Today’s #pakistan - a failed state?

Pakistan is a country which is depicting a picture of chaos and carnage.

Our society itself is now being driven towards a suicidal path, by the elements claiming to be the flag bearers of Islam. The path leads to a place where violence and terror are the only known laws of the land. Being fostered by state and non-state actors the menace of extremism has now crept up into the roots of our society.

The religious and communal riots in the 1950’s and 1970’s have been long before the era of proper radicalization started. In the 80’s the only difference was that the religious zeal was invigorated at an official level.

Degradation of moral and ethical values has been contemporary. The ensuing campaign of deception and lies by the extremists has confused the nation. The terrorists want to use these lies as a tool to break the determination of our nation. The extremists have used religion as a politically potent force. This political utilization of religion has increased antagonism and militancy. Added to this, the use of religion to champion national causes has aggravated the situation further.

Over the years, presence of illiteracy, the downfall of economy and non-availability of basic rights to the average citizen of Pakistan, has engaged the sentiments of extremism to soar.

Pakistani society has lost its ability to hold a lucid dialogue among itself. Differences amongst various quarters are decided through the barrel of a gun. Whether the grievances are ethnic, political or religious, they have remained unresolved due to the extremism in our society. As days pass on our people seem to become more stringent in their views. The concept of the world, becoming a global village does not have any implications on our nation. Someone once said, “Extremism is so easy. You’ve got your position, and that’s it.”

The value of the human life within our society has fallen to an all time low. The public, media, state machinery and terrorists refer to the casualties in this war as a statistics. The daily news of tens of people being killed throughout, do not even mostly make the headlines. What people have stopped realizing is that, when someone is killed it is not a single life but a lot of other lives which are being affected.

The future of all those associated people is disturbed. The actual casualty is not only that single person, but also the other four, five, ten or twenty people associated with them.

Our society has grown immune to these senseless killings and considers this conflict nothing more than a bad image. The image of our society, our country and our religion has been tarnished by such events, along with the sanctity of life that has been disfigured.

The [make-believe, imaginary] silent majority of the country is in part responsible for the events that are taking place today. From time to time this majority has shown its activism, in the time of crisis, but has become dormant after a short period. The introduction of religion into politics was due to the political vacuum left behind by the disruption of democratic process. This amalgamation has produced an ideology, which has emerged as a threat in the form of extremism. Democracy cannot be measured as a treatment for all ills facing our society, but the democratic process keeps everyone under check, that prevents someone from overstretching the line. Our youth plagued by various social and economical ills have embraced these extremist ideologies, in their misplaced perception to achieve spiritual tranquility. Instead their frame of mind is manipulated and their sentiments are inflamed. Their grievances are channelized by the terrorists for their own vested interests.

The threat of terrorism is there and quite real. This is not someone else’s war but our own. The children of our country are the foremost victims of this menace.

The proliferation of hate ideology in the nation, by various groups will have to be curtailed, if extremism is to be controlled. There is a need to cultivate a mindset of tolerance and optimism, among the people.