Friends,
Sadly, Pakistan today is paying for
the two fundamental "failures" that countries like Lebanon and Egypt
are paying for, too. Namely: (1) The inability, or rather the
unwillingness, to establish a strong, well-funded, and well-managed
public education system from day one of its independence. The
establishment of such a strong and well-managed public education
system is essential for the development and strength of national
consciousness without which the country will become, like Lebanon, a
collection of "sectarian shops" ready to sell their "merchandise" to
any one who is willing and able to pay. The reliance on private
schools, especially "missionary schools" is the most "guaranteed"
way to fragment the society and weaken national cohesion. Perhaps
the most shameful failure of the state of Pakistan is the fact that
after well over 60 years of so-called "national independence," well
over 50% of the population of Pakistan are still illiterate. Israel
has succeeded to create "national consciousness" during the same
period of time, not only through reliance on the Jewish religion,
including government-funded Jewish schools, but primarily through
the establishment of well-funded and well-managed public school
system. (2) The destructive role of the army (as in the case of
Egypt, Sudan, Libya, and Iraq, to name but a few) in the national
affairs of the country. Once armies are allowed to dominate national
politics, the road to corruption, despotism, abuse of power, and
waste of scarce national resources, become wide open. In this
respect, if it is true that the thoroughly corrupt regime of Egypt's
Husni Mubarak is the direct result of Egyptians' compromise
with their freedom to elect their government, including the head of
state of course, and to have an active say in the way Mubarak's
regime is enriching itself and its cronies at the expense of the
hard-working people of Egypt, it is also true that the thoroughly
corrupt political system in Pakistan is the direct result of
allowing such a thoroughly corrupt person like Asif Sardari (who
flew by heliocpter to his sumptuous, 16th-century chatateau in the
French countryside while his country is facing the greatest natural
disaster in its history), to be elevated from Mr. Ten Percent to Mr.
One hundred Percent i.e., the Head of State. It goes without saying
that the chatateau he owns in France, together with his real estate
holdings in England, are the result of the looting of Pakistan by
the Bhutto dynasty.
The abovementioned factors, among
other things of course, are the underlying reasons responsible for
the state of apathy, including the fraying of national
consciousness, in Pakistan (together with Egypt and Lebanon in
particular). National loyalty, indeed national consciousness itself,
is a two-way street. The state, represented by its government, has
to be ACTIVELY and MEANINGFULLY, loyal to its citizens in order to
gain the loyalty of the citizens to the state. It is a very sad
reflection on the current tragic state of affairs in Pakistan when
an ordinary person from the so-called "tribal" areas of Pakistan
recently said to a BBC reporter that: "The only time we see the
government of Pakistan is when they send their planes to destroy our
houses and kill our children." Very sad indeed.
Ibrahim
Professor of Economics, Ryerson University