Movement for sovereignty

“Sovereignty is not given, it is taken,” said Mustafa Kamal Ataturk.

The name Ataturk means “Father of the Turks”. Ataturk’s fight for Turkey’s independence against colonialism and imperialism during the First World War created the independent state that Turkey is presently. Aside from widespread reforms in education and economy, he built the independent identity of the Turkish people. His government carried out a policy of Turkification, trying to create a homogeneous, unified and above all secular nation. Turkish language, history and culture were imbibed and revived. Under Atatürk, the indigenous minorities were asked to speak Turkish in public, non-Turkish toponyms and last names of foreigners had to be changed to Turkish renditions.

As they say, you cannot have independence without sovereignty and sovereignty without independence. More simply stated, sovereignty means that a state is free to choose its own destiny and its relations with the community of states. Thus, state sovereignty is the ability of a nation to make policies and laws without external interference. It is not just a territorial, geographical independence from a foreign rule, but it is the liberty and freedom to decide upon unhindered, unforced political, socio–cultural, and economic choices. It is a state of affairs in a state and even more important, it is a state of mind of the leaders and the nationals in the country. Pakistan’s inability to rise to its potential and become a regional power has a lot to do with the state of affairs being run historically by enslaved minds. Let us see where such entrapments have hindered national progress:

Political History – Pakistan’s political past has been inglorious as far as standing up against interventions external via internal collusion. American pressure post 9/11 has been obviously affecting all major policies. A phone call to President Musharraf threatening dire consequences for Pakistan if Pakistan did not become an ally in the U.S war of terror was enough to make the country sacrifice it’s sovereignty. The price we paid and the price we are still paying is staggering. This subjugation has made Pakistan look like a doormat. Imagine a lowest level American officer Raymond Davis brazenly shooting shooting two Pakistanis and the government sends him off unpunished due to American pressure. The message is awful: in Pakistan you can get away with murder as the political leaders are gutless. That is why when the ex-PM Imran Khan refused to bow down under pressure, when Donald Lu, the American official, warned Pakistan of dire consequences.

Economic subjugation – Countries that are economically weak are dependent on aid and loans. Pakistan owes over 100 billion dollars to international institutions and countries. Pakistan has gone to IMF almost 18 times in the last four decades. With one of the lowest export growth rates in the region, debt became the only way to finance deficits. This has made Pakistan become a victim of loan conditionalities. Countries who lend money then define your foreign relations too. When Pakistan abstained from voting against Russia in the UN, just as India, the reprimand by EU countries was only directed to Pakistan. The last three years of export and tax revenue growth looked like one way of getting out of this economic subjugation. With the regime change, this may not be sustainable.
Cultural chaos – Pakistanis have undergone an identity crisis. The pride of being a Pakistani is somehow being defined by the way this country is projected by foreign media. A Pakistani youth dreams of being Western in his lifestyle but is constantly told to adhere to his or her cultural value. That is why the changes in the education system to develop true understanding of our rich culture was so essential. It is imperative that the pride in being Pakistani must be reinforced at home, school, offices, etc. It is important to develop a love for your own language. This is the biggest reason why the English-speaking minority in Pakistan has stunted the academic/social potential of the Urdu speaking masses.

The fact that the nation for the first time has come out and said that they are not willing to be slaves of foreign powers is a great break away from the indifferent past behaviour. But to change this to a real breakthrough, it is necessary to:

a) Stand and be counted – Nobody can control your life without your permission. This is true for individuals and for countries too. Pakistan has given in too easily to pressure. The lack of resilience by our leaders has been justified as “Beggars cannot be choosers” or “serious consequences if we defy big powers”.

That is why the “Absolutely Not” stance of ex PM Imran Khan to the U.S shocked the foreign powers and the local stakeholders. Leaders have given in to all sorts of pressures due to their vested and invested interests in foreign countries in the form of money and assets. Now that this stance has been taken by the ex-PM, it must be adhered to despite the costs and the risks. Nothing great is achieved without sacrifices. With the huge public support, it is important that this time like Iran or China, the foreign powers should be given a firm message.

b) Make tough economic choices – Foreign interference is possible in exchange for individual or national favours. When foreign powers lend money or aid to eager loanees, they control them through conditionalities and penalties. Pakistan has taken the right approach of refusing to beg aid from America and has insisted on trade. However, this means that our tax revenues needed to be increased. The increase should not be simply due to more economic activity, but more people paying tax. This aspect needs to be the number one priority if dependence on loans is reduced.

c) Develop national identity and pride – The great need of the hour is to revive the passion for being a Pakistani. The rather confused and apologetic way our youth and elite express their mocking memes on Pakistan is a reflection of lack of clarity and hope. The fact that Pakistan has been projected adversely on international media is true, but more what is important is the fact that our own communication strategy has been nothing. That is why a single national curriculum is necessary for our next generation so they can focus more on our own language and culture. It would be a tragedy if this education reform becomes a victim of the typical “stop all previous government’s projects” casualty.

The political atmosphere is fully charged. Mass protests in all parts of the country and around the world have made this controversial change in government become a key tipping point in the history of Pakistan. Nobody had expected the events to take this turn. Now that it has sovereignty, it has become a point of unity and identity for Pakistanis.

In order to have a national reformation, it is important that this does not turn into an Arab Spring flashpoint. This is not just a challenging moment for political parties, institutions and governments, but for every citizen of Pakistan to stand up for the independence and sovereignty of the country.

As Wael Ghonim in the Taksim Square uprising said, “The power of the people is always greater than the people in power.”

The writer is a columnist, consultant, coach, and an analyst