In sixty two years of independence Pakistan’s rulers have, on one pretext or another, not allowed national institutions to grow, mature and become fearlessly functional in order to achieve national objectives. The military rulers, all of whom treated the Constitution of Pakistan with the worst form of contempt, made no sincere effort to utilize this unbridled illegal power for the betterment of Pakistan. These military rulers never made the positive difference that they always promised on usurping political power. After saying the right things for the first few days their actions did not match their words. Each military ruler would soon be captivated by the stinking opportunistic politicians, bureaucrats and other sycophants who would crawl into their dens on their knees and elbows eulogizing their most deplorable actions and making them feel as if they were indispensable for Pakistan. Whatever little ability, courage (both moral and physical) and will to make the difference that may have existed in them was killed by these ever green parasitic sycophants who are always in abundant supply. The politicians too have not made the difference that they should have strived to make in order to bring about a Pakistan that is at peace with itself and has enough to show itself as a developed country with a happy population.

Over sixty years of whimsical governance in an institutional void has taken exploitation of all sorts to unimaginable heights. The provinces are crying hoarse for being exploited by the Federation and the weak and poor Pakistanis are up to their neck because of their exploitation by the rich and the powerful. Millions of Pakistanis live a life of deprivations because of their multi faceted exploitation which must come to an end. Exploitation of the weak and the downtrodden Pakistanis by those who are powerful is actually what is stopping Pakistan from progressing. The State has to step forward to end this exploitation by providing the poor and the weak succour and support through national institutions so that the differential between the power of the exploiter and the weaknesses of the exploited is balanced and this, in turn, neutralizes exploitation. Pakistan has to do this if it hopes to move forward. No nation, at any time in history, has moved forward under exploitative conditions. We have already reached a point where the weak and the poor are ready to fight for their rights and betterment. They have nothing more to lose. The wind, therefore, has to be taken out from the sails of this readiness to fight and take to the streets in order to avoid a bloody revolution that might, in its wake, bring about the fragmentation of Pakistan.

The way to take the wind out of the brewing storm on the horizon is not through the extensive use of State power but to bring about a State that is magnanimous and fair to the poor and the weak on whose name it exists. The people will now have to take the front seat and only then will the storm on the horizon subside. Too much has already happened to Pakistan that should never have happened. A majority of our people lives a sub human life and has been very docile to date. All this is clearly changing and docility is giving way to aggression.

If one has an objective analysis to make one should just look deep into the deprived eyes of millions of half starved Pakistanis and the storm will be clearly visible. Words are not being minced here because that is exactly what must not be done at this critical juncture in order to decipher the trajectory that we are flying on and how that trajectory can be changed for the better. Living with ‘eyes wide shut’ is not going to be of any good to Pakistan.

There is no question that we in Pakistan can ride over the storms that we today face and those that are soon to occur but, rest assured, hope is never going to be enough now. As a parting word let me say that the Army operation in Swat seems to have come to a successful end and the IDPs have started moving homewards. I know what it must have been like for the soldiers and men who fought their way through in these last few weeks. They deserve the nation’s applause. At the same time it is also time to take those to task who allowed the situation to reach the threatening levels that we witnessed. What happened to the Pakhtuns in the last few weeks must never ever be repeated again in any part of the country.

Pakistani nationhood has suffered serious blows in the recent past which has caused it many fractures. The only way these fractures can be repaired and our nationhood restored to a level that it can never be harmed again is to bring about a Pakistan free of exploitation of its people and letting the country move towards reforms that will bring in their wake good governance, peace, prosperity and all round equal development for the rural and the urban areas. You cannot have a few bustling metropolitan cities with the teeming millions still living in near stone age conditions in the remote areas. This accursed exploitation must end.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/editorial_detail.asp?id=188050