The Pakistani Spectator

Hassan Nisar rightly pointed out in his interview with Dr. Shahid Masood that all they knew are 400 to 500 sentences and if we snatch these sentences out of their mouth these so called politicians couldn’t speak anymore. Why not to guess the governments through Buzzwords? Like to begin with; “Change, Obama, IDP’s, Taliban, Shariat, Military operation, Drones, Load shedding, 17th Amendment, lawyers strike”…..Who comes in mind? What about these set of words “NRO, CJ, Uniform, Puppet assembly, Bush, War on Terror, Al-Qaida, Missing persons, MMA, Enlightened moderation, Pakistan first, Kalabagh dam, Gwader, CBM’s, Bugti, 911……” and then, “Kargil, Freezing foreign reserves, NAB, Atomic blasts, India-Pak relations, Qarz uttaro mulk Sanwaro….. “. And than “Islam, Hadood, Parda…”

I always wonder that why we are making fool of ourselves by listening again and again the so called created issues. How long shall we take, to differentiate between the genuine and crafted issues? When do we come to realize that what are the basics and otherwise. They talk a lot but seldom talk of the thing, which we need to know. They talk about past and future but never about present. Accusing the previous ones and showing the dreams of future. They won’t tell you their party manifesto, their vision and work plan. They will never come to true statistics and quantitative statement but always put the qualitative statements except the wonderful play of numbers in crafted federal budget.

Why not to talk about the basics today. Let’s start with economy. All I want to know is that what is the natural resource potential of Pakistan? How much resources we are using today and what is the resource distribution between state and provinces, between private and public, between national and multinational companies ownership. Why the few got the lands, License and monopolies on these resources? What about the foreign and internal loans? Who take how much? What about the waiving off the loans per year? What about taxes, why we are relying on consumption tax instead of income tax? What do you think that if these kinds of information should not be public!

Yes, I want to talk about politics? Why they only talk about the power sharing between PM and President, COAS and Civilian government, PM and CM, governor and CM? Why they won’t talk of public accountability, sharing the power with people?

Why they never talk about the legislation and laws? Why they won’t ask from us that what laws we like and which laws we want to be removed?

Why no democracy within the political parties? Why don’t they advertise the opportunities for youth to be inducted in political parties? Why rabta awam only before polling and why not the continuous connection? Why don’t they publicize all the perks and packages which MNA’s and MPA’s enjoy in comparison to other governmental officials? Why they made these things the sacred cows?

Let’s come to civil society. Who is civil society; NGO’s, professionals (Dr’s, Lawyers), labor, peasants, students, consumers, producers? Why it appears and disappears from time to time? Is this also another wing of political parties or its anything beyond? What about the role of thinkers, writers, philosophers, poets? All I see is the so called political think tanks or journalists? We need Sir Syed, Iqbal, Faiz, Hali and Deputy Nazeer Ahmed like figures to through light on the society and guide us. All I see the few old authors, who are departing us by and by. Where are Pitras Bukhari, Saadat Hasan Minto, Qurat-Ul-ain, Qudrat Ullah Shahab, Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, Ishfaq Ahmed, Mumtaz Mufti like analysts of social fabrics? Who will fill this vacuum?

Could the local Gali, Mahala wisdom fill this vacuum? But we have also that wisdom. What about Chopals, Baithaks, tea clubs, Wisakh and macha culture? We are getting desperate due to lack of guidance, but who cares?

And last but not the least, the divide (Someone commented on my previous article that we never work as a team). Quite right indeed! Talk of Shia and Sunni, Leghari and Mazari, Sariki and Punjabi, Sindhi and Balouchi, Rich and poor, Upper and lower class etc! Somebody said that there is no problem in identity and I agree that there is no problem in identities. Rather they are the flavor and richness of culture. But somewhere in a past some cunning persons see opportunity in this diversity. They used these differences and asked for division instead of reinforcement. We all know that diversity satisfy the vacuum of each other but here it was used otherwise.

I was wondering that when we will start discussing the basics instead of carved buzzwords. When we will come to the roots? I am also worried about falling of leaf every second day from this tree we call Pakistan. Everybody is aggrieved on the branches which are getting pale. But what use to talk of leaves and branches and not the roots and ground (foundation)