The best disaster recipe for any nation requires three fundamental elements of security to nosedive to threaten the most necessary-military security-of a nation-state.
It is still inconclusive whether politics dominate society or society dictates its terms to politics but it is proven that both are mutually exclusive. So, we can conclude that national politics and society are what ultimately get a nation its share in global affairs. A coherent, well-knit and organised society will result in a strong political culture, which is the foremost requirement of a strong economy and the security of a state.
Our polarised society is vulnerable to hearsay and political sloganeering, which are mostly aimed to ignite masses against political opponents. People do not cast votes here based on their ideology but on emotions.
Now, everyone is listening to everyone. When everyone listens to each other, the situation is not ripe for harmony. That’s why the use of social media is being viewed with concern by all, even developed nations and bigger democracies. US President expressed his concern recently and voices were also heard in the Indian parliament about the reverse effects of social media on governance.
Real defence lies in the resilience of a nation: the mindset with which it confronts any enemy.
Rational voices, murmuring, critique, concerns and reservations of own people reverberates in power corridors and it does result in positive outcomes in political decisions. But propaganda, rhetorics, and meaningless, self-created arguments flare the situation for the worst, instead of reforming. Armies are like honey-bee combs. Focused and productive, as a group, for security till disturbed from outside. Murmuring from their people distracts armies from their primary duty. A soldier standing in his bunker on the border is focused to watch in front any untoward movement and response to the enemy. Meanwhile, he is in touch with the world through his mobile. It is different from the past when every argument was confined to its echo chamber due to the non-availability of any medium
Once a soldier’s attention is diverted, it is indeed detrimental to the security of a nation.
A security breach is a situation which threatens the very existence of a nation. Bunkers, fortresses, ditches and minefields are negotiable defensive measures. Real defence lies in the resilience of a nation; the mindset with which it confronts any situation. The easiest way to breach a nation is to breach its thinking pattern. Create doubts in their minds. The human mind is flexible in receiving messages but it processes information according to a pattern. That processing procedure if disturbed, through designed information, brings altogether different results in opinion-making. Since there are no boundaries in the digital world, information is coming and going unchecked and affecting public opinion. Educated, organised societies are less vulnerable compared with societies fraught with politico-ethnic fissures and sectarian divides.
Pakistan is sandwiched between geopolitics and internal political unrest. Public response to every situation is just like the “Bo-Kata” of Basant in Lahore. The Enigma of our enemy is we are strong enough to defend ourselves and poor enough to feed. So, the easiest way to disrupt Pakistan is to influence public opinion for any unrest in society. Hence, our politics, combined with our culture, is vulnerable to enemy propaganda and we are in the middle of the same crisis.
Various interest groups from within and outside the country are busy creating mistrust through rumours, political allegations, fake stories, parody, and impersonation. The information cloud is getting muddier and muddier, which is affecting opinions, analysis, decisions and governance.
We are facing this situation since last the last couple of years now. It is not a temporary phase.
The unrest and uncertainty are the outcomes of the war against terrorism which started in 2001 and mistrust sowed in society through a calibrated campaign by an adversary. The war has been fought in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and other countries in the region. Pakistan, being the neighbour of Afghanistan, is a directly-affected country. The US presence in Afghanistan for twenty years has brought multiple complexities to the region. Two decades is long enough time to disturb societal unrest through terrorist acts and rumour-mongering and geo-political effects. The coronavirus added more uncertainty to the situation and it brought more unrest in the country.
Individual responsibility is foremost in this propaganda war than a collective response. The time is ripe to unite, overcome misunderstandings, take decisions in the right direction and emerge victorious against this propaganda war and save Pakistan.
The writer is PhD in International Relations from QAU and can be reached at atiquesheikh2000@gmail.com