my commitment to you that I will reform every single curriculum being taught in every single school of Pakistan till there is nothing left that promotes intolerance, bigotry, violence and hatred for other cultures. We must become a nation at peace with ourselves, and with others.
"So my fellow Pakistanis, make no mistake: this is war. I am your wartime leader, and I shall fight and fight till the terrorist and his terrorism is vanquished from this land forever.”
(This speech is ready. Who is ready to give it?)
Published in The Express Tribune, January 4th, 2015.