Enough is Enough

If we look to the overall political changes and dynamics in the world then one can safely say that nationalism is on the rise in the whole world. Trump claim that “let’s make America great again.” The Catalonia crisis and Kurd freedom movement, all these issues are not only posing threats to European and Middle East political order but it also has a lesson for us while observing this menace in the global arena from this part of the world. Every ethnic group in any society has some motive for pursuing such movements. Every deprived minority or less advantaged group is bound to rebel when the group feels that either it is been exploited or being intentionally made worse. A state which is giving equal opportunities to its citizens will be in peace and there will be no action or movement against the writ of the state.

After 9/11 Pakistan once again went to the US camp to fight the so-called war on terror treacherously. Had we had learned from the US treacherous behavior during the cold war we would have never come to this end. It is a well-known fact that the charges that we are/were getting for our services to facilitate the NATO troops, to fight the war in Afghanistan, was too low. The US herself has admitted that Pakistan has demanded less from the expected prices. Anyhow, for a small country like Pakistan, it was from one of her compulsion to adjust the foreign policy of the most hegemonic and big bully likes the USA.

Pakistan, according to the US, has made America and American fool. Any person who believes in this rhetoric will be none but simply a real fool. America has made the world fool by showing always the wrong side of the picture to the world. America has not failed in Afghanistan. It has achieved all its targets. Was the goal of America to capture the whole of Afghanistan? No. Capturing the territory of a country like Afghanistan is the most difficult adventure but the US has succeeded in it. The whole states affairs are under the control of USA. Will you call it a failure? I personally see it a great achievement but America is making the world fool by projecting its success as a failure. Ironically, Pakistan has been held responsible for this romantic failure. The USA has achieved another goal which was to overthrow the Taliban’s regime. The USA has also changed, up to some extent, the mind of the people about capitalism. The material culture of Afghanistan has changed drastically.

Whatever the USA wants to do in Afghanistan, it should not be our business. However, being an immediate neighbor and a Muslim nuclear state Pakistan will always try to protect its interest in Afghanistan. And the very legitimate and reasonable interest of Pakistan is to have peace in Afghanistan. Peace in Afghanistan and Pakistan is concomitant. Pakistan has lost much in this funny sort of war, both in term of human lives and in monetary term. But the question is how Pakistan will deal with the current blowback. The tribal belt of Pakistan has suffered the most both from the militant side and from the Pakistan military. If the current uprising of the tribal’s Pakhtoon was not dealt with then it can create hurdles, way more terrible than the militants, for Pakistan.

The uprisings of the tribal make sense. First, their lives were made hell by the militancy and then by the military operations. Everything is fair in love and war. And the war was there in FATA too, so human rights violations during this so-called war on terror were inevitable. The educated slot of the tribal has understood the game and now they have started raising their voices for their legitimate fundamental rights.

The Musharraf’s Pakistan at that time committed a blunder when it became an ally of the world most duplicitous country called the USA. Similarly, the current government of Nawaz Sharif; apparently out but practically in, is making another huge blunder while delaying the reforms in FATA. At this point in time, Pakistan needs unity and unity can be established through fair distribution of resources.

FATA is less developed because it is more deprived. This deprivation has made the people of FATA bound to rebel. The elimination of this sense of deprivation is the duty of the state because the state has intentionally made them deprived. The grievances of every ethnic minority must be addressed with maturity because together we are Pakistan while otherwise, we are nothing.

Pakistan is a diverse country. This diversity is the strength of Pakistan in creating opportunities for its progress but if Pakistan failed to manage its diversity then it can become its huge weakness and can create threats to its survival. May our leaders understand the music of the day.