Correcting the fault lines

Today the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (IRP) is sitting on several fault lines which no one in authority is willing to correct. Unless corrected, IRP is moving towards a painful rupture.

Energy, debt, corruption, exhortation, institutional collapse, poor governance, etc. to name a few are all working together to fail the experiment called Pakistan. I still remember the words of the famous song we heard while growing up, “Let me take you around Pakistan for which we sacrificed millions of lives.” Before the British landed in the Indian Sub-continent, people with varied religious beliefs lived in harmony for centuries.

Zaheeruddin Babar’s invasion of India after the battle of Panipat in 1526 till the war of independence in 1857, the situation drastically changed. Fearing reprisal, the Colonists decided to marginalize the Muslim population. It was Sir Syed Ahmad Khan who launched a crusade to bring back his brothers in faith into the mainstream of the new state. On the advice of Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib, he decided to focus on modern education. From schools, he went on to the establishment of colleges and finally the Aligarh Muslim University. There were fault lines that were identified. In his famous address at Allahabad in 1930, Allama Iqbal talked about the Muslim Ummah which later led to the demand of the creation of Pakistan in the 1940 Lahore Resolution. On August 14, 1947, Muhammad Ali Jinnah took oath of office as the first Governor General of the new state carved out of the Sub-continent.

We started off well. Despite the massive migration of Muslims to the new land, hope was kept alive. Settling the refugees and nation building were the immediate challenges. Despite hiccups, IRP remained on track till the first Martial Law in October 1958 when the first constitution of 1956 was abrogated. Our brothers in the Eastern Wing were the first to stand up in protest followed by the smaller provinces. Finally, the rupture took place in 1970 with the dismemberment of Jinnah’s Pakistan. Voices of sanity were silenced.

The 1973 consensual constitution brought some hope to what was left of the original land. In the words of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (ZAB), ‘we had to pick up the pieces’. Zia’s takeover of July 1977 reversed our march towards democracy and rule of law. Despite his promise to hold elections within ninety days he held on to power for eleven long years. It was his misrule based on inaction that resulted in the fault lines that the nation faces till today. By mid-eighties, most founding fathers had retired. The party-less elections of 1985 introduced politicians who had no national agenda. ZAB repeatedly offered Wali Khan the leader of the opposition a plot of land in Islamabad, which he refused on the grounds that the leader of the house also did not have one. In the words of Wali Khan, “We never agreed with the politics of Qayyum Khan, but we never blamed each other for corruption.” IRP remained in safe hands till the onslaught of the mid-eighties.

Fault lines must identify and then managed/corrected to avoid damage. While there are several fault lines in the land of the pure, two international faults have attracted worldwide focus. During my international travels the Saint Andreas Fault in California caught my attention. It stretches from Gulf of California to North of San Francisco about 750 to 800 miles long. It is a tectonic boundary between the Pacific and North Atlantic Plate which moves about 2 inches every year. The massive earthquake of 1906 was because of this fault. California is vigilantly monitoring the fault line to minimize the fall-out. The Leaning Tower of Pisa has been defying gravity since 1372 despite a tilt of about four degrees. It is about 56 to 58 meters tall and has been standing out for centuries. The European Union has initiated a programme to monitor and stop the tilt and avoid the fall. Perhaps one day this wonder of the world may not exist for our children to see.

While the Americans and Italians have identified their fault lines to contain damage we in the land of the pure are moving blindfolded towards the ultimate rupture. No one is willing to stick their head out. Everyone is interested in enjoying the perks of power and to move on. It is a grand merry-go-around where no one seems serious about the long-term ramifications. I am reminded of a famous Urdu verse, “Hum Rah Gaye Hamara Zamana Nahin Raha” (Though we survived, but our times did not). Today, the straight path is almost impossible to tread. Let us develop the courage to understand and correct the fault lines before it is too late. Nations have the capacity for course correction provided they work for common goals. Internal divisions and strife create hopelessness that the republic faces today. It is time to put our house in order by correcting the fault lines.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026