A ceaseless flow of pain

The Candid Corner

The terrace and the doors
Exhausted in the fatigue of silence
From the skies
Flows ceaselessly the stream of pain

The moon’s grief-stricken story of light
Wallowing in the dust of highways
And the half-lit bed chambers
Consumed in mourning
The strings of existence
In mellow notes

Adapted from Faiz Ahmad Faiz

Writing of pain in current times, one does not know where to begin and where to end. It is a ceaseless flow whose source may be known, but whose end one can only speculate about. Even if one were to gaze into the farthest distance, one does not see any remedy appearing by way of healing the deep gashes that it has already carved in the human soul, shattering our confidence in the sustenance of the life cycle.

Indeed, we stand on the edge of the precipice, needing only a slight push to go hurtling down into the abyss. But we have been there for quite a while. The optimist may find a rationale that we may yet overcome the adversities which are mostly self-created, but the pragmatist, on the other hand, may discern self-inflicting, even suicidal tendencies in this insistence on remaining on the verge, taking a dip down every so often. But this hobnobbing with danger has not cured any of our maladies. If at all, they have only worsened with time and have now reached the stage of being rendered virtually incurable.

Talk of the nascent days after our creation as an independent country with the military gaining ascendance to times of coups d’état to periods of crudely-managed ‘democracies’ to lapsing irretrievably into the world of corruption and crime – it makes a harrowing narrative to read and assimilate. And for those who have suffered these transitions through their existence, and who have gradually lost hope, it is like a ceaseless flow of pain which has been and remains an integral part of their lives. They can neither deny its existence in the past, nor can they disregard its passage into their future.

So, where do we begin? Where do we start scripting this story of pain? What hope do we nurture? Is this surge of pain going to subside at some stage giving way to infusion of remedial medication, or is this going to intensify further as more of the same potion is thrown into the simmering flames? Seventy-five years after we won our independence, we remain uncertain about our tomorrow and what it may bring by way of added suffering and humiliation.

We have had enough of he-did-this or he-did-that narrative. Yes they did all that, but the worrisome part is that they continue to do so even now, and with added vengeance and acrimony. Previously this animus used to be for merely defeating the opponents; now it is to eliminate them. The objective in the past was to pave the way for your ascendance; now it is to ensure that the adversaries do not ever rise again. The causticity of antagonisms has intensified just as the element of co-existence has disappeared. It is like being in a perpetual battle zone with no signs of the war abating anytime soon.

Through most of these phases, the rulers have dominated unwilling and enfeebled subjects whose problems have multiplied with time. The distribution of state resources has been excessively lopsided with little to no investment made in improving the stock of the ordinary people. With little over 2 percent of GDP earmarked for the critical fields of health and education each, what miracles can be expected from people who have remained engaged in a battle for personal survival with resources available to them only degrading with time. This has also contributed to further increasing disparity between the ruling elite and the ordinary citizens. While the former has lorded over state resources for personal aggrandisement, the latter have been left at the mercy of the heartlessness of the economic enslavers and the barbarity of the draconian government officialdom. So the slide has been steep and relentless.

The paucity of quality leadership coupled with their plunge into the sordid world of crime and corruption have been the reasons why the country has remained on a downward slide. It has failed to extricate itself from the stranglehold of hierarchical monsters who were bred and nurtured by the premier state institution vested with unlimited power to serve their transitory myopic purposes. But, with time, they dug in their heels and anointed themselves as the selected lot that was bestowed with the holy task of ruling the plebeians, thus ensuring that they remained locked in the dungeons of darkness with not a ray of light filtering through their miserly lives. They were resigned to surviving through the bitter travails of life and be content with whatever they were provisioned by their so-called ‘benefactors’.

The one person who challenged the vicious hold of the status-quo encountered the venom of the combined crime syndicate. They all joined hands in ensuring that their stranglehold was not weakened and that they would continue sitting on judgement on their myriad crimes as exclusive arbiters. When Khan refused to give in to the blackmail and dug himself in for the long haul, he had to be removed from power because not only had he trampled upon the interests of the local operators; their foreign master’s interests were also threatened which were linked with keeping Pakistan a hostage state that would continue working for advancing their strategic interests in the region. The tragedy is that, in pursuit of this objective, a broad understanding was reached between the local criminal political leadership and their handlers within the state apparatus as well as the will of the foreign interventionist.

Pakistan is poised on the verge. Khan has taken his battle to the people who have surged in unprecedented numbers to his support. His preferred option is to hold elections, but that does not appeal to the criminal incumbents who fear to be mauled in such an outing. The only alternative available is to let the people step out and convey their unambiguous message that Pakistan can no longer remain subservient to foreign diktat and that it will take decisions that suit its interests and those of its people.

With substantial distance already covered to the coveted goal, taking a step back is no longer an option. Pakistan is poised to embracing the battle for its resurgence.

The writer is a political and security strategist and the founder of the Regional Peace Institute