The Identity Crisis of Pakistan

Ever since the great country of Pakistan was formed, it has been going through its ideological and identity crisis. Agreed that the vision of the forefathers was to create a separate land for the Muslims of the Sub Continent. The Quaid was unequivocally clear about his vision. He saw a land which was for the Muslims, yet a land which followed the great tradition of Muslims living in harmony with their Non Muslim brethren. A common thread binding them, called the nation of Pakistan.

Regretfully, it is just a dream now. The people of Pakistan are still unclear about who they are and what their destiny should be. Are they the secular and democratic country that Mr M. A. Jinnah envisioned or a Pan Islamic citadel. Many critics argue, that the creation of Pakistan was a conspiracy in itself. To further their argument, they implicate the British and according to their interpretation the British stooge, M. A. Jinnah.

No matter which side of the debate, you are on, you cannot deny that what M. A. Jinnah accomplished, was nothing short of a miracle. Sadly, his philosophy is merely repeated as talking points on certain occasions, such as Pakistan Day, Independence Day or his birth or death anniversaries. We are in complete denial, of his vision. No wonder why we are in such a disastrous situation.

We have divided and subdivided ourselves into so many class and categories ranging from religious, economic, geographic and linguistic lines that it will require a complete overhaul to bring us remotely close to the ideals of Quaid. A lot has been said about the reasons behind our failure. No nation on the face of this earth can survive without a unity of purpose. The diversity in any nation is actually considered its strength. Unfortunately, in our case it has been to our detriment.

All political parties based on religion, ethnic, regional and geographic agendas should be abolished. We need political parties, representing the entire nation. Having their representation, from Karachi to Khyber Pukhtunkhaw, appealing to the masses uniformly on one basis. This should be the way forward. If you look deeper, you can see that any political government that we have had, lacks proper representation in all four provinces. Due to this, the inconvenient alliances are formed with regional and ethnic parties. What transpires because of those unholy alliances is common knowledge. The weak governments tend to make a mockery of their existence and we repeat the same old cycle. Our dreams and hopes die with every single attempt of this nature. In the end, we are "rescued" by our Military as it becomes a "doctrine of necessity", according to their "necessity."

The time to chart our course as a nation is now or never. United we stand or divided we get buried, as we have fallen already. The question is how low are we going to go.