Lately there has been nothing but bad news coming from Pakistan, there has been news about Taliban activity, situation in Balochistan, suicide bombings, Swat operation and the IDP's, the economic crisis and to top it off power generation crisis, the list is long and rather endless.
We have been told rather prematurely that we face an "Existential Threat", there has been a lot of talk about securing our nuclear arsenal. There was extensive world wide coverage when someone came up with the idea that Taliban were 60 miles from Islamabad, implying that they were about to take over the Capital city.
I wont discuss how we got into this situation because that would just be redundant, I wont get into a theoretical debate if this is our war or not because that is irrelevant at this point we all know we have to deal with it now. What concerns me the most is the general sense of helplessness and pessimism sweeping across the nation.
We can not deny that the situation is very tough for all Pakistanis and especially those who are living through all this. But there are facts we must bear in mind:
- We are a nation of 160 million (est.) people.
- We have nuclear capability.
- We have a well established military.
- Majority of our population does not support any form of militancy or extremism.
- Political parties with so called religious agendas do not enjoy popular support.
- Much like everywhere else Pakistanis want healthcare, education and economic opportunities.
When we think about all these factors we can safely conclude that a few thousand Taliban do not represent an Existential Threat to Pakistan even though they are being blatantly supported by our long term enemies.
But we do face an Existential Threat, it is a threat posed by our general willingness to give up, convincing ourselves that we will lose, and allowing news stories to get on our nerves. Pessimism is contagious and more dangerous than we think.
Very often we hear Pakistanis who are 'educated', well exposed and live thousands of miles away from Pakistan complaining and popping the oldest possible question "what can we do?"
As a nation we must pull together and convince ourselves that we are too big and too strong to be held captive by any force that does not represent us, we are a nation of raw untamed potential we are at least as good as any developed nation in the world if not better. We have numerous examples of individual success over the past 61 years and all our people need are opportunities and we should focus on creating those. No one can take away our independence unless we allow them.
Each time we see a sad story about Pakistan we should remind ourselves that our enemies are resourceful and organized and to respond to them appropriately we must discipline ourselves and gain resources. The biggest resource in this age is information, if we can spread our message as vehemently as they are spreading there's only then we would have a level playing field. Pakistanis must 'talk up' Pakistan, may it be a conversation at work, a status message on facebook or a mere tweet we all must give Pakistan a chance. Believe me a message conveyed at a personal level is more effective than anything anyone sees on TV, and as a community we do have potential to reach out effectively.
Even if we do not have the time or the opportunity to get involved in the political process or be in Pakistan personally, here is what we can do, let us all please stop being negative about Pakistan, let us all stop saying things about Pakistan that our enemies would love to say, they can not defeat us militarily but they will win if they break our spirits and we must not let that happen. Even if we don't live in Pakistan it is our identity and we all care about the country very much, nations have survived challenges in the past and I have no doubt that we will not only survive these tough time but also emerge as a much stronger nation all we need to do is stand together and keep the Spirit of Pakistan alive because we all represent Pakistan. I have great faith in our nation and I know we will keep the Spirit of Pakistan alive.
God Bless Pakistan!!
