Despite a working democracy, the cause of Freedom in Pakistan has been suffering due to a myriad of problems. The political system and culture is still weak. Political parties are not adequately organised and lack democracy within. Violent political ideologies, polarisation, ethnic confrontations, worsening law and order are just a few obvious symptoms diluting freedom.
State control mechanisms to control violence breeds still more repression and violence resulting in missing persons and undiscovered murders. Indonesia is the most populous Muslim countries and has had its share of dictatorial regimes and separatists and ethnic problems. It has consistently worked on the problems and has emerged victorious. Its image has tremendously improved as well as the economy.
Freedom for all, has been the long cherished ideal of humanity. Every individual and people want to be free; free from domination of others, freedom to act and associate, freedom to earn a living, freedom of choice, freedom to speak and voice his grievances, and free to build his life and future. Freedom is, however, limited by the rights and freedom of others. It also entails responsibility.
Those who do not discharge their responsibilities ultimately lose their freedom. Freedom is also limited by contracts and pledges made by a people and their forefathers. And that contract can be revised or rescinded only by mutual consent of all parties to the contract. Something that is not often understood or appreciated by people and political parties that wish to carve out a separate homeland based on their ethnicity, historical experience and others. To try to fast track such notions of freedom can be counter productive and often a bloody experience for all and should be avoided. History has its own natural course and momentum.
All options for reconciliation and settlement for grievances must be exhausted before launching a premature and often bloody campaign and struggle. People's choice can be tricky, variable and difficult to ascertain, as has been shown by the experience of Nigeria and Canada. Very popular leaders of yesterday who manoeuvre for a separate homeland may be killed by their own people later, as is evidenced by the experience of Bangladesh.
It may also be possible that the other party may discover later that a compromise was in the interest of all, as has happened on Pakistani's side in the same conflict. It is worth giving a chance to the system and many stakeholders to solve the grievances. This would be my message to those of our brothers in Balochistan who have fast tracked their struggle and have in turn initiated a bloody and unnecessary bloodshed and suffering for many of their brethren.
Similarly, those of our brothers and countrymen who are trying to fast track the establishment of the Islami Nizam, through killing, violence and destruction must learn that even Saudi Arabia and Iran have not been able to deliver neither Islam or equity and well-being to their people despite all the advantages and resources they have had at their command. Islam tends to order the lives of individuals. Once a people fear God, become just in their conduct, and order their lives according to its pristine principles, the system and societies they live in automatically become Islamic .The other approach of occupying power and then force people to become just and Muttaqi under a so-called Islami Nizam would not work.
This is a neo-Islamist approach that has somehow become fashionable over the last one hundred years. Ikhwan-ul-Muslimeen in Arabia invented political Islam, which was followed up by Jamaat-e-Islami and others. Al Qaeda and Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan are a perversion of the same theme. Their approaches will not work, even if they manage to grab power, it may be either temporary or will not result in the achievement of their goal of implementing Islam. Flogging women and caning the people to force them to prayer is not Islam. They would discover that the business of running statecraft is a highly corrupting influence and would destroy their own movements and moral fabric before they would be able to discover it. Thus instead of fast tracking their movement through destabilising Pakistan, and causing bloodshed and mayhem among their brethren which counter-productive.
They would neither be able to achieve Islam, nor successfully run a state and be able to deliver social well-being among the people. There is no short cut to the process of Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH). Prophet's (PBUH_ process was peaceful and it first ordered the lives of the people according to Taqwa, justice and honesty. Neither did the Prophet (PBUH) borrow unnecessary conflicts with the big powers of his time and he let history run its natural course, whereby ultimately Islam and the Muslims became the dominant power of their times and regions.
Our ruling classes and governments should also understand that oppression never succeeds and excessive use of force is often counter-productive, as the Lal Masjid episode tells. Reconciliation and compromise initiatives were rejected by Musharraf regime and people (however misguided they may have been) were butchered mercilessly, despite having less lethal options. Now the late Saleem Shahzad tells us in his book that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was created after the events of Lal Masjid. Brutality was followed by even more brutality.
Not much effort has been made by our rulers and elite (civil and military) to co-ordinate and integrate their operations and processes. A myriad of agencies have worked in isolation and have built their fiefdoms. Neither are the culprits caught nor effectively prosecuted once and if they are caught. Laws and processes to try terrorism cases have not been differentiated from the ordinary criminal justice system. Many knowledgeable experts have pointed out of this lacuna. We can control this menace without violating human rights and diluting freedom and democracy as has been done by the West.
Unlawful methods of killing and abduction do not work and justification for such methods cannot be created while going slow on reform and reorganisation. Finally, I could never understand that an Army of one million soldiers could not control and capture a few thousand miscreants. Is it about taking military aid and equipment from the Americans and short-changing them? Bleeding our own people for short-term military objectives? People want to know the truth and Nawaz Sharif is urging reforms. He will have to be satisfied, for he is not a classical dissident from the small provinces. He is a reborn libertarian and is one of them and commands a very sizeable following. His dissent cannot be wished away.
Concluding, while we celebrate the achievements and improvements on the Freedom House Index, Democracy Index and Failed States Index, we must develop a consensus on reforms and its strategy and processes and be willing to forego temporary advantages in a system that has lost its claims to viability. Unfortunately our claimants for reforms appear to be least prepared. They are not doing their homework. Most of them assert that once corruption goes away, everything would be all right. Yes and no. Corruption would not go away simply because the reformists come to power. Corruption is well-entrenched and established in Pakistan. It is not limited to a few, who seem to have been made escapegoat of or may have duly earned their bad reputation.
Reformist would need a strategy and a consensus would have to be built for those strategies and processes. And the time for doing these is now, before coming to power and not after it. Secondly, even in the countries, where there is no corruption, great debates and discussion goes on around policies and programmes, which build a consensus towards implementations on proposed remedies and solutions. Our political parties, including the reformists are not doing this. They would remain unprepared and would disappoint all. Corruption is a common and convenient disdain, not to use ones mind or not inducting new blood and clearing the place for those within the political parties who are able to think and discover solutions.