The whiplash of static change

Things will never be the same again. Or so we hope.

Do you see signs of progress twinkling around you like bright little stars? Is this the place you grew up in? Has the neighbourhood changed? Yes of course, you see more houses and more people and definitely more mosques and madrassas. See that new road? That wasn’t there when I was a kid. And that bridge bejeweled with those shiny blue signboards? Nope that wasn’t there either. Oh and of course that shopping mall is so spankingly new. The only mall we knew as kids was the Mall Road in Lahore.

Clearly things have changed. And by far the biggest engine of change has been technology. In fact, we all know the world has changed more in the last hundred years than since recorded history. These are the times that we live in — empowered by personal gadgetry and humbled by the pace of global progress.

Towards this progress we sadly do not contribute much — possibly because we are consumers, not producers of change.

But change comes in strange shapes and sizes. Blink and you may miss it. Most do, especially those stuck in traditional civil-military binaries. These paleontologist analysts are so wedded to their archaic viewpoints, they are simply unable to grasp the subtleties of change. It is not driven by politicians alone, or by military strongmen, or even by global pressures bearing down on us. It may in fact be all these and much more that is pushing and pulling us out of traditional inertia and towards a certain kind of mental and physical change.

But wait. So you mean there is actually a way to look at Pakistan outside of civil-military ties? Seriously? No mention of Ayub Khan and Ziaul Haq and others? No harking back to the Objectives Resolution and the 1973 Constitution? Is it even possible to have a discourse on Pakistan that looks ahead instead of delving into the past? Our intellectual analysts would be outraged; their sensibilities violated savagely with such a ludicrous approach.

So be it. Change is sprouting everywhere through pressure from below. It is being pushed by a growing middle class which is losing patience with the system that has always skewed in favour of the privileged elite. It is being pushed by the struggling millions who have hovered below or on a par with the poverty line through generations and can take it no more. It is driven by the burgeoning youth who can glimpse at the world through their cell phones and realise their own deprivations; and it is being driven by teenagers who consume technology like fast food and absorb ideas floating freely in the world of the web.



In fact, real change is happening in the minds of those who look at themselves, their families, their surroundings and society as a whole and realise they want a better everything. No, not just want, but deserve a better everything. It is these men, women and children who are hungering for a change that improves their lives and provides them the opportunity that only a select few enjoy.

This is not a civil or military phenomenon. It is a process powered by simple human aspirations. If a powerful man has done wrong and is thrown into jail, I will applaud. I don’t care who threw him behind bars — no sir, all I care is that someone did wrong, and he was punished regardless of his rank or status. That’s what I see happening in developed countries and that’s what I want here in my country. Yes, that is the change I want. This is the change I deserve.

So let’s cut through the intellectual dishonesty and get one thing very clear — the traditional way of doing things in Pakistan will not — must not — endure. Luckily, key people in our country have realised it. In their own way, the new troika of Nawaz Sharif, Imran Khan and General Raheel Sharif are breaking traditions and triggering change. These three men form the troika, not in any official sense, and not even in terms of making policy decisions — but purely in the context of influencing the way our society is evolving.

Nawaz Sharif symbolises the politician who delivers on material progress, in contrast to the traditional drawing room politician who played power games through palace intrigues, and in turn delivered little for the voter. Sharif and his younger brother have popularised a corporate style of governance that thrives on progress that is visible to the voter.

Imran Khan goes deeper in his discourse. He has been able to fire the imaginations of millions of voters precisely because he talks of all things that Sharifs neglect: accountability, justice, empowerment, education, rule of law, etc. He has sparked off a wave of awareness among all those who refuse to accept that Pakistan cannot change. Imran has cashed in on idealistic aspirations of Pakistanis who want their nation to be nothing less than the best.

And General Raheel Sharif is now implementing change that politicians could never dare do. With the authority at his disposal, he has taken steps no one could have imagined: taking the war to the terrorists; cleansing Karachi of the bloody mess made by the politicians and smashing the walls of privilege the political (and military?) elite has built around themselves. His net grows wider by the day, and so does the rapturous sound of applause.

But even when we put these three men together, not enough change is in the air. Too much of what we see is beholden to personal, political and institutional interests. What happens when the present army chief retires? Are the Sharifs being propelled to act more because of their fear for Imran Khan rather than a genuine desire for sweeping reform? Can Khan walk the talk and actually introduce radical reforms if he gains power? Can we trust him after his dangerously unstable policy on militancy?

Ultimately, whatever change we witness in Pakistan will be driven by a swelling population growing more aware by the day. The leaders will either be driven to change by this force, or will cash in on the sentiment and ride to electoral success. Either way, the process is in motion and we may reach a stage where the demand for change may outstrip the ability or the willingness of the leaders to deliver. That’s when things will become very interesting.

And very radical.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 13^th, 2015.

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