Do countries get sick? I still remember how I asked my teacher as a class 3 student when we were told (while studying social studies–Not Pakistan studies) that Turkey is the sick man of Europe. After realising my childhood dream of becoming a medical doctor, I was introduced to those harsh illnesses that are not found in medical books and are not tested in any pathological laboratory. The absence of merit is one. Soon, I recognised that problems and issues affecting the public health systems and health sector lie outside both. Since then ( it has been now 30 years ), I am still looking for the location and diagnosis of the problems with different hats in the industry of social development. Can countries be examined like living patients to diagnose the ills and suggest prognoses and remedies where applicable? Taking the liberty of my still valid medical license to practice, I have dared to look at my dear homeland with a physician’s eyes.
Let me introduce Pakistan as a patient. I have documented a detailed past and present history. Here, I share a summary for your second opinion or validation. The patient was born under unprecedented circumstances and the birth history is still seen as a miracle. It seems that the trauma of the gestational period is still impacting patients’ growth and psychology. This patient is now 75 years old, has an amputated arm ( East Pakistan), and the intact arm has amputated digits ( Siachen sector and some coastal areas). The patient walks with difficulties and has difficulty in breathing (due to rapidly vanishing green belts, forests timber mafia and air pollution, consumption of hazardous food and nonfood items) and multiple areas of dysfunction.
The patient, after losing her majority wing, “won its independence” and completely forgot to bring back its three hundred thousand who fought for keeping it intact with its army. However, the patient haphazardly occasionally remembered that and brought back a few thousand, did some fundraising campaigns, etc. The patient fails to take precautionary measures against any disaster. When it happens, the patient cannot differentiate between man-made and natural disasters. The patient often loses orientation in time and space; strolls in overpriced suits and uses imported cars before millions of population affected by earthquakes, floods, drought, and inflation.
The patient, our Pakistan, is on the verge of an economic default with shameless non-realisation of the impact of its dismal rankings on the Judicial system, Human Development, and Gender inequality Indicators.
The patient, despite extreme security threats, forgets to equip her police and other civilian institutions with the required resources and reforms. The patient’s defence is seen as well-nourished and strong. However, a microscopic investigation reveals that the cells (soldiers and junior officers) on the front lines do not have the required weapons and machinery.
The patient has forgotten to put more than 25 million of its school-going children to school. The patient fails to show any empathy towards children, trans people, men, and women in exploiting occupation. The patient excessively spent time on social media and mass media and seldom cares for healthy and useful messaging. The patient has become almost addicted to fashion designers, brands, and dynasties and enjoys elite capture. The patient spends mindlessly and does not mind begging and taking loans. The patient has almost no self-respect and regard for human dignity. The patient has started believing that “victim-led crimes like rape and other forms of abuse” should be settled out of court. The patient often applies the principle of forgiveness and letting go of the wrong places and considers it spiritual and religious. The patient gets very upset if notices disagreement with her faith, customs, rituals, etc. from weaker sections of society and leaves no opportunity to get even.
The patient mostly fails to prioritise rationale. Consequently, the patient is gaining weight in terms of loans, debts, land business, luxury entertainment, gaudy architecture, false beautification projects, and propaganda visuals. The patient, our Pakistan is on the verge of an economic default with shameless nonrealization of the impact of its dismal rankings on the Judicial system, Human Development, and Gender inequality Indicators. The patient has no remorse for her checkered political history, poverty profile, and intersecting inequalities. The perpetual inequality before the law and almost no rule of law, acceptance of gender and social inequalities, systematic patriarchy, arrogance, ignorance, and apathy are failing to disturb the patient.
Pakistan, the patient is clearly demonstrating difficulty in performing familiar day-to-day tasks, showing problems with language, often gets disoriented in time and place, continuously shows impaired judgment, has problems with abstract thinking, habitually misplaces things, and has been unable to take initiative. Based on the recorded facts, I suggest symptomatic treatment for painful manifestations while preparing the patient for major surgery to offer the cure to the root causes of the multi-level issues. The patient should also be given immediate psychiatric evaluation and support as I am assuming that the patient is suffering from dementia. If the required health care is not extended to the patient, I am afraid the patient may experience a multiorgan failure.
The writer is a free thinker.