Pakistan: The internal threat: Independence Day

THE nation celebrates Independence Day today amid hope and despair. There is hope because of the ground covered in our quest for democracy; there is fear because of the enormity of the challenges before us. Undeniably, the last half decade saw solid progress towards a democratic dispensation, with a government completing its five-year term and handing over power to another set of elected representatives. We can say that the march towards a fully democratic state has been inexorable since the last military-led dispensation came to an end. Measures like the 18th Amendment and the restoration to the prime minister of the powers the generals had by decree transferred to the head of state defined the efforts of politicians both in government and opposition. Recent years have also seen the rebirth of judicial independence, with the superior judiciary pronouncing some landmark verdicts. However, much remains to be done, and the changes on paper must now be translated into action. In fact, it is our collective failure that 66 years after independence we still fall short of the ideals of a fully functioning democracy. The litany of woes began with Ghulam Mohammad’s dismissal of the Nazimuddin ministry and the dissolution of the constituent assembly, followed by four military interventions in a hideous political and constitutional drama that seemed to distort the very idea of the liberal, democratic Pakistan visualised by Jinnah. Today, as we hope the consolidation of democracy takes Pakistan a notch closer to Jinnah’s ideals, we must be conscious of the perils along the way. The absence of social justice and economic uplift is one of the many evils that stalk the country; an even greater evil is the religious and sectarian militancy eating into the vitals of Pakistan. This threat is brazen and lethal, showing itself in the acts of terror that have traumatised Pakistan and killed and wounded thousands of civilians and soldiers. This foe can be defeated only if society as a whole takes up cudgels against what is undeniably the greatest danger to Pakistan. Regrettably, large sections of civil society are silent, mostly out of fear, and neither the ulema nor the men of letters have played their due role of condemning violence and raising awareness. Institutions that hitherto actively participated in propping up the militants are today confused about the nature of the beast their past efforts have produced. Yet we can draw comfort from the fact that Pakistanis continue to opt for a democratic dispensation. And in the strengthening of the latter lies a large part of our salvation.