The priceless sovereignty

To be free but dependent. To be independent yet not free. To be unethical but legal. To be illegal yet democratic. Perplexing. Absolutely. Why this state of confusion? Because when for so long the value system of a society or country has become a matter of convenience rather than conscience then anything and everything can pass for something.

Just imagine the enormity of what is happening in the country. A country has openly threatened to punish another independent country if its orders of regime change are not fulfilled. This is not an informal chit chat but a formal diplomatic meeting that has been minuted verbatim. This is not an off-the-cuff loss of temper but a pre-conceived plan that has been ruthlessly designed to remove a non-pliable leader.

The power control formula of the rich occupying the poor nations indirectly has been called America’s covert regime change operations. From Eisenhower to Obama documented evidence has been found in many studies. In an article titled ”The US tried to change other countries’ governments 72 times during the Cold War “on December 23, 2016 specifics were given to regime change in Iran in the 50s and then by President Obama in 2011 in Libya. This article says from 1947 to 1989 the US made 66 covert and 6 overt regime change operations in the world.

Most often it was intervention in voting process of the country. Out of 66 attempts there were 16 cases in which Washington sought to influence foreign elections by covertly funding, advising and spreading propaganda for its preferred candidates, often doing so beyond a single election cycle. Of these, the U.S.-backed parties won their elections 75 percent of the time. That is why the present message by the superpower is extremely serious. The covert regime change suits the Americans due to:

1. The powerful and the powerless— It is the age old zero sum game. The powerful feel that that power pie is limited. For them to become more powerful they have to take away power from others. The easiest way to do that is to target smaller, poorer countries with some key natural resources, preferably with pliable leaders. For decades we have seen countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria become battle grounds for supremacy between big powers. America has attacked many of these countries and planted their own people to control them. Afghanistan had implants like Ashraf Ghani. Iraq’s Saddam Hussein was an American favourite before he defied them. Thus, the ability to control nations despite losing wars by placing or buying local leadership is an established big power practice.

2. Intentional corrupt practices— The best way to manipulate is to play on weaknesses. Pakistan has had the misfortune of having corrupt leaders. A corrupt man is essentially self-focused, compromised and open for manipulation. Governments in Pakistan have been traditionally overthrown on corruption charges. There has been a revolving door entry and exit with every government unable to sustain due to mishandling and corruption. The pattern is the same. They come, they plunder and then they make deals and escape to other countries, waiting for another sneaky entry in the power corridors. This past record makes them great “assets” for powerful countries to exploit and use for their own agendas.

3. The story manufacturers— Information is power. Unfortunately, misinformation is a bigger power. Having perfected the art of news fabrication the narrative factories of the big powers churn out stories that flood the world with their media domination. Defeats are shown as victories for themselves and victories are shown as defeats for others. Afghanistan was all about the might of the US and NATO allies till the incredible reality of dummy army broke the myth of their military might. This fake fabrication is done with the help of columnists, reporters and liberal intellectuals in the country. As the country is on the verge of another crisis, it is important to unlearn the past and re-learn a few things that can perhaps save it from a descend into total chaos:

4. Take the tough line— Nations have to rise as nations when external forces are trying to put them down. Countries like Iran, China and India in our neighbourhood are examples of nations who have done better than us despite defying big powers. We must collectively decide that we do not want a fate like Iraq or Afghanistan. We must collectively back any attempt of foreign powers to impose their interests on us. Dictating which country Pakistan should visit and which country we should be friendly with is beyond slavery. The “do more“ attitude has made us door mats. The reason for giving in is “beggars can’t be choosers”. True, but if we look at the aid we received and the price we paid it is not worth it. In the last two decades we received 20 billion dollars of aid from the US and lost 150 billion dollars in economic terms. This net 130 billion loss is a price our future generations will be paying because we did not take the right stand.

5. Make sovereign choices— Wrong choices, wrong results. If we keep on choosing leaders whose interests, assets, money, families lie in other countries we will keep on seeing a repeat of Ashraf Ghani and Nawaz Sharif political pattern. Both have buckled in tough circumstances and ran out of their countries to their families and investments in the west. As a nation we will only move forward if we resolve to not let any tested tried failed name be given another chance of letting the country down.

6. Back to basics— Perhaps the biggest effort required is in rediscovering and reliving the values that once made this country justify its foundation. As a nation we must highlight the wrongs around us. Collectively we must create zero tolerance for lies, deceit and corruption. We must start shaming the law-breakers no matter how powerful they are. We must start celebrating the principle-centered people no matter how ordinary they are.

These are defining moments. This is an attack and a war. Occupation means taking over the independence of people of another nation. The present attempt to take away the right to choose our own policies is a serious attack on our sovereignty. If we let this happen, we will be enslaved. This is a fight not for who wins the vote of confidence but a fight for who wins the vote of independence.

(The writer can be reached at [email protected])

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022