I sincerely believe, every great nation is born as a result of a continuous and arduous struggle by its people, who sacrificed and devoted their entire lives based on a cause that is just.
A people, whose relentless turmoil, beliefs and clear vision was geared towards only one particular goal; and that goal was a struggle for independence, a struggle for freedom, at any cost.
I was not fortunate enough to be part of that worthy generation who's relentless efforts and sacrifices brought about the birth of one such nation .... our nation Pakistan.
History recalls with utmost clarity, as do our fathers and forefathers, that the birth of Pakistan was a creation based on beliefs of freedom, in its truest sense.
My emotions run high with great pride that I belong to Pakistan, that I am a product of that great generation who was truly responsible for my freedom, for our freedom and yet with this sense of pride, I am also touched with a taste of dismay and sadness in my spirit with the existing state of affairs of our nation.
There is an old saying: "It is our hidden conscience that pains us if we violate it, condemns us if we betray it".
I seriously ponder, within the depths of my conscience, have we not let our forefathers down? Have we done justice to the legacy and vision they left for us? Is this the state of freedom and independence they wanted for Pakistan?
A nation of over 140 million hard working people and yet with poverty levels one of the highest in the world. A nation: with so many precious natural resources available and yet at the mercy of external debt and conditionalities. A nation: so strong and capable of having the pride to defend itself and yet so insecure.
They say, criticism comes cheap, and, therefore, the true purpose of this message is not to lay blame on any one particular entity for the affairs of our state, but more so as a sincere plea to all of us to take and share responsibility and perhaps find a true awakening within ourselves and be part of a generation who can take pride in helping this beautiful nation of ours to exist freely till eternity.
Our politicians, so far have shown a lack of vision, sincerity and maturity to steer the nation towards progress and prosperity, and their failure in doing so has actually brought doubts within the electorate whether we can ever truly adopt the real fundamental values of a basic democratic system.
Time and again this rare opportunity of implementing a truly democratic process has gone to waste and the army plays the role of an entity based on a higher moral ground and accepts the responsibility of 'cleaning up the mess' our somewhat disillusioned political leaders have left behind.
Since our army is not answerable to anyone else, only they themselves can sincerely judge their performance as to how effective it has been in realizing the desires and dreams of the people of Pakistan who have blindly and sometimes helplessly trusted and witnessed their actions.
Years have gone by and still the unfortunate illiterate majority of the poor in this country forlornly watch this game of "pingpong" between the politicians and the army, whilst the indifferent and opportunistic business leaders community eagerly figure out the best way to ensure a flourishing business under any conditions.
As we continue helplessly in this direction, very conveniently forgetting the ceaseless endeavors and beliefs of those who sacrificed their lives to build up this nation, we are becoming increasingly dependent on the conditions and values of anarchical globalization and its Western forerunners.
The Western world has become an authority in helping us to define our goals and directions, be it politics or economics; and interference of external forces is becoming clearly obvious in managing the important decisions of our country.
Our security issues, defence capabilities, cross border relations, religious beliefs have all become a major concern for them.
It has become blatantly clear that the interested players will remain committed to neutralize Pakistan's military strength and find any means possible to achieve their well thought out objectives.
The question is: will we let it happen? If we remain in disarray and disunited because of our internal struggle for power and our false egos overrule our better judgement to put our nation first, I am afraid we will need more than a miracle to overcome this very serious crisis.
Now is the time that we must all come together and understand that our struggle for independence and true freedom is not over.... As a matter of fact it has just begun.
Our political party workers and leaders must reassess their reasons for failure and their follies in the past. They must reaffirm their commitment to the nation and not to the individual leaders of the respective parties.
The beliefs and strengths of the party must come from the needs and wants of the people at large, not on the personal wants and ambitions of the party leaders.
Bill Clinton was a very successful president of the United States, deeply valued and respected by the democratic party, and yet today he has played his role and the party moves on without him.
As our political democratic system matures in time, the army will hopefully have fewer reasons to play the role of the savior within the borders.
Our business community's role in this short history of our nation has been far from exemplary. The level of maturity in the running of our major business associations is unfortunately extremely mediocre. The majority of the business entities/associations are fairly unprepared to present their real issues with the relevant government authorities with any great degree of confidence and sincerity and thus a constant aura of mistrust remains between the government and the business sector.
A permanent bridge of trust and fundamental understanding has to be built between the government and business community so that the global challenges of economic development can be addressed on a fast track basis.
They say nations grow strong when there is true justice available to the common man, where the law of the land is truly equal for everyone.
Today the biggest misfortune chained on the common man is that he has lost hope in receiving justice.
A shattered common man because of injustice done to him transforms from an asset into the heaviest liability for its nation.
The judiciary must wake now and duly uphold its responsibility.
At the core of it all, our beaurocratic establishment has mastered the art of pushing the right buttons, delicately handling the politicians and the army, ensuring meticulously that the files do not move without their knowledge and consent. They have mastered the art of playing the role of an indispensable entity in the government hierarchy.
They are an authority on simplifying complicated issues and complicating the simplest of issues.
It will take a very brave and persistent man to make any fundamental constructive changes there.
We, the politicians, the army, the business leaders community, beaurocrats, teachers, the judiciary, must all take responsibility for the present state of affairs of our country, and we must then accept collective responsibility to pledge a new approach and commitment to ensure that our great nation can address the changing direction of the tides taking place in the world today.
We belong to this beautiful nation and the responsibility for its protection, growth and prosperity is mandatory for all of us, regardless of our background and profession.
We must also clearly understand without doubt whatsoever, that international diplomacy based on momentary bargaining chips may buy us some time depending on how valuable it is to the Western world, but we must not be under any false illusion that it will only be temporary. The real strength of our nation will only emerge once we are on a sound political and economical path.
How long can our nation sustain the illusion of growth based on conditional aid, false promises, where our heritage, fundamental values and true identity are being compromised?
When we will wake up?
We should be known as the generation that truly believed in the meaning of the words - sacrifice, justice and equality.
We should be remembered as a generation who collectively fought and brought about a sense of community wellbeing and compassion.
We should live as a generation who was able to say with great pride that we did not betray our conscience... that we did not betray our fathers and forefathers... at any cost.
If this is a Dream, I believe, it's truly worth dreaming.
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