Transforming a Dysfunctional Nuclear State: Chaos and Crisis Keep Evolving In Pakistan As A Nation-State
By
Mushtaq Ul Haq Ahmad Sikander, New Age Islam
9 May 2023
Reimagining
Pakistan: Transforming a Dysfunctional Nuclear State
Author:
Husain Haqqani
Publisher:
Harper Collins Publishers, Noida, India
Pages:
336, Price: Rs 699
ISBN:
9789352777693
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Pakistan is
facing crisis since the day it was created. The military dictatorships have
been a norm for Pakistan. It was created in the name of Islam, but there is
nothing Islamic about it. It has tried in vain to act as leader of Muslim world
and even undertook many steps to realize this dream, but its self-styled
leadership was rejected by the Muslim world. Also being raised on a complex
dose of inferiority complex, dictatorship and corruption, it went from one
crisis to the other. Further, the neighbouring India has always been an
existential threat to it. To undermine its hegemony, it has done everything in
power to keep it involved through border skirmishes, helping reinforce ethnic
and regional fault lines by promoting violent insurgent groups. On the other
hand, the right-wing regimes in India too have reinforced Islamophobia,
minority bashing by stereotyping Muslims as being invaders and taunting them to
leave for Pakistan, if they ask about their rights.
Hussain
Haqqani is an important contemporary intellectual of Pakistan, whose complicity
with various regimes in Pakistan certainly do mar his judgement, but his views
certainly cannot be dismissed as obsolete. He has dealt with various crisis
that are baffling Pakistan. Although, most of the social, economic and
political ills that Pakistanis are facing is their own creation, but as a part
of escapism they decry them as conspiracies orchestrated by Hindus, Jews and
Christians against the Islamic Pakistan. The chaos and crisis keep evolving in
Pakistan as a nation-state.
The
partition of the subcontinent, with the end of British colonialism, resulted in
the birth of Independent India and new Pakistan, that later got bifurcated into
Bangladesh in 1971. Although these three nations inherited the same colonial
legacy, but Pakistan has not been able to maintain democracy that India did or
economic growth like Bangladesh. Pakistan since its inception has been involved
in building a history, a narrative about its inevitability and essence, wherein
use of religion has been made to construct this narrative and justification for
Pakistan. This narrative is built around the personification of victimhood
perpetuated by the Hindus, although fixing the responsibility for the mess they
are currently mired with has been avoided, as it will lead to introspection and
identification of culprits because now the Hindu hegemony is over. The book is
rife about the lack of introspection by Pakistanis.
Haqqani
believes that reimaging Pakistan will involve replacing Jihadism, Pan Islamism,
and parity with India through trade, pluralism and secularism (P-62). The vague
nature of Pakistan has been a continuous historic process because conceiving
broad definitions while avoiding specifics helps paint a rosy but utopian
picture far from reality, and vigorous exploitation of religion in electoral
process wherein Pakistan is equivalent to Islam has been fed to the masses.
Then to Islamize the society through political power has been a long-cherished
goal of Islamists and few sections of military, who intend to deny any chances
to the democracy from taking root in the Pakistani milieu. Thus, to avoid the
dangers of democracy, Islamization of the institutions, Hudood laws and other
such legislations were introduced. These steps encouraged the mullahs to
intervene in every legislative process, while instigating the audiences against
what they conceived as un-Islamic. Earlier they used to reach out to the masses
through religious and political congregations, now the things have been
rendered quite easy with the birth of social media. Religion (read Islam) has
been constantly exploited to justify the creation and continuation of Pakistan.
The
narrative churned towards creating an understanding about Pakistan, being omni
presently under threat from India, U.S and Israel has helped the dictators to
remain in power, while denying the right of dissent to the masses. If anyone
dares to question these narratives, he is decried as the enemy of Islam and
Pakistan that have been rendered synonymous by the clergy patronized by the
dictators. Also, conspiracies against Pakistan are regularly articulated in the
media, to keep the masses engaged and not offering them any opportunity to
think and question the state sponsored narratives. Ghazwat ul Hind (War against
India) is a part of the same narrative that has been used to bleed India, as
many Pakistani rulers believe in defeating India through a thousand cuts. So,
they support these narratives that provide them few foot soldiers who carry out
the acts of subversion and terrorism, but the Pakistani state always tries to
avoid open confrontation because it is aware of the fact that it has been
previously defeated thrice by India, even leading to its balkanization.
The
journalists and intellectuals who raise brutally honest questions and challenge
the military narrative are regularly targeted. To add insult to injury the
traders and industrialists too are not valued over warriors. The non-state
actors who are fighting against India are revered, so the economic decline mars
the contemporary Pakistan. Hence, there are repercussions and consequences of
such an ideology, has been aptly summarized by Haqqani as, “But the ideology of
Pakistan that has been fostered in the past seventy years has had two major
consequences. First, it opened the door for endless debates and schisms around
Islam that prevent discussion of more pressing and practical governance issues;
second, it conflated an Islamic Pakistani nationalism with anti-Indianism, putting
Pakistan in foreign and national security straitjacket.” (P-265)
This book
is an essential read for anyone who intends to understand the travesty of a
nation that was created in the name of Islam, but could never implement Islam
as an ideology. The very basic foundations of Pakistan, were created on shaky
vague grounds that only resulted in the exploitation of Islam, not towards
strengthening it. Further, the patronization of violent groups by Pakistan
previously with the support of USA during Cold war, maligned the image of Islam
as being violent, bloody and terroristic. Haqqani although too much influenced
by the Western working of democratic model, engages with some fundamental
problems and issues that have given birth to perpetual crisis in Pakistan. His
analysis cannot be dismissed completely, but can be critically analysed as he
seems to grant a clean chit to the West particularly USA that is responsible to
a large extent for the current mess and cesspool in which Pakistan has been
dragged. Haqqani although aligned with the state of Pakistan, while enjoying
numerous plump postings, seems to be disgruntled after being side-lined by few
regimes, is questioning the very existence of Pakistan. Hence the criticism at
times seems more of a personal grudge than an academic treatment of the issue
at hand. Despite, all these flaws this book should be read to understand the
consequences of unholy mixing of religion and politics.
----
M.H.A.
Sikander is Writer-Activist based in Srinagar.
URL: https://newageislam.com/books-documents/dysfunctional-nuclear-state-pakistan-/d/129736
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