BABAR CHEEMA

I feel like crying aloud. I am heartbroken. My beloved country, Pakistan was a miracle of modern history. In the words of Stanley Wolpert,
“ Few individuals significantly alter the course of history. Fewer still modify the map of the world. Hardly anyone can be credited with creating a nation state. Muhammad Ali Jinnah did all three.”
Due to the sheer brilliance of one man, the force of nature, called Muhammad Ali Jinnah, we attained independence, which we probably did not deserve. It came earlier than expected. We were clearly not prepared for the onerous challenge that an independent country presents.
On 27th March 2004, Quaids daughter, Dina Wadia, in an emotional visit to her fathers mausoleum , in Karachi, wrote in the visitors book,
“ this has been very sad and wonderful for me. May his dream of Pakistan come true”
Quaids grandson, Nusli Wadia, paying homage to his grandfather noted,
“ my dream to come here has been fulfilled. I will come back to see his dream come true”
How did this dream go sour? This is a deeply painful, personal and collective failure of all of us. Nehru, famously predicted that Pakistan will disappear very soon like ice melting under the Sun. Contrary to expectations, the founders of the country worked day and night and soon Pakistan got off to a flying start. Pakistan emerged on the world map like a star, riding on the waves of optimism. Very soon, Pakistan made its presence felt on the world map. Mr Jinnah invited the Bombay based Muslim and parsi businessman, who got Pakistan going in no time.
Pakistan’s economy stabilised grounded on sound industrial base. Agriculture started flourishing. Pakistan’s flag carrier, Pakistan international airlines started ruling the airwaves. Pakistans sportsmen began to make their mark internationally.
Pakistan received its first major shock in 1958, when martial law was imposed. Later Mr Jinnahs sister, who was the unanimous candidate of the combined position in 1965, was defeated in grossly manipulated and rigged elections. Ironically, she was labelled as a traitor by the military dictator, Ayub Khan.
Jinnahs Pakistan ceased to exist in its original form in 1971. Drunkard general presided over the vivisection of the country. A gen surrendered his arms to India in December 1971. This occurred only after Pakistan’s Armed Forces declared war on half of its population. Rest of the country was kept in complete darkness about the happenings in the eastern wing.
Pakistan battered, bruised and disabled, managed to stand up again on its feet.Only 5 years later, Pakistan was blanketed by a dark and Long nights of the generals which ended in 1987, when the dictators plane came down in flames. A decade of disastrous democracy saw a game of musical chairs. The politicians danced to the Marshall tunes of the martial music. Corruption, nepotism and misrule started eating into the very fabric of Pakistan.1999 saw another attempt at Bonapartism. Pakistan fought 2nd of the two proxy wars as a rentier state.
Under successive governments, institutional decay continued to eat into the foundations of the country. Pakistans legal and justice system deteriorated, and lost its total credibility. Police and the prosecution system became totally dysfunctional and has been only used as a coercive apparatus by the state to silence the critics.
The international community has given up on Pakistan. Pakistanis officials are considered as liars, who cannot be trusted . International institutions accuses Pakistan of fudging the facts. We are accused of doublespeak. The world at large has decided to leave us alone and Ignore us. Our friends, like China and Arabs have repeatedly implored us to bring semblance of normalcy and stability, but to no avail . The Country is in the grip of an economic meltdown. There is total administrative failure. Pakistan is a lawless jungle. Arbitrary and whimsical policies are now bearing the results. we are hellbent to self-destruct. Pakistan is fast moving headland towards an abyss.
On the other hand, India is making progress by leaps and bounds. It is now poised to become the third biggest economy in the world. Pakistan is no match to these astronomical strides. India is leapfrogging into the future while pakistan is drowning in the whirlpool of chaos, purely of its own making. India has a staggering amount of US$600 billion in its foreign reserves. The world is in a stampede to invest in India. President Joe Biden has rolled out red carpet for the butcher of Gujarat. India is well and truly, on the highway to progress and prosperity.
Rivalry between Jinnah and Gandhi, the two most towering personalities of 20th century Subcontinent is an extremely fascinating subject for the student of history. These true great scions of Gujarat, India, had personal as well as political/ideological differences . Mr Jinnah , almost single-handedly, fought the battle for Pakistan. The great poet Philosopher, iqbal, had envisaged an ideological framework and prepared the ground with emotive poetry, which set the subcontinent’s muslims ablaze.
My Jinnah would be very unhappy with us . He must be turning in his grave, at seeing what we have done to his Pakistan. We haven’t done him proud. One of the most cardinal mistakes committed was , to ignore his exhortations, enunciated in the clearest possible terms, in his speech, that he delivered at staff College Quetta . This mistake has turned out to be the most fundamental aberration , which is at the heart of almost all the problems that Pakistan is today confronted with.
My Quaid put Gandhi and the juggernaut of the formidable Congress leadership on the mat single-handedly. Today we have let our Quaid down. I wish we had done better.
drbabarcheema@yahoo.com