US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said recently that relations between the US and Pakistan had reached a turning point after the killing of Osama bin Laden and that Pakistan needed to take “decisive” steps in the days ahead to fight terrorism.  

As always, Pakistan is confused and divided on this and many other issues which need our urgent attention as we seek to take solid steps to resolve them. These issues have become a chronic disease but unfortunately, almost without realising, we have become involved in a blame-game and the rest of the world is looking at us amid increasing trust deficit. 

Apart from America, concerns over our nuclear strategic assets have been expressed by NATO, Germany, France and the UK.  We need to take significant steps not for the sake of the US but in our own national interest.

After the whole humiliation in the wake of Abbottabad incident, we are still divided and confused as we have been for the last six decades.  Whether it’s a matter of Pakistan’s future or the Pakistanis themselves, it has always been difficult for us to move in the right direction. 

We all know that some people opposed the idea of Pakistan.  Our Quaid, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, once said democracy was in our marrow. The outline of his vision could help Pakistan succeed but, we have forgotten all the golden principles practice by our Quaid. We hardly have any real democracy in our country and still cannot decide whether we want to be a Islamic state with shariah laws or a modern democratic state as envisioned by our Quaid.

The hunger for power displayed by successive politicians and generals kept people bound under the yoke of martial law and military dictators for 30 years. Instead of strengthening democracy, many of our politicians were willing to support the dictators, either openly or in secret.  If we had taken a decisive stand against martial laws and interference, we could have had a prosperous country with a strong democratic backbone in which we could pass any necessary legislation without hindrance. 

Instead, we are confused and divided and consequently haven’t been able to decide whether the war against terrorism is ours to fight or not.  Whichever way, the war is already being waged on Pakistani soil.  In March 2008, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilliani said in his maiden speech that the war on terror “has become our war because it has posed serious threats to our own country”.   

If the latest estimates are accurate, Pakistan has suffered losses of $68 billion, 35,000 civilians and over 5,000 security personnel have lost their lives. The people are being killed and our security and defence institutions are being attacked.  This simply cannot be allowed to continue.  Pakistan must put a stop to the spilling of blood on her own soil and not for anybody else’s sake, but for our own.

Like it or not, this has become our war and we should take the public in confidence and have an unambiguous and unbiased strategy towards eradicating terrorism from our land. We must not allow anybody to use our land for terrorism against any other country and especially against our own forces. 

We are not where we should be, but it is not too late.  We can still make a difference by adopting the right approach and redrafting our foreign and defence policies as well as internal policies with emphasis on our domestic security, keeping in view the need to maintain good relations with India.  Economic policies can also be strengthened to build a prosperous and strong Pakistan. 

Now is the time to take decisive steps in our relationship with the Taliban and Al-Qaida and to decide about our home grown extremist and Jihadist groups who are doing nothing but bringing a bad name to Islam and Pakistan.

We need to bring about a real democracy that will ensure Pakistan’s future and provide genuine equality.  Quaid once said that religion should have nothing to do with the business of the state.  Instead, what we see today is a Pakistan in which religion has penetrated in all veins of the business of the state.  The military dictator Gen Ziaul Haq started a process to islamise the country and the country’s laws, introducing shariah laws, amending the law books and the constitution for the worse, and setting up shariah courts and Majlis e Shoora.   The result was to erect a fort of Islam and cause further division in society while our Quaid’s vision receded into the mists of time.

So long as we stay on this path, we are heading towards destruction. Everybody is accusing us of training and giving sanctuary to terrorists and providing them with an excuse to violate our border security and attack our sovereignty.

The Quaid once said that Pakistan’s relations with India would be similar to its relations with the US and Canada but instead, we regard India as our number-one enemy. At present we are spending a large percentage of our budget on military and defence needs.  We turn to America for aid and grants but America has its own vested interests; we must know nothing comes for free. 

Today we have reached a critical point and our sovereignty is at stake. Our public is against us but so too are America and other western countries for not making our relationship with them clear.   All the while, the media, and especially digital media, is playing a precarious roll in provoking public opinion against the government and the USA. The media considers itself the fourth pillar of the country but it should play a positive role, inviting the contributions of impartial, knowledgeable and courageous people who can speak the truth no matter how bitter, instead of simply seeking to increase their audiences.

There are longstanding unanswered questions that must be addressed if the country is to move in the right direction. The public has already lost its faith in politicians and now it is going to lose its trust in the military forces too. Even the army itself is concerned as extremism has penetrated its ranks. We have to decide who our real enemy is here. Is it India, America or extremism?  Even if we believe that all three are our enemies, then we have to get our priorities straight now and find a way to deal with them without the need for war. The best way to dissolve these issues would be to negotiate with them to come to a peaceful resolution but the clock is ticking and we are running out of time. Pointing the accusing finger at government is easy, but helping them in these critical times is ultimately more useful for all concerned. 

The writer is director of UK based Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and settlement  

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