What is happening in Pakistan?, Pakistanis are asking

Arun Joshi What is happening in Pakistan?  This question is being posed in Pakistan with well-deserved concern about how the nation is heading towards self-made disaster. It is a failed state, but soon it will implode from within. The answer to the question has widely circulated in the country is, “There is  broad agreement on the cast of culprits: political leaders; political parties; political institutions; non-political institutions; the security and intelligence establishment and its institutions; the civil services; comprehensive corruption; the dysfunctional state of the economy caught in a permanent debt trap and outrageous inequality; complete external dependency and a consequent lack of policy independence; a general lack of education and a scientific outlook; the media contributing to an uninformed, partially informed and misinformed public opinion; the deliberate misuse of religious fervour to obscure the true teachings of our faith; an obsolete social structure preserved by a voracious and unaccountable power structure; a judiciary that demands but does not command universal respect; uncontrollable population growth; irreversible climate change; a forever threat of nuclear annihilation, a security environment that challenges rational resource allocations; palliatives presented as solutions, etc.”  This  answer is by one of the most reputed foreign policy experts  in Pakistan – Ashraf Jehangir Qazi . The seasoned diplomat wrote all this in his   article titled ,” Deus ex machina ?” in Dawn  newspaper on Friday . This is not a matter of sadistic pleasure for  ultra-nationalists in India , who like all others in the country,  are angry, with the machinations and “ proxy war” launched by Pakistan in Kashmir for the past over three decades and continuing it with newer strategies  rooted in its 1960s mindset “ to bleed India through thousand cuts.”. An analysis of the situation in Pakistan  has a  clear lesson for all the political and other forces within India and  outside of it urging Delhi to take Pakistan on board , to resolve  bilateral issues , especially Kashmir , that , whether   this idea is valid at the moment without going into the merit and demerits of the pathway they are suggesting . Pakistan  is in turmoil is  gross understatement . It is  a failed state , failing farther getting into the deeper pit from where chances  of it to climb back are remote. There is not just  one observer  of the repute of Ashraf Jehangir Qazi but many others who see the doom scenario descending on their nation – a  culmination of everything that has gone wrong so far, worse still there is no attempt to retrieve the situation . The inner conflicts within the neighbouring country have assumed the shape far bigger than what it experienced in 1971 , when it lost its east wing ( now  Bangladesh )  forever. It is heading toward balkanization of the worst kind where different provinces are pushing against one another and pulling apart  the nation of which they are part at the moment . A nation’s strength is in its institutions, respect for the individual liberty in an environment where they gel with each other in unison with  their hearts and minds . But Pakistan , as it is evident more than ever before , is falling apart as a nation. What  worse can be expected in a nation where former Prime Minister  Imran Khan says that he is willing to talk to the terrorists who massacred school children that too in his native province  Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , but not to the politicians of other parties . This is not toxic , it is a poisonous ideology  plaguing and pulling Pakistan  pulling apart. How can terrorists be better  claimants to seats across the table than the elected representatives and other leaders of  the parties opposed to his party, Pakistan-Tehreek-I-Insaaf.  Noted diplomat and columnist of Pakistan ,Maleeha Lodhi while reflecting on the current state  of Pakistan following Punjab Chief Minister’s elections – the chief ministers have been changed three times  in as many months ,  noted with a deep concern: “ The tenuous state of the economy urges an end to  political turmoil and  calls for responsible  economic management in the months  ahead. The fate of the economy is more consequential  for the country than who wins the ongoing political battle . Prevailing in the power game will, in any case, be in vain if the battle for  Pakistan’s economic stability  is lost.” This is a sensible call , and it must be heeded by all the pro-dialogue  men and  women in India and elsewhere , how do you talk to a failing state  particularly when it is passing through tenuous state because of its own wrongdoings . Let Pakistan set its house in order first, but the chances are remote as the opportunities for course correction have been lost by dozens. About the Author: Arun Joshi is a senior journalist based in J&K. He has worked with Hindustan Times, Times of India, Indian Express, and The Tribune. He has authored “ Eyewitness Kashmir: Teetering on Nuclear War” and three other books. DISCLAIMER This is the personal opinion of the author. The views expressed in this write-up have nothing to do with those of prameyanews.com.