The journey of life is replete with experiences encompassing moments of happiness as also encounters with sorrow. Each such experience leaves behind a trail of lessons which we are prone to pushing aside and continuing with our inherent proclivities and our self-promoting and self-elevating objectives. In such pursuits, we usually forget that the planet is inhabited by other people who have rights and ambitions like ours and who too are driven by dreams and enterprise.
But when we are not able to achieve our desired objectives because of them being unrealistic, we generally refrain from looking inwards and our finger immediately points in the direction of those whom we perceive to be responsible for our failures. Such conclusion is always bereft of reason and logic and is driven mostly by our greed. As we hit others with blame, it becomes a cause of further pain and anguish.
These proclivities are present aplenty in the ruling elite who are always looking for excuses to offer for their failures in delivering to the people what is their inalienable right and which the state is beholden to providing them. When deprivations multiply, a conflict-like situation ensues, and the people are forced to take on the government. As confrontation intensifies, the power wielders, as a calculated measure, resort to using the might of the state to quell disturbances and subdue the people.
But problems don’t disappear in such a manner. They escalate further, breeding despondency and disaffection. As a natural sequel to the use of force, the state is perceived to be pitted against the people. When they say so, they are immediately branded as traitors. But tragically, a candid evaluation process is never undertaken to see where the problem originates from. So, the battle rages on, growing in intensity and bitterness with time.
This unsettled state breeds many other challenges. In our midst, the upsurge in terrorist activities is a clear indicator of the weaknesses within. The more such conflicts ravage the societal equilibrium, the more they are likely to facilitate extremist elements that cause destruction and mayhem. The deadly terrorist attack on a cantonment in Bannu earlier this week is a glaring case in point as are many others which have ravaged the national landscape in the recent past. Even more worrying is the fact that their intensity and operational domain continue to expand, thus bringing in more areas under their assault.
While intelligence failure remains a serious cause of such incidents, they also point out divisions within society. The state using its draconian power to quell the (political) opponents of the incumbent administration transforms into a rationale to further widen the differences and breed inimical tendencies among those who may feel wronged.
The state and its institutions must remain non-partisan in dealing with people. But when they resort to wearing deceptive cloaks to hide their spots, it augments divisions which transform people into a combative mould, thus causing serious fissures in the national body politic. Pakistan is suffering from an extreme of this malady where the state appears to be siding with a motley crowd devoid of legitimacy and relevance while those who received their trust at the hustings are the victims of excessive state oppression.
This makes for an inequitable situation. It is laborious and unsustainable. The glaring fissures are seen by everyone, but those who have the power and instruments to heal them refuse to take cognizance of the loss of balance. In addition to being unkind, it also reflects tonnes of arrogance and hubris swelling their brains and bodies. That is not an ideal starting point when the state is faced with a monumental challenge with the potential to cause irremediable damage and destruction.
The emerging situation also reflects poorly on various components of our foreign policy. Why those sitting in that hallowed office on Constitution Avenue allowed the state to slide into a weak position vis-a-vis its neighbour remains an enigma. The paradigm changing from harbouring a dream of securing the Western border post US withdrawal to the current tense situation when it is continuously penetrated by hordes of terrorists and extremist groups to target various places in the country is symptomatic of a grave policy failure.
This is no ordinary setback. This is monumental in its dimension as it imperils the security of the state as well as its people. The terrorist incidents taking place in February showed a major increase compared to the number of similar incidents occurring in the previous month, thus reiterating an upward trend in terrorist activities in the country.
Wading through turbulent waters, we are fast reaching a point of no return. Contrary to the tall claims of progress, the state is suffering from a host of malfunctions which are the outcome of illegitimate and incompetent incumbents. Their continued presence in the corridors of power is sparking divisions within the societal framework and causing further woes for the people. With record unemployment ever in over seventy-six years, the miserable living conditions of the people defy description. There is a mass exodus from the country as people see no hope of revival with the current rulers. The busiest places are the passport and NADRA offices where people throng in ever-increasing numbers to complete their documents to travel abroad. The loss of hope is increasingly evident: so painful, yet so true.
The only commodity that comes cheap are the state funds lavished with abandon on the favourites of the rulers as also on publicising their fictional achievements. There is no end to these Machiavellian indulgences.
Their rank incompetence is another glaring feature they hide behind the veneer of efficiency. The recently constructed overhead/underpass combination on 9th Avenue in Islamabad is a death trap for commuters. Right in the middle of the underpass, the slow lane disappears suddenly, becoming the loop to the left with a wall standing in its place. As one starts climbing the overhead part of the bridge, after a bumpy ride, the fast lane disappears right in the middle of the contraption, morphing into the loop to the right with a three-foot wall staring blankly at you. This is a virtual two-way death trap which will soon be mentioned as a key achievement of the incumbents.
From a deepening loss of hope to manoeuvring death traps, will there ever be an end to playing with people’s lives?
The writer is a political and security strategist and the founder of the Regional Peace Institute. He is a former special assistant to former PM Imran Khan and heads the PTI’s policy think-tank. He tweets @RaoofHasan
