Farzana Shaikh in her book Making Sense of Pakistan argues that Pakistan confuses the averageperson. While as Christophe Jaffrelot in his book The Pakistan Paradox:Instability and Resilience writes that Pakistan being hardy even as it isunstable. People around the world view Pakistan as dangerous, unstable, fragileand land of intolerant. While Pakistanis often don’t see much of the criticismof their country as valid, outsiders describe it as crisis state on the brinkof failure and many call it as international migraine. In the globalimagination Pakistan is considered as failed country known for its strictblasphemy laws targeting religious minorities. To rescue his nation from thecriticism Hussain Haqqani in this book argues that Pakistan can become adifferent country in the eyes of world only by reimagining itself. Haqqani hasbeen a staunch critic of his country and of the deep state. In seven chaptersthe book provides details about the manner in which Pakistan has been imaginedby the global community. Pakistan envisions itself in the dominant narrativenurtured by the deep state, an alternative which has no connection to realityor the empirical record. Many argue that Pakistan’s problems are because of thework of hidden hands and conspiracies by India, Israel and America, forundermining the country. But Haqqani has something different in his mindregarding the problems of Pakistan. He sees them as accusations and excuses. Tohim it has failed because it is volatile semi- authoritarian country that hasfailed to run itself under constitutional order or rule of law. He argues thatthe problem with Pakistani writers and people is that they paint a sunnypicture of their country. They must revive some of the assumptions in itsnational belief system – militarism, ideology, perennial conflict with India,dependence on external support and refusal to recognize ethnic identities andreligious pluralism to break out of permanent crisis mode to a more stablefuture.
Haqqani highlights that, insecurity remainsthe hallmark of Pakistan’s political and intellectual conversation evencriticism of its own people is portrayedas attack on the idea of Pakistan, and discussion on the poor performance inthe economic or social sphere is often described as questioning the country’svery right to exist. The problem that lies with Pakistan is that successiverulers chose to run the country by summoning Islamic sentiment in varyingdegree, founding the nation on the basis of religious nationalism. Moreover, inPakistan people are obsessed with the image of the country; they don’t toleratecriticism that could have helped the country to proceed forward successfully.Haqqani refers to Morgenthau who wrote, Pakistan is not a nation and hardly astate. It has no justification in history, ethnic origin, language andcivilization. They have no interests in common other than fear of Hindudomination. It is to that fear and nothing else that Pakistan owes itsexistence and thus for its survival as an independent state. He said that onlything that can save Pakistan is extra ordinary wisdom and political skill.
Haqqani writes that the founding leadershipof Pakistan had no detailed plans for their future state beyond arguments aboutwhy it must be created. Pakistanis often use the word Jazba meaning passion asa guarantor of success in all fields, from the sport of cricket to the economyand warfare. When things go wrong, it is not poor planning, technique orexecution that is blamed, it is lack of sincerity and ‘Jazba’ of someone or theother. While referring towards a British civil servant L.F. Rushbrook whowrote, most Pakistanis think that the creation of their country seems amiracle, the direct gift of God, the crown of an effort which, without hishelp, must have been doomed to failure. Haqqani writes that from Jinnah andLiaquat to contemporary Pakistani leaders, the belief persists that policymaking is secondary to maintaining national pride and morale, as God is somehowtakes care of Pakistan. This firm faith in divine guidance is fundamental tothe Pakistani outlook. He writes that the ideology of Pakistan has created anexus between the custodians of Islam and the country’s military, civilbureaucracy and intelligence apparatus which collectively see itself as theguardian of the Pakistani state. Every authoritarian ruler in Pakistanincluding its four military dictators invoked the national ideology to justifyauthoritarianism, while the land owning class blocked much needed land reformsfor years. Pakistani leaders cultivated the fear of an existential threat as ameans of bringing their diverse peoples together. He argues that it was precisely becausePakistan’s birth was so endangered that the new state came to attach suchcentral importance to its military and from the first gave the military such adisproportionate share of its resources. The paradox that hobbled Pakistanpolitical development was that as the army grew in strength and size, itstunted the growth of the political system whose leaders either made noattempts to redress the power imbalance between the institutions of the stateand that of the army making the later effectively the center of power. Now Pakistan is caught in a vicious circlewherein fear of India enhances the army’s prestige, which in turn enables thearmy to dominate the state while also making sure that external fears remainembedded in the Pakistani psyche.
Shifting from ideological problems, Haqqanifocuses on economy of the nation and points that the economic problems inPakistan are rooted in poor state management, not Pakistan’s economicfundamentals. The hallmark of Pakistan’s economy is rent seeking. Its historyreveals a pattern of seeking foreign economic assistance in return for securityand foreign policies favorable to the aid providing patron. Author quotes AirMarshal Nur Khan who links Pakistani’s aid dependency to taking opium. Insteadof using the country’s own resources to solve the country’s problems, leaderscontinued with rent seeking to bail them out of their difficulties. Haqqaniargues, Pakistan has to improve the governance system which involves thebreak-up of the monopoly of economic and political power that has been amassedby a small class of politicians, large businessmen, military and civil serviceofficers. Referring towards China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) he writesit presents an opportunity for economic growth and infrastructure expansion,however, it does not offer an economic way forward to Pakistan just as the flowof United States and other western assistance did in the country’s earlyhistory. Although CPEC has positive impacts like it will end electricitycrisis, develop infrastructure, roads and railways but critics are not surethat CPEC will transform Pakistan’s economy as expected and many described itwith Pakistan’s misguided obsession with infrastructure pointing out thatPakistanis first motorway between Lahore and Islamabad built twenty years agostill has desolate feel. Most of the infrastructure built before CPEC is unusedbecause the economic boom it was meant to trigger has never arrived.
While suggesting the measures to help thestate to come out of the mess he writes, it is important to reimagine a futurefor Pakistan different from its past. It is important to recognize the variouswrong turns taken by its leaders. Falsification of history and pretending thatall is well except for the machinations of enemies created a mirage of successthat does not exist. To transform the state, changing Pakistan’s discourse isprerequisite for changing its course. Civil and military leaders have to worktogether to ensure over time that Pakistanis realize the pitfalls of theircontrived national narrative. Pakistan does not need to live in fear orinsecurity. The state of insecurity fostered in Pakistan is psychological andshould now be replaced with a logical self-confidence. It should shift awayfrom ideological nationalism to functional nationalism. It must overcomearchaic notions of national security instead of viewing itself as a warriornation it could be trading nation that can take advantage of its location foreconomic purposes. Only by reimaginingitself can Pakistan find peace with itself and its neighbours and stop beingviewed by the rest of the world as troubled state, a failing state or a crisisstate.
Mairaj Bhat is PhD student from Kashmir University and teaches Political Science at GDC, Ganderbal