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I was a happy go lucky guy. Looking at the problems an average Pakistani faces, I think I still am a lucky guy. Coming back to the subject, I am extremely confused today. I got my undergrad from a University that most consider ‘elitist’ out of Lahore. Did my post-grad from the US and even worked there for a fortune 500 for a number of years.
But I always had a vacuum inside me, something was void and I needed to fill it. The void for me was to return back to Pakistan and give back to the country that had made me who I am and had helped me get to where I wanted to go. Pakistan was looking to be a new Asian Tiger under Musharraf who had by all accounts talked the talk of visionaries. So me being the confused desi, decided to pack my bags and return to the heaven on earth.
Little did I know that Musharraf’s vision of Pakistan had changed to a vision of a universe centered around him and his gutless robins. It was easy to see how most of the development was superficial. I must mentioned that some exceptions do exist to what I am about to state, but by and large they are true.
In Higher education, massive amounts of money were being thrown down the gutter through useless scholarships or vocational training sponsorships being given on outdated subjects by incompetent instructors. Information and Technology boards and parks being setup by incompetent authorities lead by incompetent individuals. One only needs to hear them on a function to realize that even an average American executive has better command on logic, communication and most importantly their subject matter.
Medical. Hospitals haved been turned into butcher shops - you couldnt go under the knife until you had 6 different friend&family links with the surgeon. Government Hospitals being left for cattle, my apologies for those getting help from there as the state of affairs is horrific (I took my father to visit a Government Hospital in Lahore as the specialist couldnt be available in his clinic at our available times - and I was shocked to see 50+ patients waiting IN his room while he arrived 3 hours late. We were told by some patients they had been coming for a couple of days as he had failed to show up until then. And when he did come, he started looking at my Father first, even though we must have been 35+ in the queue ….as we were the only ones in western attire that didnt look as if it was by the local neighborhood tailor. We left before he could complete the treatment as there was no privacy)
Primary education too has gone down the gutter. While Musharraf is out making hollow statements of Pakistan being the country of choice for outsourcing and industrialization by foreign firms, we have outsourced our primary education. Anyone with the ability to even remotely pay for O/A Levels is doing so. I dont know of anyone who even wants to go close to the local boards - why would they, it’ll mean an end to their careers even before its begun.
Police. oh …dont even get me started. One of the most critical pillars of the state is open nepotism. How can things be right when newspapers publish news of IG police and Chief Minister reaching an agreement on how to have Members of Parliament have their ‘favourites’ given jobs in Police. How can it be an open fact that police is a tool of the politicians and from a simple matter of a road accident to more serious cases of murders: everything requires ‘connections’.
Infrastructure. errr - need i say anything. No power, no gas. Simple commodities taking turns in being out of the market one year after the other (ie wheat, rice, sugar, onions …..).
Cricket. Forget about the team, how is it that mushy would walk into a closing ceremony and distribute STATE assets to the cricket team as if he were distributing sweets to kids on haloween? How? And that our nation was silent on misappropriation of our taxes since mushy felt like throwing out a couple of lacs on a cricket team that is already a HUGE burden given its large existing budget.
Before this rant takes the better of me, I must conclude. My love of Pakistan is no more. And if there is day of judgement, then Musharraf, Nawaz Sharif, Benazir, Zia Ul Haq - be prepared. I will identify you as the source of all that is evil in the world (or my current one), for all that has made me decide to leave Pakistan, for all the unbearable miseries suffered on a daily basis by the masses.
Life is a journey, not a destination - and for me, unfortunately, it looks like Pakistan will be a stop I’d like to forget I ever got off on. For my Pakistani brothers and sisters, please forgive me. I am leaving you to fend for your rights without me (a drop in the ocean …but a drop nonetheless). I am no longer the same teenager who thought himself as invincible and could change the world. I am a mid aged man who finds staying in Pakistan beyond all forms of logic.
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Tags: Benazir, Musharraf, nawaz sharif
13 responses so far ↓
1 Amir Ali // Jan 13, 2008 at 5:32 am
An interesting account of your views into current day Pakistan, but, whilst what you state the current state of affairs to be like in Pakistan is undeniable in many aspects, does it really mean that Pakistan is a no-hoper, and that things cannot get better?
Many of the problems faced by Pakistan today are ones that have been made so by a number of different people in, and out of, power over the last 60 years.
It’s very easy indeed to judge Pakistan with other more developed countries, and it is done almost all the time. Yet if we look at it logically, what do we expect, when the comparisons are not even like-for-like? Comparing Pakistan with countries such as the US or the UK will only yield a negative conclusion. I guess it would be like comparing an established and accomplished cricketer, such as Imran Khan, with an up and coming 17 year old cricketer. Maybe this is an oversimplification, but you can kind of see what it is I am trying to explain. Pakistan hasn’t been in the race long enough to be declared a ‘loser’, in fact the race has only just begun.
There are many problems within the areas that you have mentioned, of course, but on the other hand there are also positive experiences. I don’t want to draw on my own experiences, but just to say that Pakistan has seen strong economic growth, technological advances and a more prominent role, through better or worse, on the world stage.
I think that this debate is probably to extensive for this site, but just to say that other places in the world also have problems; in the West we see an ever-increasing rich-poor divide, inequalities through discrimination, a decline in moral standards, gun crime, mindless violence, etc, etc.
The point I am trying to make is that there are problems everywhere, the difference being the choice we make individually as to which problems we find facing acceptable.
Even though things are pretty bad in Pakistan right now, we can take comfort from one thing; ‘things can only get better’. And the more Pakistanis there are trying to make it better will give it more chance of becoming a Great county.
Pakistan does not belong to these people who we can point fingers at and blame; Pakistan belongs to the people; Pakistan belongs to you and me. Yes, it would be hard to change, and it would be easy to walk away, but like all things in life; anything worth achieving, is worth working hard for. The Land of Pakistan, is the same land it was 60 years ago, and will remain to be so. It is certain people that are the problem, we as Pakistanis can make a change; In the words of the 18th Century Philosopher Edmund Burke:
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”.
You, and me, are just as capable as making a positive change in Pakistan as those people, who are able to make a negative change in Pakistan, for Pakistan was made for the righteous majority, not the self-serving oligarch minority.
2 Dr Siddique // Jan 13, 2008 at 7:35 am
When you go into a dark room please don’t talk about darkness find a way to turn the candle or light on.We all need to ask ourselves how much are we doing to make a difference rather then waiting for idiots like Musharraf to make do it for us.Unless we as people become better please dont expect good leaders.When we bow the seeds of aaple we can’t cry for mangoes.
When Ali r.a was the Khalifa a man taunted at him and said look during the time of Abubakr r.a
things were so great.Ali r.a said you are correct because during the time of Abubakr r.a he had advisors that were like me and today we have advisors that are like you.Imagine after 1400 plus years what is the quality of advisors and people we have around us.Allah subhantaala will not change the condition of people unless they change themselves.
Pakistan does have some great people that have established Edhi foundation,Citizens Foundation and OneUmmah Foundation that is doing a lot to help the common and poor people.
We all need to ask ourselves what are we doing to make a difference.if you cant do much atleast pickup some garbage from the street and buy a dust bin for the community.
3 Oppenheim // Jan 13, 2008 at 7:38 am
The American meritocracy has been built as much on institutionalized favoring that seems to find its own weird balance. Part of that has to do with the sheer heterogenous nature of the nation’s communities; part has to do with overlapping liberal solutions the ameliorate what would otherwise be a natural course in things. All kinds of programs, from the Civilian Conservation Corps (make-work for the Depression Era) to Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity, Americans with Disabilities, Small Disadvantaged Business (minority) programs and privately launched public interest organizations, from the American Civil Liberties Union to “Nader’s Raiders” (a while ago now, lol) tend to install course corrections across the society overall. Even so, as noted elsewhere here, greed keeps rearing its ugly head, and we get some really spectacular crooks (e.g., Enron) in the boardrooms and, lately, behind the desk at the mortgage brokers (we’ll be paying for that for a while).
Here’s the thing I wonder: can a people prove better than its leaders?
One politician said to me years ago, “In a democracy, people get the leaders who are most like themselves.”
I kept my mouth shut–I was reporting for something at the time–but didn’t buy the message, and I would say if you travel over to Kenya about now, one hopes it’s not entirely true. Over there, the leaders seem to be locked into working on themselves rather than working on state-wide issues across diverse population.
The problem here is you can’t say Kenya, Iraq, Somalia, Lebanon, the United States, or England or any other country has answers or lessons for Pakistan. Why might be said is whatever the currents, issues can be distilled, crystalized, and addressed in ways that distribute burden, justice, and resources with sufficient fairness and transparency to reduce distress, jealousy, and mistrust throughout the political body.
The idea that such has to come from national poltiical figures or initiatives from “the west” (so often presumed) is nonsense.
4 H.A.Saeed // Jan 13, 2008 at 8:17 am
I spent 20 years out side and did not avail the chances to settle in USA or UK.On my return to settle in my country I loved all my life, I found in horrerto see the society gone worse than the society I left 20 Years ago. intolarance,fanatism, as a result of more tenecious hold of land lords and millitary combine on Islamabad .There fore young people are voting with there shoes in favour of Pakistan
5 ashghar // Jan 13, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Ali, with all due respect, what did you expect pakistan to be? Asian Tiger like Thailand? Doesn’t Thailand have all these issues? or for that matter China, India, or Indonasia (okay, may be not Malaysia but as far as politics are concerned Malaysia is pretty much same).
I agree with Dr. Siddique that when you enter a dark room you can’t complain about darkness.
By the way, things have NOT turned worst. It was worst before Mush,for example, good jobs were rare. I am sure you have a great job here in Pakistan; probably much better than your fortune 500 jobs in the US (not to mention, it’s much more comfortable to live in Pakistan if you have good money). Also I assume you are related to IT/Software; what salaries do you see around you for regular engineers? I am sure these salaries were not this common five years ago?
Terrorism is there. It’s tough to deal with these things; for anyone Musharaf or Nawaz or anyone else. There are no rights and wrongs when a group of people wants to impose a style of life which not everyone agrees with and when they are ready to blow themselves up for the cause. In a country like Pakistan, where democratic institutes are weak, rulers undermine rule of law. However, everyone does this, right? How many people would like to pay the traffic police a few 100 bucks rather than get challaned? It was a big deal when we heard MotorWay police doesn’t take bribes! How many of us would buy our way through the law system if we somehow or someone close to us, did something wrong? We save taxes, hide income, steal manholes coverings etc. etc. Isn’t it a common knowledge that Pakistanis are good at find shortcuts or doing “do-numberees”? We feel pride in beating the system whether we are in a university or professionally. Our professionals are unprofessional - how many times have you hired people who committ to join and hten back out? Sometimes your employees would break the contract to get a better job? The truth is most of the people in Pakistan just want to go to the US or EU for the better life (jsut like other third world countries).
Let’s not blame everything on Musharaf. We are rotten from within. We love to burn down our own assets, steal electricity, throw garbage on roads, exploit our own coutrymen/women as house maids…the list goes on. Also what do you really think about the politicians of Pakistan?
Please go back to the US, get US citizenship because Pakistan was made on wrong promises, wrong ideology and since there was nothing right from the start, things will NEVER improve. Being a Pakistani citizen doesn’t mean much so just leave the country. You’ll be a SouthAsian-American/British/French etc… which is fine. This country is not worth living (unless you are waiting to be in a market where a suicide bomb goes off, or face corrupt police that harasses your family or do business in a country with no infrastructure and incompetent leaders - actually infrastructure u have to live with if you are in offshoring busines)…
6 ali // Jan 13, 2008 at 5:31 pm
“Only come to me with Solutions, not problems” is a common phrase used, which I personally do not ascribe to but I’ve seen it work at times.
But its important to state out and agree on the problems as a solution can only be arrived at once they are known, otherwise it’ll be just be a blind effort of trying to find a needle in a haystack that will definitely fail.
And if anyone is up for it, then sure; post something here on naitazi. For the sake of 150 million humans, I hope your optimism outlasts mine.
7 raza // Jan 13, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Ali - we are all feeling dejected, disappointed and lost …. but we are the ones who are supposed to bring the change, if we loose hope who is going to come forward and help.
Can’t you help Pakistan in anyway in any field with your postgrad degree ?
Be a true Pakistani, help this country … there will be failures but we ought to find the light at the end of the tunnel ….
8 callmeminty // Jan 13, 2008 at 8:37 pm
with you br0ther !! lets hope for the best nonetheless
9 allahwadhaiodino // Jan 14, 2008 at 3:23 am
It is but natural that when a highly foreign qualified person returns to Pakistan , he has certain aspirations and lofty plans according to which he likes Pak—to be. The experience he encounters here in various institutions as Ali has mentioned , he feels shattered from within because he sees them even worst than that as he had left them in the past. The institutions almost all are going from bad to worst and this degeneration is not coming to standstill in Pakistan. Encountering such a situation one is sure to feel giddy as if the whole world is revolving round him. His all Plans are shattered like pieces of glass. You can compare the present situation to that of prevailing 5-7 years ago. The old generation (not very old but 20 years back ) gains hapiness by mentioning the comparative good old days of their time when such a lawlesness and deriliction of duty was not often seen in hospitals,police,education and administration etc. Actually,The Foundations as mentioned by Dr. Siddiqui have done a tremendous work but these have neither transformed the Society as a whole to bring harmony, Musawat, justice in the Society and good governance in the country nor they levelled the platform for which the Down Trodden are crying for. The degeneration of values when stops, the things will start improving automatically and the Society will move towards its goals. Every Patriotic Pakistani should carry on the work to achieve the lofty goals.
10 q // Jan 15, 2008 at 10:44 am
aa
but do not lose hope .actually allah is giving time and it due some friends of allah i.e. walli-ullah that pakistan is still surviving at this time do what you can and do nt comment just observe. also do zikar-i-khafi i.e. doing zikar with mouth closed and with your natural normal breath doing allah hoo zikar. any further ifo is welcomed to be shared if desired. my e mail is open (ftscg@yahoo.com)
ok allah hafiz
11 ashghar // Jan 16, 2008 at 11:27 pm
Ali and others, I do think that we are all wasting our time here in Pakistan. This country is hopeless. Leave while you can!
Go to the land of opportunities - the US of A and make a comfortable living where there are no eight hour electricity shortages, scary police, and an government which wants to kill all businesses.
12 oal // Jan 17, 2008 at 12:58 am
Ah, USofA– about 50,000 missing adults; 3 million homeless; at the moment, a tidal wave of defaulted mortgages (and rising foreclosures); a heavily polarized surface politics (but, yes, the political clubs have ways of smoothing over the, um, loud parts up after hours–politics is a business, not the be all, end all of the atmosphere or timbre of existence: the religious communities find their own frequencies).
So called “hopeless” Pakistan, among other things, owns a big chunk of IT business. One day, let “distribution” overshadow “retribution”.
What if the country is working better than it knows?
http://www.fpcci.com.pk/
13 allahwadhaiodino // Jan 17, 2008 at 3:00 am
If Ali and others are not satisfied with thier future here they should not hesitate to avail the good opportunity of going abroad. I am of the opinion that a True Pakistani whether lives here or there always serve the country. The Overseas Pakistanies are more patriot and serving the country enthusiestically than someones as extremists here .We prey for their future plans to be of success and hope that they would continue to provide best service to Pakistan wherever they live as our country has given them much .
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