Daily Times

At a brunch this week, I had an interesting discussion with a usually sympathetic foreign journalist on Pakistan. He was of the view that Pakistan’s tremendous failings had proved that making the country was a mistake.
Obviously, as a Pakistani, I question the basic premise, i.e. linking the idea with the execution that admittedly has been poor in our case, but still this view underscores the fact that history will judge the idea on the basis of its outcome and not intentions behind it. During the early 19th century, especially when the US went through crisis after crisis — from conflict over slavery to the states’ rights — many in Europe dismissed the very idea of the US as a pipedream and had expected it to fail. The conditions were much worse in the US then than what we have in Pakistan today. In and around 1860 it looked like a state on the verge of abject failure. The US prevailed and resolved its problems, proving critics wrong. The 20th century saw the rise of that country, making it the foremost power in the world. Similarly, if we can build a better, more inclusive and successful future, those who question our existence and soundness of the idea will inevitably have to fall in line. Nothing succeeds quite like success and the future is still unwritten for Pakistan.
The success of the idea of Pakistan should be the fundamental consideration any patriot should have. We should be invested in ensuring that we achieve a progressive, democratic state that is a vehicle of change for its citizens without any distinction of religion or gender or any other distinguishing feature. For long we have made a mockery of this country, which is nothing less than a providential gift. In the process, we have allowed ourselves to become subjects of ridicule and derision. So what should we do to reverse this? For starters, we should not lose heart or stop being optimistic.
There are several reasons to be optimistic. First and foremost is the way the crisis of legitimacy of the current government has been resolved in a statesmanlike manner by the current government. The pointless adventurism of the Imran-Qadri duo has been dealt a deathblow. There was nothing wrong with their demands; obviously there should be a more transparent process and that is what a judicial commission will now determine, but the way they mounted an offensive on the capital, guns blazing last summer was primarily a threat to the democratic system. It was an open provocation and an attempt at changing the government through agitation. However, the system triumphed and, ultimately, the would-be power grabbers had to scale back and end their siege. In doing so, Imran Khan did himself credit for, after the horrific attack on Peshawar’s Army Public School (APS), statesmanship required that of him. Regardless however of how the dharna (sit-in) ended, it is highly unlikely that the PTI would attempt another such adventure any time soon, especially after the way the ‘35 punctures’ conspiracy has been shown to be without any real basis. Democracy will pay its dividends, if only we were to stay the course. It may seem like a painfully slow process but in the end it is the only process that can work in Pakistan. The country cannot afford any adventurism of any kind anymore.
Political stability, especially under a constitutional dispensation, means great things for the economy, which at the end of the day is what determines success and failure. There are several developments on the economic front that are decidedly positive. Despite the violence, bomb blasts and other attacks, Pakistani stocks continue to perform, an indicator of confidence in the country. Inflation has decidedly slowed down, helped no doubt by the fall in fuel prices. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) cut interest rates to their lowest in four decades. There is a construction boom in the country. If the slow and steady rise of the economy is supplemented with credible taxation reform that brings within its ambit the agricultural sector and also rationalises corporate tax to below 30 percent, it will cement Pakistan’s status as an emerging economy. Morgan Stanley’s chief analyst recently predicted that Pakistan’s rise was only a matter of time. This prediction however must be informed by the knowledge that similar predictions had been made in the 1960s and came to nothing. Yet there is one major difference this time: it is an elected constitutional government that is in charge unlike in the 1960s. The progress the country is making right now is therefore more organic than it was at any time in the past. Obviously — and this must be emphasised — many are not going to be happy to see Pakistan stabilising and being democratic but so long as the democratic government and the military are on the same page, we can see it through.
Ultimately, however, any amount of progress in the economic sphere will mean nothing if all Pakistanis are not made to feel a part of it. It is here that the Pakistani state needs to make a concerted effort to unveil a programme for the long-term socio-economic development of all sections of society. This means taking along religious and ethnic minorities, and ensuring uniform development all over Pakistan, in particular Balochistan on which a lot of our future, including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), hinges. The grievances that these groups have against the state must be addressed substantially and they ought to be made to feel like they have a legitimate stake in the system.
There is no conspiracy against Pakistan greater than the conspiracy we hatch against ourselves by losing heart. It may sound clichéd but what we need more than ever is a measure of self-belief coupled with a spirit of selflessness.

The writer is a lawyer based in Lahore and the author of the book Mr Jinnah: Myth and Reality. He can be contacted via twitter @therealylh and through his email address yasser.hamdani@gmail.com