Transforming a Dysfunctional Nuclear State: Chaos and Crisis Keep Evolving In Pakistan As A Nation-State

By Mushtaq Ul Haq Ahmad Sikander, New Age Islam 9 May 2023 Reimagining Pakistan: Transforming a Dysfunctional Nuclear State Author: Husain Haqqani Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers, Noida, India Pages: 336, Price: Rs 699 ISBN: 9789352777693 ------- Pakistan is facing crisis since the day it was created. The military dictatorships have been a norm for Pakistan. It was created in the name of Islam, but there is nothing Islamic about it. It has tried in vain to act as leader of Muslim world and even undertook many steps to realize this dream, but its self-styled leadership was rejected by the Muslim world. Also being raised on a complex dose of inferiority complex, dictatorship and corruption, it went from one crisis to the other. Further, the neighbouring India has always been an existential threat to it. To undermine its hegemony, it has done everything in power to keep it involved through border skirmishes, helping reinforce ethnic and regional fault lines by promoting violent insurgent groups. On the other hand, the right-wing regimes in India too have reinforced Islamophobia, minority bashing by stereotyping Muslims as being invaders and taunting them to leave for Pakistan, if they ask about their rights. Hussain Haqqani is an important contemporary intellectual of Pakistan, whose complicity with various regimes in Pakistan certainly do mar his judgement, but his views certainly cannot be dismissed as obsolete. He has dealt with various crisis that are baffling Pakistan. Although, most of the social, economic and political ills that Pakistanis are facing is their own creation, but as a part of escapism they decry them as conspiracies orchestrated by Hindus, Jews and Christians against the Islamic Pakistan. The chaos and crisis keep evolving in Pakistan as a nation-state. The partition of the subcontinent, with the end of British colonialism, resulted in the birth of Independent India and new Pakistan, that later got bifurcated into Bangladesh in 1971. Although these three nations inherited the same colonial legacy, but Pakistan has not been able to maintain democracy that India did or economic growth like Bangladesh. Pakistan since its inception has been involved in building a history, a narrative about its inevitability and essence, wherein use of religion has been made to construct this narrative and justification for Pakistan. This narrative is built around the personification of victimhood perpetuated by the Hindus, although fixing the responsibility for the mess they are currently mired with has been avoided, as it will lead to introspection and identification of culprits because now the Hindu hegemony is over. The book is rife about the lack of introspection by Pakistanis. Haqqani believes that reimaging Pakistan will involve replacing Jihadism, Pan Islamism, and parity with India through trade, pluralism and secularism (P-62). The vague nature of Pakistan has been a continuous historic process because conceiving broad definitions while avoiding specifics helps paint a rosy but utopian picture far from reality, and vigorous exploitation of religion in electoral process wherein Pakistan is equivalent to Islam has been fed to the masses. Then to Islamize the society through political power has been a long-cherished goal of Islamists and few sections of military, who intend to deny any chances to the democracy from taking root in the Pakistani milieu. Thus, to avoid the dangers of democracy, Islamization of the institutions, Hudood laws and other such legislations were introduced. These steps encouraged the mullahs to intervene in every legislative process, while instigating the audiences against what they conceived as un-Islamic. Earlier they used to reach out to the masses through religious and political congregations, now the things have been rendered quite easy with the birth of social media. Religion (read Islam) has been constantly exploited to justify the creation and continuation of Pakistan. The narrative churned towards creating an understanding about Pakistan, being omni presently under threat from India, U.S and Israel has helped the dictators to remain in power, while denying the right of dissent to the masses. If anyone dares to question these narratives, he is decried as the enemy of Islam and Pakistan that have been rendered synonymous by the clergy patronized by the dictators. Also, conspiracies against Pakistan are regularly articulated in the media, to keep the masses engaged and not offering them any opportunity to think and question the state sponsored narratives. Ghazwat ul Hind (War against India) is a part of the same narrative that has been used to bleed India, as many Pakistani rulers believe in defeating India through a thousand cuts. So, they support these narratives that provide them few foot soldiers who carry out the acts of subversion and terrorism, but the Pakistani state always tries to avoid open confrontation because it is aware of the fact that it has been previously defeated thrice by India, even leading to its balkanization. The journalists and intellectuals who raise brutally honest questions and challenge the military narrative are regularly targeted. To add insult to injury the traders and industrialists too are not valued over warriors. The non-state actors who are fighting against India are revered, so the economic decline mars the contemporary Pakistan. Hence, there are repercussions and consequences of such an ideology, has been aptly summarized by Haqqani as, “But the ideology of Pakistan that has been fostered in the past seventy years has had two major consequences. First, it opened the door for endless debates and schisms around Islam that prevent discussion of more pressing and practical governance issues; second, it conflated an Islamic Pakistani nationalism with anti-Indianism, putting Pakistan in foreign and national security straitjacket.” (P-265) This book is an essential read for anyone who intends to understand the travesty of a nation that was created in the name of Islam, but could never implement Islam as an ideology. The very basic foundations of Pakistan, were created on shaky vague grounds that only resulted in the exploitation of Islam, not towards strengthening it. Further, the patronization of violent groups by Pakistan previously with the support of USA during Cold war, maligned the image of Islam as being violent, bloody and terroristic. Haqqani although too much influenced by the Western working of democratic model, engages with some fundamental problems and issues that have given birth to perpetual crisis in Pakistan. His analysis cannot be dismissed completely, but can be critically analysed as he seems to grant a clean chit to the West particularly USA that is responsible to a large extent for the current mess and cesspool in which Pakistan has been dragged. Haqqani although aligned with the state of Pakistan, while enjoying numerous plump postings, seems to be disgruntled after being side-lined by few regimes, is questioning the very existence of Pakistan. Hence the criticism at times seems more of a personal grudge than an academic treatment of the issue at hand. Despite, all these flaws this book should be read to understand the consequences of unholy mixing of religion and politics. ---- M.H.A. Sikander is Writer-Activist based in Srinagar. URL: https://newageislam.com/books-documents/dysfunctional-nuclear-state-pakistan-/d/129736 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism