Source : http://thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=38886&Cat=9
Poet and historian Hilaire Belloc wrote: “Physicians of the utmost fame were called at once; but when they came; they answered as they took their fees, there is no cure for this disease.’’
National honour and sovereignty are conjoined twins, interdependent for existence. We don’t like the erosion of our sovereignty yet cannot accept the fact that the cause is an ebbing of national honour and integrity. Affliction of sovereignty and honour can be irreversible. Tragically, our twins have been beset by disease, the malignancy metastasising to near-fatal proportions.
The harshest blow were the events that led to the alienation of the people of East Pakistan, the uprising, the ultimate dismemberment of Pakistan and the surrender of 90,000 soldiers. Political correctness is applied through society. With those in power in a stupor, we as a nation are complicit in letting those events unfold.
This radical surgery led to the separation of the conjoined twins; the surviving sibling has failed to recover to-date. Because of loss of identity, each passing year has seen us retrogress as a society and state. There are no shortcuts to the building of a nation. Preservation of true freedom and nation-building require leadership, vision, honesty and, above all, toil. We opted for a shortcut and ended up in serfdom. Milton described it thus: “Nations grow corrupt, love bondage more than liberty; bondage with ease than strenuous liberty.’’
The recent episode of Raymond Davis has dented our honour once again. To give the Americans their due, they did what a nation and state should do: never give up one of its own. From President Obama down to counsel general Carmela Conroy, the whole US administration was focused on his release from day one. The counsel general visited Davis for hours, apprising him of the steps being taken to secure his release as diplomatic pouches ferried his letters to his kith and kin.
The accused was freed by a judge when the (extended) family of those murdered opted for dollars and American visas as blood money. Their wails demanding justice gave way to a beckoning bright and prosperous future. They were given a choice, and their acceptance of it wounded our pride yet again. Loath to hear about the Sharia, the US took refuge behind Sharia to have its man freed.
His aggressive folding of arms across his chest and the scenes of his walking away in the leaked interrogation video speak of the strength a caring state can instil into one of its own. Davis’ bristling body language was that of a man secure in the knowledge that he would not be abandoned by his country. Instead of frothing at the mouth we could learn a lot about patriotism and responsibility from this affair, if only we could.
Many of us whose “honour” stood whipped draw parallels with the handing over of the late Mir Aimal Kansi. What we choose to ignore is the prevalent perception voiced in the statement of Robert Horan, Jr., a Virginia prosecutor, which was carried in the New York Times of Nov 10, 2002. It was regarding the reward for information about the CIA headquarters killings in which Mir Aimal Kasi stood accused. Horan said: ‘’I am sure there are people there (in Pakistan) who would turn in their mother for $20,000, let alone two million dollars.” What could be more dishonourable than the repeat of this terrible ignominy?
On assuming office, President Zardari asked the international community to cough up no less than $100 billion in grant to the country to ensure his survival. “I need your help. If we fall, if we can’t do it, you can’t do it,” he repeatedly told Wall Street Journal columnist Brent Stephens. As if our alms-seeking psychology was not enough, it has morphed into an attitude of entitlement too.
What we do not understand is that only we have failed to do it. Other leaderships and nations strive for the best as a matter of national honour and moral duty. Moreover, how can one expect anybody to come up with that sort of money to help a country whose leadership is tainted by allegations of massive corruption internationally and from within?
Our military regimes have chosen to fight alien wars. Gen Zia fought “Charlie Wilson’s war,” Gen Musharraf that of the neocon brigade led by George W Bush. These wars cost one his life and the other his presidency. The country barely survives.
The present dispensation religiously follows Musharraf’s foot-prints in letter and spirit. For our consumption, civilian set-ups blame dictators; khakis criticise bumbling civilian leaderships. Pakistan has been abysmally let down by both.
The leaders express fury and sorrow at the death and destruction wrought by the drone attacks, terming them as unacceptable. No condemnation could be more superficial. After the recent deadly attack that left 41 innocent people dead, Ambassador Munter was told that “Pakistan should not be taken for granted nor treated as a client state.” No scriptwriter, not even Nasir Adeeb of Maula Jat fame, could have penned a more fallacious line.
The world sees us as a nuclear power unable to defend the sanctity of its borders; a state that does not extend a dime’s worth to its citizens lives, whereas rulers are seen as having absolutely no control over their passions. The daily mayhem in Karachi, Fata and elsewhere, contractors and spooks galore, compared to the brimming coffers and smug smiles of a few, are a stark testament to this harsh dichotomy. “The battle of Waterloo was won at the playing fields of Eton’’ is a quote attributed to the Duke of Wellington. A cricket win may be a heart- warming temporary respite but the battle for Pakistan cannot be won at the playing fields of Mohali or Mumbai.
We as individuals have our way, for a national cause we seek refuge in the false premise that we are helpless to alter our suicidal course. When a society attains this state of mind, self-destruction is not far away. History teaches us that if a nation fails to control its own destiny, its fate is decided by others.
We see this ominous reality unravelling today. French writer and general, Ferdinand Foch said: “The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.” It is there within each of us, tragically though, as a nation it lies dormant.
The writer is a freelance contributor. Email: miradnanaziz@gmail.com
Poet and historian Hilaire Belloc wrote: “Physicians of the utmost fame were called at once; but when they came; they answered as they took their fees, there is no cure for this disease.’’
National honour and sovereignty are conjoined twins, interdependent for existence. We don’t like the erosion of our sovereignty yet cannot accept the fact that the cause is an ebbing of national honour and integrity. Affliction of sovereignty and honour can be irreversible. Tragically, our twins have been beset by disease, the malignancy metastasising to near-fatal proportions.
The harshest blow were the events that led to the alienation of the people of East Pakistan, the uprising, the ultimate dismemberment of Pakistan and the surrender of 90,000 soldiers. Political correctness is applied through society. With those in power in a stupor, we as a nation are complicit in letting those events unfold.
This radical surgery led to the separation of the conjoined twins; the surviving sibling has failed to recover to-date. Because of loss of identity, each passing year has seen us retrogress as a society and state. There are no shortcuts to the building of a nation. Preservation of true freedom and nation-building require leadership, vision, honesty and, above all, toil. We opted for a shortcut and ended up in serfdom. Milton described it thus: “Nations grow corrupt, love bondage more than liberty; bondage with ease than strenuous liberty.’’
The recent episode of Raymond Davis has dented our honour once again. To give the Americans their due, they did what a nation and state should do: never give up one of its own. From President Obama down to counsel general Carmela Conroy, the whole US administration was focused on his release from day one. The counsel general visited Davis for hours, apprising him of the steps being taken to secure his release as diplomatic pouches ferried his letters to his kith and kin.
The accused was freed by a judge when the (extended) family of those murdered opted for dollars and American visas as blood money. Their wails demanding justice gave way to a beckoning bright and prosperous future. They were given a choice, and their acceptance of it wounded our pride yet again. Loath to hear about the Sharia, the US took refuge behind Sharia to have its man freed.
His aggressive folding of arms across his chest and the scenes of his walking away in the leaked interrogation video speak of the strength a caring state can instil into one of its own. Davis’ bristling body language was that of a man secure in the knowledge that he would not be abandoned by his country. Instead of frothing at the mouth we could learn a lot about patriotism and responsibility from this affair, if only we could.
Many of us whose “honour” stood whipped draw parallels with the handing over of the late Mir Aimal Kansi. What we choose to ignore is the prevalent perception voiced in the statement of Robert Horan, Jr., a Virginia prosecutor, which was carried in the New York Times of Nov 10, 2002. It was regarding the reward for information about the CIA headquarters killings in which Mir Aimal Kasi stood accused. Horan said: ‘’I am sure there are people there (in Pakistan) who would turn in their mother for $20,000, let alone two million dollars.” What could be more dishonourable than the repeat of this terrible ignominy?
On assuming office, President Zardari asked the international community to cough up no less than $100 billion in grant to the country to ensure his survival. “I need your help. If we fall, if we can’t do it, you can’t do it,” he repeatedly told Wall Street Journal columnist Brent Stephens. As if our alms-seeking psychology was not enough, it has morphed into an attitude of entitlement too.
What we do not understand is that only we have failed to do it. Other leaderships and nations strive for the best as a matter of national honour and moral duty. Moreover, how can one expect anybody to come up with that sort of money to help a country whose leadership is tainted by allegations of massive corruption internationally and from within?
Our military regimes have chosen to fight alien wars. Gen Zia fought “Charlie Wilson’s war,” Gen Musharraf that of the neocon brigade led by George W Bush. These wars cost one his life and the other his presidency. The country barely survives.
The present dispensation religiously follows Musharraf’s foot-prints in letter and spirit. For our consumption, civilian set-ups blame dictators; khakis criticise bumbling civilian leaderships. Pakistan has been abysmally let down by both.
The leaders express fury and sorrow at the death and destruction wrought by the drone attacks, terming them as unacceptable. No condemnation could be more superficial. After the recent deadly attack that left 41 innocent people dead, Ambassador Munter was told that “Pakistan should not be taken for granted nor treated as a client state.” No scriptwriter, not even Nasir Adeeb of Maula Jat fame, could have penned a more fallacious line.
The world sees us as a nuclear power unable to defend the sanctity of its borders; a state that does not extend a dime’s worth to its citizens lives, whereas rulers are seen as having absolutely no control over their passions. The daily mayhem in Karachi, Fata and elsewhere, contractors and spooks galore, compared to the brimming coffers and smug smiles of a few, are a stark testament to this harsh dichotomy. “The battle of Waterloo was won at the playing fields of Eton’’ is a quote attributed to the Duke of Wellington. A cricket win may be a heart- warming temporary respite but the battle for Pakistan cannot be won at the playing fields of Mohali or Mumbai.
We as individuals have our way, for a national cause we seek refuge in the false premise that we are helpless to alter our suicidal course. When a society attains this state of mind, self-destruction is not far away. History teaches us that if a nation fails to control its own destiny, its fate is decided by others.
We see this ominous reality unravelling today. French writer and general, Ferdinand Foch said: “The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.” It is there within each of us, tragically though, as a nation it lies dormant.
The writer is a freelance contributor. Email: miradnanaziz@gmail.com
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