Pakistan has a mystical glory to it. An elusive spirit –indefinable and intoxicating; one that waits to be dispelled, but still lingers. It has defied conquerors, stood its many masters and provided for millions who poured on to it. A country like no other in multitudes of ways –it’s a paradise for a geologist, an enigma for anthropologist, a delight for a trader, and a true treasure for an archeologist.
But also, a case in point for economic ailment; the last outpost for the deadly poliomyletis; a living relic of human bondage; and the most recent to stretch apart the rich and the poor. Blooming at 1.8% a year, challenges for Pakistan are rising as fast as its share of opportunities. Is Pakistan to get a headway, a lucky break?
We look far and wide for answers and inspirations; we emulate models; talk about world and its complicated affairs, but we are reluctant to ingrain some critical habits. For decades, we tried to reach tables far higher than our heads and played games far wider than our visual field. Looking down at our own two feet today, and the tattered bits of clothing and shoes we have ended up in, is to me, the beginning of a new humility. It can be a point of realization that true growth lies in introversion, concerted struggle and sacrifices for the collective good. Not in purported images of wellbeing, in shoddy statistics, or in the fleeting miracles of our elite few.
In this country’s soul lives the fiery, puritan Musalmaan of its northern highlands and the ferocious tribesmen of Baluchistan, who blend with the gentle souls of Sind and the spirited sons of Punjab. We are imbued together. For many, it defies logic. For decades, it stood against predictions. The coming age is for making gains of this inherent togetherness of Pakistani Nation; to fit in the jigsaw to get the bigger, brighter and more rational picture of Pakistan for future!
The above post by the author was selected by the American Consulate General in Lahore as the ‘Best piece on the theme ‘Passion for Pakistan”
Passion for Pakistan: The Mystic Journey to True Development
