Daily Times

“To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticise” — Voltaire.

If Voltaire was indeed right, then while collating a list of the un-criticisable in Pakistan, there is this sinking enlightenment that everyone rules over the common Pakistani. Critique of the judiciary gets a notice for contempt, critique of the media results in a slander campaign, critique of the police more likely than not is rewarded by a beating in the lock up and criticising the government might result in a host of uncertain calamities. And do not ever be stupid enough to lock horns with the tax collector; a life spent trying to get refunds for taxes forcibly recovered from personal bank accounts is surely a fruitless existence. Those stupid enough to believe in the “freedom of speech” fiction and brave enough to risk it all are encouraged, at their own peril, to test any one of the above examples. There is indeed a thin line between stupidity and bravery.

Perhaps dear readers, the scenarios sketched above are slightly extreme but they do bring to fore the reasons behind the endless and apparently futile search for national unity, a goal considered important enough by the Quaid to include it in his much quoted but never taken seriously slogan. The strength of character essential for digesting criticism, arguably, is a condition precedent in any debate directed towards confidence building and ultimately unity. Are Pakistanis on the same page?

National unity on issues impacting Pakistan’s freedom aside, we cannot even agree on building a dam that some technocrats passionately claim is indispensable for the provision of drinking water for Pakistanis. It is breathtaking how the belief that a dam built so far up north can have a significantly adverse impact in the south, has been escalated to a level where political parties are afraid to challenge the dogma for fear that such an action will be synonymous with committing political suicide. The thing is, whether or not the dam is ultimately imperative for the nation, a technical issue and if it is indeed truly the case, political parties that claim their sincerity and commitment towards the best interests of Pakistan should take up the fight sincerely and passionately.

Gwadar is another example of conflicting interests and zero unity. According to the technocrats, Gwadar is, and apparently has always been, a natural deep-sea port and because of its location is ultimately a natural destination for international sea freight between Europe and the Far East. If all that is true and Gwadar is indeed a gold mine for Pakistan, why have successive governments been paralysed for decades? Who stopped them from developing the port that could potentially change the country’s economic scenario? Even today, there are multiple rumours about why certain countries never want Gwadar to be developed. If politicians had at some point early on brokered a national consensus on Gwadar, perhaps the present might have been different, in a good sense.

Now there is Thar where coal reserves were discovered in the mid-1990s. Perhaps it was at that point uneconomic to develop the mines, which is rather debatable, but fuel prices have shot through the roof since then and the government continues to analyse proposals from interested bidders even after a decade. And, hang on, apparently the federal government has nothing to do with developing Thar anymore; it now falls within the domain of the provincial government, courtesy the 18th amendment. Constitutional experts and politicians can continue to extol the benefits of devolution of power but how a situation wherein provinces compete for resources and commodities can ultimately be conducive for building national unity is an unanswered puzzle. As an accountant will point out, this is synonymous with segregating the nation in form at least. As regards substance, there are enough conspiracies running around, the latest being a video of an interview on a Russian channel about a conspiracy to break up Pakistan.

Voltaire’s quote in the beginning was the first slide in a presentation also running around the social media via smart phones, about how global finance and news are controlled by the Jewish lobby. The presentation provides one explanation for the absence of a unified response by the Muslim world towards the Gaza situation. What is equally worrying is that there is a strong possibility that if there was a national poll on Pakistan’s position on Kashmir, the responses would be utterly confused. Rather than building a unity on international conflicts, there seems to be a procrastinating attitude towards even Kashmir at the political level.

Obviously, minus the necessary information and the qualifications, one is not in a position to conclude beyond reasonable doubt that Kalabagh Dam is good for the country, Gwadar should be developed as a priority project by Pakistan on its own, Thar coal is a national commercially viable deposit and the national position on Gaza and Kashmir in this ever changing world is complicated, to say the least. Frankly, some of the stuff trending on social media even sounds unbelievable. On the other hand, rather than arriving at an individualistic view, a better option would be a unified national outlook based on informed governmental intervention.

One can agree that during a martial law, criticising the dictator is a pretty stupid route to take for building unity and a national consensus on issues. Accordingly, the dictator’s views get thrust upon the entire nation. Things should be different in a democracy, seven years down and counting. Yes, times have surely changed, the conclusion of which is curiously reminiscent of an observation read somewhere, due apologies to the unknown author, that beginning 21st century Bridge (a card game), which has absolutely nothing to do with the Metro project, played by teams who must cooperate, is in serious trouble. Compared with that, the card game on the rise is “Texas Hold’em Poker”, which is all about individual gains, deception and bluffing. A visit to the Islamabad Club’s mostly empty bridge room and thriving private poker games eerily confirms this analogy. More to the point, such a situation, where everybody is selfishly protective about personal polarised views, fostering unity is multifold more complicated.

Be that is may, the urgent need to have a united national narrative and consequent action plan on key issues facing Pakistan cannot be underscored. Numerous columnists have touched upon the subject of unity but a solution remains an illusion. Frankly, the media and politicians have to do a lot more. The first step is building trust and confidence in the leadership but more on that next time. I seriously need to take up the space issue with the editor. Ask not whether the populace will vote for a leader, ask whether they trust him with their lives.

The writer is a chartered accountant based in Islamabad. He can be reached at syed.bakhtiyarkazmi@gmail.com and on twitter @leaccountant