Daily Times

Pakistan is not a failed state. Neither is it a failing state. Pakistan is nowhere close to the impending doom that has been associated with it since the day it was born. So much has been said about this with questions raised every independence week that it has now become a necessity to put a disclaimer before every argument concerning Pakistan begins.

Pakistan is thriving, not in the sense that Norway may be thriving, or China, or any other country for that matter. Pakistan is thriving in the most Pakistani way possible. The country has always had an underdog-esque sense to what it does. Whether it is the nuclear detonations of 1998, the defence of the border on September 6, 1965, or the lifting of the Cricket World Cup by Imran Khan-led team in 1992, Pakistan has always been the underdog champion, defying not only expectations but also sometimes the laws of physics themselves. Such a love affair exists between Pakistan and the underdog state of nature that if conditions opposing the success of Pakistan do not exist, Pakistan through its people, its government or its cricket team makes determined efforts to create the said conditions only to overcome them subsequently.

Here is a possibly familiar scenario:

Apollo Creed is the arrogant, tirelessly perfect champion. Rocky Balboa is the humble, eternal underdog. The night of the fight is here. Creed has made a public claim of beating Rocky in no more than two rounds. The fight begins. Rocky is not able to mount much of an offensive, but survives the first two rounds despite being thrashed by Creed. The fight reaches the 15th round, and by that time Creed has beaten Rocky to the ropes while having built a considerable lead on points that Rocky cannot possibly beat. “You’re going down,” claims the perfectly confident champion Creed. “No way,” beckons a bloody, exhausted Rocky.

Armed with arrogance, Creed keeps on trading blows with Rocky as he tries to knock him out. But Rocky fights back. He throws a punch back as Creed lands one on his face. “Rocky! Rocky!” a silenced crowd starts chanting. Having used up every breath in his lungs, Rocky the underdog is fighting back. Creed throws a punch, Rocky throws one back. He won’t give up, he will die fighting. And suddenly, ignoring the cosmic lining, the flagrant impossibility, Rocky throws a punch, and Creed is down. But a destroyed Rocky, having defied the laws of nature, is without breath as he too falls to the floor. Both Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed are on the floor now. The referee is counting to 10, and whoever gets back up on his feet first wins the fight. Who do you want to get back up?

In a David vs Goliath situation, a Pakistani is always the Davidian supporter. We love a good underdog story. So much so that a win is not a win for a Pakistani unless it is snatched from the jaws of defeat. The Germans, and the few Pakistani perfectionists/aspiring Germans will take exception to supporting this emotionally motivated, impractical, and most importantly, “inefficient winning model.” There is no need to always be the underdog they argue. It is better in fact to be the favourites. To be efficient, cut throat, a perfect champion, or for the sake of clarity, the cricket world’s Australia.

But what is life if not emotional? Pakistan versus India, Asia Cup 2014. Pakistan are 248 for eight, and need 10 off the last over. Ashwin bowls Ajmal over with the very first delivery of the last over. Second delivery, Junaid takes a single to bring Afridi on strike. Nine runs, four balls, Afridi is on strike. The next two balls will be smashed by Afridi for huge albeit insecure sixes as Pakistan win the match with one wicket and two balls to spare. There are two sides, one arguing why Afridi couldn’t play safe, grounded shots, and ensure a Pakistani victory using up all the balls he had, as there was no need to take such risks. The other side is not arguing; in fact, they are not saying anything, they are out of breath. Their hearts have skipped beats, and overcome with emotion, they’re ecstatic. They will remember and cherish this feeling for a long,
long time.

Mind you, I am not saying it is good to be underprepared. I’m not saying anything’s good, in fact. It would be moral arrogance of the highest order on my part to say the German effective approach to winning is better or worse than the Pakistani underdog approach to winning. As long as we are winning, I prefer the underdog approach. I do not claim it to be the right one, the efficient one or the good one, but I do prefer it on a personal level. Like many Pakistanis I think it makes for a better fight. It makes for a story that you will prefer telling your grandchildren. Pakistan’s underdog approach may not be overly effective, consistent, safe, wise or advisable, but what is it about being Pakistani that is advisable?

Being Pakistani is like playing with fire, it is one of the most exciting things to be. There are no limits to what you can achieve in Pakistan. A country of underdogs, Pakistan will give every underdog, every David a fair chance to take on Goliath, case in point, Imran Khan versus Nawaz Sharif. The humility, the zeal, the hope and the undying quality of never giving up that comes with being an underdog are what form the very strength of our Pakistani identity. We have always been and will likely be, for the foreseeable future, underdogs. But we have also always won and will continue to win as underdogs. Like Afridi’s shot, Rocky’s punch or David’s victory, Pakistan’s story is one of the most thrilling stories of winning in history. Let it never end.

The writer is an Islamabad-based lawyer, and can be reached on twitter @shahzaibkhan901 and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/shahzaibkhan901