Time to think Uzair Younus

OPINION

Uzair Younus

Time to think Instead, they choose to rule through patronage and backroom deals, going to the masses only when there is a need to improve their bargaining position in the testosterone-dominant drawing Pakistan is celebrating 75 years of independence. A country made free not by revolution but by reason is undergoing one of the worst crises it has ever faced. The driving force of the ongoing upheaval is a betrayal of the values that the first generation of Pakistanis, led by Jinnah himself, represented. So long as Pakistanis continue to betray these rooms of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. While men in uniform bravely confront a diverse range of threats confronting their homeland, embracing martyrdom in the process, those leading them prefer to secure their own retirement package; the most influential of these men choose to not even spend a day within their homeland after retiring from core values espoused by the forgotten generation, the country and its a position of power and prestige, seeking a better life in greener society will at best muddle along and at worst spiral out of control. pastures across the Arabian Sea and beyond. As I argued in a previous column published for this magazine Industrialists and business leaders, rather than embracing months ago, “Jinnah, one of the greatest constitutional minds of his the core tenets of market capitalism, seek protections and rents. era, could not have imagined in his wildest dreams that his great Paid for by an increasingly burdened citizenry, these rents are achievement would end up as a society ruled by men who represented divvied up between the kleptocratic elite and then funneled values that he abhorred the most.” As Pakistanis celebrate whatever abroad, enriching the real estate developers in Dubai, luxury little there is to celebrate about Pakistan reaching this milestone, it is retailers in London, and private wealth bankers in Switzerland. important to take a moment and reflect on what Pakistan has become Some of this money finds its way back to Pakistan through and what it was supposed to be. “donations” given for revolutionary political causes. Let’s start with the core principle of constitutionalism, which The ultimate loser in this system is the ordinary Pakistani was near and dear to Jinnah’s heart. He secured independence for a citizen. But the citizenry is also not without blame: for far too significant proportion of the subcontinent’s Muslims by argument, long, Pakistanis have followed wolves who have taken them to waging war through moral, political, and constitutional weapons at the slaughterhouse time and time again. The trick that they fell his disposal. Today, his successors have abandoned these just, potent for is as old as history – blinded by base emotions and their own weapons and adopted cynical strategies, seeking to secure power by biases, they have allowed the ruling class to divide and conquer propagating lies, sowing hatred, and dividing society. them. They have embraced the divisions sown in society with In the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, underprivileged men and ease, drinking out of the poisoned chalices of sectarian, ethnic, women go missing, spending their best and most productive years in and religious division. dark cells. The judiciary, whose job is to uphold the letter and spirit of As the ongoing political and economic crisis shows, the the law, and protect the most vulnerable members of society, ignore status quo is reaching a breaking point. While status quo elites this daily injustice, preferring instead to engage in a cynical game of celebrate securing enough funding from the usual patrons to live power being played by a kleptocratic elite. another day, all the signals point to the fact that the Sick Man of Politicians, whose job is to represent their constituents and South Asia can no longer muddle along. make efforts to improve their lives, ignore their electoral promises. Something, somewhere, has to give. The biggest hope for Pakistan is its next generation. This generation is connected to the world and does not take no for an answer. It will be the most potent force in Pakistani politics moving forward, meaning that it can drive change at an unimagThe writer is Director inable pace. But this younger generation also faces significant of the Pakistan Initiative challenges: it has experienced nothing except the secular decline of Pakistan’s economy, about 25% of at the Atlantic Council, a them are illiterate (almost 50% if you look at women), and face a crisis of opportunity and inclusion. Washington D.C.-based To change their own and Pakistan’s destiny, this emerging generation must take matters into its think tank, and host of the own hands. Trusting the old guard, especially the tired old men who have been around the block forever, podcast Pakistonomy. He is going to bring nothing but disaster. The question is: as Pakistan marches towards 100 years of indepentweets @uzairyounus. dence, will its young generation trust itself, and not the old guard, to unite the country and embrace the idea of Jinnah’s Pakistan?