Daily Times

The great Islamic Republic of Pakistan established as the rarest paragon state for the prevalence of Lord’s glory and laws never had it that good as it is passing through its most cherished and stimulating phase for the ultimate purification and cleansing of the candidates contesting for the parliaments. The perfect purity of the parliamentarians evidently had to be the first prerequisite in a land that literally meant to be the land of the pure and only the pious and the very pure, honest and virtuous representatives rinsed of the entire intrinsic and extrinsic instincts, traits and tendencies to misuse the public trust and treasuries can inherit, and administer the boundless bounties and the blessings that had been innately ordained for this land but persistently eluded it merely for the impurity and inadequacies of its parliamentarians. The first formidable crusade to inject such purity was initiated by our second dictator General Ziaul Haq but his recipe, somehow, got soured and the billowing blessings of purity were weirdly mutated into the mushroom multiplication of extremism, ethnic and sectarian strife and murderous militants and terrorist hordes. The failure of his concoctions has been mostly traced to the curse of dictatorship and the toxic induction of the arms, ammunition and explosives across the land. This time this menacing bane, however, has been, at least apparently avoided and the entire mission of purification has been exclusively orchestrated by the superior judiciary and their subordinate circuit surrogates.

The public at large, as claimed by the media reports, are ecstatic and indebted to the superior judiciary for launching the purification project. It asserts its unique right and expertise in the process for having endured the ordeal of self-purification from its origin and oaths of allegiance to the dictators. Though the constitutionality and the credentials of the superior courts in most minds are largely controversial, yet some of its hyperactive loyalist legions lilting at its performance feel that at least a five-minute collective national thanks giving ovation and salutation led by the TV anchors ought to be proffered to the judiciary for its cleansing crusade. The nation would, perhaps, gradually also feel more indebted to the purification as the fruits and frills of this noblest venture would gradually begin flowing to the masses. It became inevitable as every other alternative failed, and the nation superciliously, stubbornly and systematically spurned all the known and established ways of the world and strategies for success and progress. The country as a result was stuck in an ever soaring $150 billion internal and external debt. About 87 percent of the total loans taken during the last four years was spent just on defence and defraying a part of the interest on the previous loans. The circular debt eroding the electricity sector alone has exceeded Rs 872 billion, battering the power supplies and the industrial, commercial and the employment sectors. The gas supplies for the domestic, transport and other vital concerns are also almost equally pathetic. The investment and contributions to kick-start our coal, water and power generation projects have almost dried. The plummeting productivity has evidently pommeled the health, education, employment and social care capacities. The economic and development experts of almost every shade suggest that Pakistan needs a really determined regimen to reduce its defence budget, augmenting its energy, education, skill-building and human resource capital and the industrial and commercial spheres. They would also need a mammoth direct and indirect foreign investment, interaction and cooperation for their regeneration, which, of course, would evidently be based on its reciprocity to the interests of the investors. Yet the country being fixated on some irrational, egoistic and megalomaniac obsessions to orchestrate the policies of its neighbours and likely donors has almost lost the race for its revival. Relying entirely on the magic, miracles and windfall won through purification, piety and the prayers is thus left the only option for it. The utter deterioration and despondency desperately need the special celestial mercy and indulgence that the nation has so passionately and persistently awaited.

Our worsening energy crisis, for instance, could instantly vanish if the inclement weathers morph into the mild Mediterranean pattern minimising the cooling and heating requirements. Luckily, the world weather and climate conditions are currently altering due to global warming and Allah, pleased with our piety drive, may unleash His infinite beneficence to reshape our weather cycle. The salubrious weather can then induce new high yielding crops, fruits, herbs, spices and timber wealth. This would, in turn, revitalise the cattle, poultry, fish and the dairy domains. Mild, stipulated and selective rains just sufficient to swell the dams boosting the river flow without bursting into wild spates and inundations can similarly stimulate the earth’s power to flourish and feed without any adverse ecological implications.

Lord can similarly grant us the mineral bonanza brimming with the precious and rare earth metals including the silver seams and gold stretches. These ores could cure our apparently incurable dilemma of debts and dollars even if they are just exported in their crude forms without allowing the foreign experts to establish their polluting processing paraphernalia on this pure soil. The discovery of petroleum and natural gas can further end our economic woes propelling the entire advanced and industrialised world to waltz to our words and wishes. The petro power has been known to bend even the mightiest modern powers like the USA and Europe to tread soft and tolerate the most trenchant tribal and fundamentalist Saudi system. Given this power, Pakistan can similarly also pursue its path of anachronistic phanstasies.

Some of them, buoyed by our enviable economic excellence, would gradually also be influencing not only our region but also some distant lands. The massive shares from our burgeoning economic cake and clout would also reduce our ethnic, sectarian and regional rivalries. Even our neighbours who have persistently frustrated our efforts to seek some strategic depth in their states would be flocking to us to fatten their fortunes. The purer conduct and ethos of the parliamentarians would similarly pervade the entire electorate as well as their environment and the essential supplies, services and utilities. New standards to end adulteration and ensure the purity and quality of air, water, food, drugs and newer codes for fairer trade and business, social care and consumer protection would be framed and enforced. Purification would be similarly applied to the superior mufti, khaki and the judicial echelons restricting them purely to their crisply assigned domains. The waves of this first ever wondrous phenomenon of a fascinating material progress, prosperity and a fantastic economic resurgence rising merely through the power of piety, purity and prayers can almost already be felt around the corner.

The writer is an academic and freelance columnist.habibpbu@yahoo.com