Being raised to the tunes and mantras of mitti ki muhabbat (love for my homeland), every Pakistani inculcates a strong association towards his homeland. Undoubtedly, there is a great essence to being patriotic but Pakistanis overdo it and, realistically, not do it at all. They have built a strong misty shell around themselves. While Pakistanis think and aim for favouring their nation, they are unable to look through this shell, an inability that deprives them from assessing the bigger picture, leaving them disconnected from the dots that run across our globe, dots that are well connected and well routed. From individuals to governments, Pakistan’s history is full of short laps of self-defined success that are eventually, as the bubble bursts, thrashed! Only then do they discover in the race they thought they were once winning, how far behind they actually were.
The arena is now global; the match is international. However, Pakistan chooses to neither adopt globally acclaimed measures of success nor chase globally set targets. Not only is there a physical border guarding its area there are also huge ideological and mental barriers shielding its identity. Pakistan has surrounded itself with massively tall walls and shut gates. Unquestionably, Pakistan’s region is politically unstable and sensitive. Pakistanis will have to bring down two walls on their eastern side, one that belongs to them and the second built by the folks on the other side. What may be ideological or strategic, a pending resolution does not allow for self-destruction. In fact, it requires protection of self-interests in the presence of active interaction and diplomacy. History questions the amount of time Pakistan has taken in opening up to its neighbours. A student hardly ever considers the option of travelling to Iran, China, Afghanistan or India for education. A Pakistani tourist cannot find well-connected routes and provident services for travel into these countries. Pakistani labour faces restrictions in accessing markets of the same. Visa procedures and restraints further intensify their segregation. Do these countries differ from Pakistan to such an extent that they stand invaluable and inferior to Pakistan? Certainly not. Then why block routes, why stop cultural exchange, why create trade barriers and, most importantly, why never educate its youth that these options exist and have not been explored due to diplomatic and governmental failures, instead of brainwashing their minds terming these options as net-destructive and unpatriotic? Clearly, Pakistanis are living in a shell of patriotism that perpetuates their seclusion.
Apna watn tau apna hota hai (no place is comparable to my homeland)! Indeed. However, global interaction does not come at the expense of identity compromise. Instead, it provides a chance to promote and strengthen individual and collective identities at the global level. From an economics front, discouraging labour immigration while praising the influx of remittances is principally contradictory. Brain drain is more of an effect than a cause. Lack of research, business and technological exchange restricts innovation. The urge and will to excel compels talented Pakistanis to explore foreign markets. The majority of the few Pakistanis who manage to do so ultimately benefit Pakistan through their monetary and innovative contributions. As they become a global resource, Pakistan gains global representation and, with that, a platform for exploring innovative ideas and resolving its issues.
Zooming within Pakistan, we see different actors but the story continues. Pakistanis develop even stronger ethnic, regional and religious associations. Per se, this is not problematic but terming the rest as wrong, delusive, immoral and yourself as the only right, real and moral is. This is what breeds isolation. Undoubtedly, teachers and trainers deserve respect and esteem but not at the cost of defying logic. The process through which teachers become teachers and vaderas (feudal landlords) become vaderas must be logical and if illogical, then questionable and accountable. Sadly, Pakistanis observe forced and blind following of teachers who are self-created and fake. The idea of logical choice is non-existent as political followers are tied up to their party heads’ agendas, religious followers are blindly practicing their preacher’s sermons and villagers are bonded to their vaderas for bread and butter. It is about time that Pakistanis realise these managers are only manipulators and dishonest, and no longer sacred. This will shatter barriers of immense intolerance and extremist associations currently running in Pakistan. With enhanced interaction and sectorial intermingling, internal isolation can stand dissolute.
Pakistan is haunted by terrorism but its isolation paints the picture whereby Pakistan is both a victim and oppressor, and concurrently responsible for creating the bomb that not only results in its own demise but also extends the insurgency across the globe. Is global terrorism this straightforward? Not really. However, when the paintbrush is handed over to others to freely operate on the canvas and sketch Pakistan’s image, it becomes inevitable to be depicted as the sole culprit. Worse, the silence from Pakistanis that surfaces as a result of their isolation is equivalent to acknowledging the same. Boycotting global summits and exchanges while boasting about self-righteousness within its self-imposed shell only harms Pakistan’s image. The globe is as much Pakistan’s as it is others’. Perceptions are built and earned otherwise they are distorted to your enemy’s benefits. This proposes a question: who is Pakistan’s enemy? Every being, internal or external, Pakistani or non-Pakistani, Islamic or non-Islamic, black or white, Sunni or Shia, that blows up Pakistan through their speech, pen or bombs is Pakistan’s enemy. Convincing them, facing them, targeting them, defeating them is the only way forward but, sadly, Pakistan has been boycotting its external enemy and ignoring its internal enemy, leading to instability and insecurity.
The beauty and tolerance of Pakistani culture and heritage can gain recognition. Pakistan can compete with the world, without compromising its identity. Pakistanis have the resources, capacity and talent. However, for this to happen, Pakistan needs to enter the competition and face the world. The clock is ticking, past being sketched, future unveiling; it is the present moment that deserves Pakistan more, not a tick before not a tick after. Closing eyes when struck with danger only intensifies it, as does the shell layered around Pakistan. An aggressive resolve can break this shell, end Pakistan’s isolation and assign it a globally acknowledged and admired identity.
The writer is a freelance contributor