Daily Times

Although the 68th independence anniversary of Pakistan has just recently been celebrated with national zeal and fervor, as a nation we should apologise to Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the founding father, for being unable to achieve what he had envisioned for us. On August 11, 1947, while addressing the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan as its president, Mr Jinnah said, “The first duty of a government is to maintain law and order so that the life, property and religious beliefs of its subjects are fully protected by the state.”
Unfortunately, the life, honour and property of the common man are not secure in the country, termed many as the citadel of Islam. Our government maintains law and order in the country but the country for it is confined to places the political and military elite frequent. Hi-fi security zones are only destined for the elite in the power corridors of the country. The government seems to consider itself responsible for protecting the life and honour of key civil and military personalities only while the poor masses, unfortunately, have been left to the mercy of terrorists, target killers, kidnappers, rapists, dacoits, gangsters, warlords, smugglers, land grabbers and car snatchers. Even the pets of our political leaders seems to be worthier than the ordinary people of Pakistan as the honourable Prime Minister (PM) of the country not too long ago sacked policemen for failing to protect his peacock as it was devoured by a cat in his residence in Raiwind. But a blind eye is turned towards thousands of innocents killed in bomb blasts and target killings. Criminals operate with impunity, supported by government officials in various departments to fulfill their heinous designs.
Survival of the fittest is the order of the day in Jinnah’s beloved country. The police department, responsible for maintaining law and order, has become a tool in the hands of the political elite and feudal lords in carrying out crimes against humanity. The state has not only failed to protect the people but has also deprived them of their basic right to get speedy justice. Investigators are bribed, judges are influenced, witnesses are threatened or killed and prosecution takes forever to culminate. Resultantly, the poor are unable to get justice due to lack of money and influence — prerequisites for getting a favourable decision. In spite of countless evidence and confessions by criminals, mass murderers are set free for unknown reasons. Even suicide bombers have been apprehended red-handed in some places but their fate remains unknown to the people of Pakistan. So disappointing is the criminal justice system in Pakistan that sometimes, rather than handing them over to law enforcement agencies, people prefer to persecute or kill the culprits themselves. In various cities, alleged criminals have been tortured to death or burnt alive, which itself could plunge society into absolute chaos.
My leader also said, “One of the biggest curses from which India is suffering — I do not say that other countries are free from it, but I think our condition is much worse — is bribery and corruption.” Unfortunately, Jinnah’s nation has plunged deep into the corruption quagmire. According to Transparency International’s global report on corruption for 2014, Pakistan could only score 29 out of 100 in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) and ranked 126 out of 175 countries. Our neighbouring country, India, is rated 86 out of 175, which means India is 40 positions above Pakistan as a transparent country.
The founding father of Pakistan said: “That (bribery and corruption) really is a poison. We must put that down with an iron hand and I hope that you will take adequate measures.” Unfortunately, contrary to his teachings, our leaders have accumulated assets in foreign countries by plundering and looting this poor nation while people bribe officials openly to get their issues resolved. Corruption, commissions and kickbacks have become a routine matter in our day-to-day lives.
Our leader also said: “I want to make it quite clear that I shall never tolerate any kind of jobbery, nepotism or any influence directly or indirectly brought to bear upon me. Wherever I will find that such a practice is in vogue, or is continuing anywhere, low or high, I shall certainly not countenance it.” We left no stone unturned to adhere to nepotism and jobbery. We illegally use our public offices and influence to entertain our near and dear ones. Instead of democratic parties, we have political dynasties where the only merit for becoming a key party office-bearer is to be the blood relative or family friend of a party leader. The only merit for becoming a leader for the likes of Maryam Nawaz, Hamza Shahbaz, Bilawal Bhutto and many more is to be a blood relative, sibling or spouse of the party leader; people with a slave mentality are ready, generation after generation, to embrace incompetents as leaders.
Indeed, Mr Jinnah was a true ambassador of inter-religion and communal harmony; he emphasised it by saying, “We should begin to work in that spirit and in the course of time all these angularities of the majority and minority communities, the Hindu community and the Muslim community — because even as regards Muslims you have Pathans, Punjabis, Shias, Sunnis and so on, and among the Hindus you have Brahmins, Vashnavas, Khatris, also Bengalis, Madrasis, and so on — will vanish. You are free; you are free to go to your temples. You are free to go to your mosques or to any other places of worship in this state of Pakistan.”
My dear leader! Yes, indeed, the people are free to go their places of worship in Pakistan but they are not free to come back to their homes at will as they are bombed or riddled with bullets in their places of worship. Thousands of Shias and Hazaras, along with Christians and Ahmedis, have fallen prey to a certain interpretation of Islam. Unfortunately, instead of promoting inter-religion and communal harmony, we are heading on the course of becoming a violent and intolerant society. In spite of our 68-year-long journey as a nation, we are still Punjabis, Sindhis, Pathans, Balochis, Mohajir, Shias and Sunnis but not Pakistanis.
The government needs to ensure that the life, honour, property and rights of minority communities are also protected because the father of the nation said, “We shall continue to protect the life and property of minorities in Pakistan and shall give them a fair deal. We do not want them to be forced to leave Pakistan.”
For Jinnah’s Pakistan, we ought to understand his vision and strive for a tolerant, peaceful, corruption-free, merit-based society with no religion, caset, creed, colour or language discrimination.

The writer is an IT professional and passionate writer and speaker. He can be contacted at meetkashi514@gmail.com