First published (with edits) in Newsline – Pakistan (August, 2013 issue)under “Pakistan of My Dreams” — rants of Pakistanis about how they want to see Pakistan..
There was another attack on Hazara Shia community few hours ago. News of nepotism in PIA promotions, dishonest commentary on Abbottabad Commission Report, obfuscation of ills that plague our society and video of an elderly beaten up for not fasting by a mob is doing rounds on every TV channel I flip. My plan to escape load shedding by staying out did not work as electricity is not back on and I am contemplating how to influence this government officer at Qasim Port Karachi tomorrow; he is asking for “favors” to release hospital supplies for disaster struck victims in Khyber Pakhtunkhua.
“Pakistan has collapsed and things will only get worse from here.” This pervasive negativity prevails in every nook and corner of Pakistan. But I have reasons to disagree.
I know of this Sunni family who saved lives of 150 Shia passengers in Gilgit when militants were offloading Shia passengers and killing them. I lost my dear friend and fellow activist Irfan Khudi Ali in a terrorist attack in Quetta but activists in my organization the Pakistan Youth Alliance and from Hazara community have still not lost hope and advocating for their right to live. I know some great journalists and analysts pestering upon internal reforms using the same media platforms. I know many honest government employees. I have seen people doing amazing work throughout Pakistan. How can I ignore the miraculous resilience, urge for redemption and desire to better prevalent societal norms I have seen from Karachi to Swat?
We speak in more than 300 dialects and languages. We have a glaring sectarian divide. Our skin tone varies from dark to pink-white. We boast distinct cultures and some of the oldest civilizations of the world. We are diverse in every sense of the word. In a multi-layered class-identity-ethnic-religious web, our diversity is a huge advantage. We have to see potential in our differences. We have to see how efforts to disunite us make us find ways to co-exist, and we do.
A positive change in the society reflects on the system. The only way to move forward is to change our mindsets from problem identifiers to problem solvers.
I remain hopeful in Pakistan, knowing that there are Pakistanis who are not affected by what’s wrong but are willing to stand up for what’s right. Every 40th person in the world is a Pakistani. Imagine the potential we harness through our experiences, ideas and skills. We have to start the conversation which inspires innovative solutions to the plethora of problems we face as a society. A telephone line man asking for bribe to fix your connection is not influenced by the Presidency to do so. We have to take those decisions in our daily lives in terms of how we relate to one another. We have to figure out how to engage with each other and how to drive home with solutions, not just problems. All of us have to find our focus in walking the talk rather than just talking.
We have to start tolerating conflicting religious and political ideologies. We have to learn to respect exclusiveness and pester upon inclusiveness. We have to realize that we are in this boat together.
We need to instigate urgency in doing as just thinking is not enough. We are our only hope and we have to keep our hope alive!
Dil mein kuch soz-e-tamanna ke nishan milte hain
Iss andhere mein ujale ke samaan milte hain
Syed Ali Abbas Zaidi is the founding chairman of Pakistan Youth Alliance. He also represents Khudi Pakistan. He tweets @ali_abbas_zaidi
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