The common man of Pakistan has proven that they stand united with their fellow brethren in times of distress. On 8th October, Pakistan's northern areas and Azad Kashmir, were shaken by an earthquake that left in its wake hundreds, of thousands dead, injured and millions displaced.
The whole government machinery was dumbfounded and caught unaware. Inspite of the tall claims of development, privatisation, and huge foreign exchange reserves, we the people, were stunned with the reality that Pakistan continues to be an under developed country.
The communication network came to a grinding halt. Islamabad did not know, what had hit the country.
It is a sad reality, that should have shaken our rulers out of their deep slumber and their "Alice in Wonderland" syndrome. Our planners had no sense of priority, perhaps they either lacked the wisdom or were not competent to hold the high profile jobs that were assigned to them.
There was no infrastructure, worthwhile even to gather data or mount a rescue operation. What happened to those who are supposed to monitor the nation's boundaries on a 24 hour basis? Who was monitoring the seismic recorders, which record such natural disturbances.
Our link with vital border areas along the line of control in Kashmir, were cut off, yet nobody had the foresight to realise what might have happened. What if the enemy had crossed the LOC, we would have been taken by surprise. This brings to memory the sad events that lead to 1965 war. Like the 1965 war, the masses rose to the occasion.
The man in the streets of Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Sukkur, Hyderabad, Multan, Gujranwala etc rose together, to share the grief and sufferings of their brothers. Like 1965, there would be heroes like Shaheed Aziz Bhatti and many other valiant sons of the soil. However the institutional myth of our uniformed services stands shaken. Perhaps years of distraction from their primary role of defenders of our geographical boundaries, had its toll.
Somewhere along the line, some smart wizard decided to abandon the Civil Defence Organisations, that were trained to provide vital rescue and survival operation in times of war, floods and other natural calamities. Perhaps somebody ruled out any future war, which explains stretching Lahore's DHA to our second line of defence ( BRB Canal).
Unfortunately the nation has become hostage to regimes, whose main concern is self perpetuation in power at any cost. Self interest alone has become the priority. All moral code of ethics, justice and the constitution, ware flouted at will by sheer use and show of brute force. State resources ware allowed to be plundered, in pursuit of greed to remain in power.
The Holy Quran in Surah Al- Baqarah verse 188 states " And Devour Not one another's possessions wrongfully, and neither employ legal artifices with a view to devouring sinfully, and knowingly, anything that by right belongs to others". Unfortunately those who have ruled us, have plundered not only the assets of this nation, but also the future of its people.
Islamabad today stands isolated. Those in power must repent for their sins and allow the people to have a legitimate system of governance, in which the people and their needs are the sole priority.
The insitutions of the state must confine themselves to their designated roles as laid down in our constitution and subordinate themselves to the will of the people. The priority should be education, health, basic housing, law and order, clean drinking water etc and not islands of prosperity in a sea of distress, lawlessness, greed and anarchy.
The elitist cult must be shed. You cannot justify the induction of Boeing 777s unless you have a fleet of helicopters, rail networks, roads and bridges that link all nooks and corners of our nation. We live in an age of satellite communication, yet there was no communication when it was needed.
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