Pakistanis, The Resilience Stuff

[Windjammer]

Pakistanis: The stuff resilience is made of

I wake up to the sound of my phone ringing incessantly. While still in the process of retracting myself from the dream-world, I am informed of a movie plan for the following evening. There is no way my friends are missing out on the latest Bollywood blockbuster.

As the day proceeds, I can sense optimism all around me. The fruit and vegetable vendors take up their usual spot on the roadside. Every now and then, a car with songs blaring out of the stereo passes by. I can see a tough young man walking his dog while two little girls dressed up in an impeccable school uniform, hop along hand in hand.

I may soon hear of some depressing news, a strange new political development or an unlikely event but I see no sign of distress in the outside world. Who could ever guess that a society so trapped in a multitude of problems could display such resilience!

None of us are blind to the daily troubles that surround us. The personal security and liberty of every Pakistani citizen is in shambles. Our economy is in doldrums, half of the population remains illiterate, poverty is on the rise, and as if all of that wasn’t enough, the public is fed up of the government’s inefficiencies.

Every other day we hear about events that shake up the country but we stand firm, facing the challenges with a brave outlook. Instead of cowering down and cursing our fate, we have learned to not just weather the storm but keep on living strong.

Our cricket team may be losing the most crucial match, but we’d still be glued to our TV screens till the last minute of the game. Tennis may not excite many of us, but we’d swoon to the thought of Aisamul Haq cruising to the Grand Slams Final. We’d hoot with joy at Pakistan making eight world records in a day and we’d rush in hordes to buy the latest lawn print that is all the rage!

And when all else would fail, we’d turn to food for consolation; a plate of steaming chicken biryani or a dose of halwa puri would get us through the day. The country may face a momentary security lapse, public places may pose a serious risk to our lives, streets wouldn’t appear safe anymore, but none of this would stop us from enjoying a hot cup of coffee at one of the busiest commercial hubs.

We, as a nation, have so subtly adapted to the environment around us that we don’t let pain conquer us for long. This does not mean that we have become insensitive or immune, but rather we have let the hope in our hearts triumph all the negativity. In spite of the constant threats, our journalists and social activists do not stop raising their voices for the victims of injustice.

Sectarian violence has become a norm but there still remain many amongst us who do not hesitate to speak up against this evil. Just last month, the Sunni community of Gilgit-Baltistan awed the world by their act of gallantry; providing a human shield for the highly persecuted Shia community during one of the 10th Muharram processions.

We have the worst law and order situation, with the crime rate at its highest and frequent bomb blasts tearing through the cities, yet our police force stands united in protecting the citizens even at the cost of their own lives. The media may portray Pakistan to be on the verge of failure but the citizens have learnt to brush off the allegations and not let despair get to them.

Living under fear of the unknown diseases has also become a way of life for us Pakistanis. From the outbreak of the bird flu, to the dengue menace stretching for months, the fake medicines and now the poisoned cough syrup scam, we have had it all. However, we have stood against all odds by first suffering, then recovering and finally working to uproot the problem

While the world expects us to break down any minute, we show them that we’re made of stronger stuff and that we’re not going anywhere any time soon.

Not surprisingly, according to the Happy Planet Index (HPT) 2012, Pakistan was termed the 16th happiest country out of 151 countries of the world. Many would scoff at the findings but we just need to look at the people around us, smiling at and appreciating the little things in life. It’s not always about how wealthy a country is or how it’s waging in the global scenario; sometimes it’s just about a citizen’s simplistic approach towards life.

So the next time someone tells you in all seriousness that Pakistan is going down, you tell them that we Pakistanis are resilient enough to rebound!

Pakistanis: The stuff resilience is made of – The Express Tribune Blog

 

[DroneAcharya]

In other news, Pakistan where the State Religion is Denial

Pakistan is a land of many stories, and I miss them terribly. But what I don’t miss, having been forced to leave Pakistan this summer because of a possible threat to my safety, is the constant barrage of conspiracy theories and an unwillingness by smart people to accept what is clear as day.
The shooting of Malala Yousufzai is just the latest case. There are many educated Pakistanis who simply can’t accept that the barbarous thugs known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) could shoot a brave 14-year-old schoolgirl reformer in the head. No matter that the TTP spokesman claimed credit for it. No matter that he said they would do it again if given half the chance.

Curious timing, these conspiracists mutter darkly. The attack is obviously an attempt to force the military into an operation in North Waziristan against Pakistan’s will, they say. Or, it’s a plot to discredit the PTI and its opposition to drone strikes. (What drone strikes have to do with the bloody attack on a child is never clearly explained.)

This, if I may, as an outsider and an observer of Pakistan, is Pakistan’s gaping wound: a collective inability — or unwillingness — to accept responsibility for its internal problems.

Everything is a plot by the Indians, Americans or Israel. Or all three! Militancy, power cuts, corruption, economic stagnation, Osama bin Laden, all of it. I once had Latif Khosa, governor of Punjab, blame power outages on the American invasion of Afghanistan, and not the Pakistan government’s inability to settle the circular debt problem. Zaid Hamid, conspiracist extraordinaire, vowed revenge on the TTP and their “Hindu backers”. Even the match-fixing by the Pakistani cricket team was a set-up by dark forces bent on Pakistan’s destruction.

Goodness! How did Pakistan manage to acquire so many shadowy enemies? In short, it — or rather, the men who run it — invented them.
Anyone with a lick of sense knows the Pakistani “establishment” (such a polite euphemism) has for years cried wolf in order to justify claiming its outsized share of the national budget and foreign aid. India was poised to invade at any moment! The Americans are going to steal our nukes!
The efforts to spot dark plots and enemies under every bushel have found fertile soil in a population already poisoned by a school system that promotes bigotry against other religious groups, by a media that lionises murderers in a chase for ratings and by politicians such as Imran Khan and his PTI who pal around with men who openly support the Taliban and their vicious ideology. I refer, of course, to men such as Hamid Gul and Maulana Samiul Haq.

Pakistan has real problems, yes. India is an economic rival and the relationship with Washington is a complicated one. The issue of Pashtun nationalism on both sides of the Durand Line has to be handled carefully. But instead of looking at what is right in front of them — the military’s support for jihadist groups since the 1980s has now gotten out of control and threatens the state — Pakistanis have been encouraged to blame others. They ignore the cancer that has been eating away at Pakistan since before the usurpation of Ziaul Haq: the supported rise of an intolerant and severe nationalism that conflates piety with patriotism. It’s an ugly nationalism that excludes and marks others as outsiders and, thus, as enemies.

This twisting of a faith was not the work of America, or India or Israel. This was done by Pakistan’s own leaders and generals for crass and short-term gains. The knock-on effects have been catastrophic for a society that was once more tolerant, open and welcoming to the outside world. It leads to smart people unwilling to see what is plain in front of their faces: That militants once backed by their own military are intent on killing anyone who disagrees with them, even if it’s a 14-year-old girl. And that the men with guns need to be dealt with. With all the severity they mete out to others.

In the end, the real enemy of Pakistan is not India or the United States. It’s not even passivity in the face of — or even acceptance of — a pernicious and twisted ideology. It’s the denial that the ideology has come from within Pakistan itself.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 14th, 2012.

 

[Jade]

What is so resilient about Pakistanis? I would say Pakistanis have no choice, but to face all that is happening in Pakistan. No wonder 1/3 of the Pakistanis would leave Pakistan given a choice.

 

[W.11]

What is so resilient about Pakistanis? I would say Pakistanis have no choice, but to face all that is happening in Pakistan. No wonder 1/3 of the Pakistanis would leave Pakistan given a choice.

u r speaking as if indian arnt seeking overseas immigration

 

[Contrarian]

This is not resilience. This is fait acompli. They have to be resilient because there is no other option. A failure to grasp reality of the problems of Pakistan and a convenient way of shifting blame to all others around it.

 

[Jade]

u r speaking as if indian arnt seeking overseas immigration

It is not about immigration, but wanting to leave the country to escape facing the realities.

 

[Areesh]

In other news.

You are late. Even more late and delayed than the LCA Tejas.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 14th, 2012

 

[Windjammer]

The Indians, who tend to go up in flames to read anything positive about Pakistan....need some introspection.

Her's for all the trolling morons.

Why Blame Others When Hindus Themselves are Cowards? | The Rediscovery of India

 

[Areesh]

It is not about immigration, but wanting to leave the country to escape facing the realities.

A Zillion reasons to escape from India

 

[DroneAcharya]

You are late. Even more late and delayed than the LCA Tejas.

Well, some things just stand the test of time don't they, like the Resilience in Denial !!!

 

[Jade]

A Zillion reasons to escape from India

You are equating some blog written by some anonymous person to a survey conducted in Pak.

 

[Areesh]

Well, some things just stand the test of time don't they, like the Resilience in Denial !!!

Yeah some things. Like Indian urge to troll. Or urge to get pink.

 

[W.11]

It is not about immigration, but wanting to leave the country to escape facing the realities.

then what is immigration, y they immigrate

 

[DroneAcharya]

The Indians, who tend to go up in flames to read anything positive about Pakistan....need some introspection.

Her's for all the trolling morons.

Why Blame Others When Hindus Themselves are Cowards? | The Rediscovery of India

Goddamn me, the same Mard-e-Momins surrendered to them cowards not in ones and twos, but 93000 of them !!! Talk about the largest surrender in the history by a standing Army of Mujahids !!!

 

[Areesh]

You are equating some blog written by some anonymous person to a survey conducted in Pak.

Just saying that people have not one but zillion reasons to escape from the sh!thole. And those people includes you too.