Pakistan is facing multiple challenges ranging from terrorism to delivery of basic services. We here intellectuals discuss these issues in depth every night on media. For those of us living in the rural areas, provision of irrigation water and electricity might be the biggest problem. Others living in relatively urban areas are pertrubed by power outages and rising commodity prices. The sad truth is that most of the issues are common to all of us like terrorism, energy and food crisis etc. We have not seen any government tackling these issues successfully since the independence of Pakistan. Some of them had intent but lacked capability while others continue to fill their pockets involving in mass corruption.
The idea underlying the whole discourse is that we are faced with the crisis of leadership. All the other issues that we highlight from time to time are a corollary of a larger problem i.e. inefficient leadership. While military shares the blame for obstructing the democratic process but democratic governments have done little to deserve appreciation. Our political leadership has been intellectually deficient and lacked the strength, vision and commitment to addressing people's problems. This is because our system is not democratic in strict sense of the word due to entrenched system of feudalism. Pakistani nation has only witnessed the change of faces in the legislature but surnames from all the constituencies have more or less remained the same.
The people who struggled for this piece of land had higher ideals in mind which have not been translated into actions. But sixty years in a nations life is not much and we can still catch up on development on all fronts. Our nation has shown its resilience in testing times and continues to deal with challenges on all fronts. It is not the resolve of our politicians that has helped us stand as a strong nation in a battered region. They have left no stone unturned in hurting the cause of the general populace. Their scope of ambition doesn't go beyond erecting few plazas and lavish properties abroad. Bad habits are awfully more difficult to abandon than acquiring good ones. We can go on censuring them for all our ills or we can play our part as an individuals in constructing a vigilant society. A society that is not dormant and stands up for its cause.
We cannot expect a people's revolution that brings all the culprits to book. The change is going to be a silent one and should come from within. Gandhi said, "Be the change you want to see in the world". Today's Pakistan is more proactive due to a relatively educated youth, vigilant media and an independent judiciary. The only thing needed is commitment on the part of every individual. Our armed forces are capable enough to address external threats. The only thing needed is that the politicians set their house in order and accept the changing realities. This country cannot endure to be their personal fiefdom for long now.
It is about time we re-evaluate our priorities in changing global and regional geopolitics. We need to find a role for ourselves in international politics and it should be a peaceful and constructive one. We do not need hostilities while almost half of our population is below the poverty line. Politicians should come with ideas that resonate with the people and people's demand are simple to point out. Their bar of expectations has never been higher and all they ask for is basic services of life.
Pakistan is passing through crisis and it demands a leadership that can salvage the country. Karl Marx said about democracy,"The oppressed are allowed once every few years to decide which particular representatives of the oppressing class are to represent them." With the democratic government in place, we hope our leaders would stand up to the ocassion and prove Karl Marx's apprehensions about democracy wrong.
