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I am flying out of Pakistan today. What I have seen, read and witnessed has left me to conclude that Pakistan is a unique jungle, the social contract here requires some adjusting but once you get the idea that everyone is operating on the rule that there are no strict rules then you get along just fine. Driving around for example, I ended up going in the wrong direction, made a few wrong turns, but other people were anticipating this behavior. My daughter was very excited to travel in a Rickshaw, the open breeze, no restraint, she was ecstatic. But when the Rickshaw walla, turned towards oncoming traffic, I was, well lets just say a few brown spots on my pants might have given it away. But it was just normal business. I really liked the cab system, Metro cabs were cheap and they wait for you while you do your chores and know the city so well that I was able to visit my relatives in the real unknown parts of town, where there were no street signs, and you had to ask a pan-walla where the address was. My overall impression of Pakistan is that each individual's vision is as far as his own needs. If all the people in Karachi who own generators got together and spend that money on a big mega project then Karachi would have no power problems for the next twenty years. But that kind of vision requires the trust of some individual who takes a stand and delivers. Such individuals are smeared very quickly and kicked out of Pakistan. I noticed in the conversations that people cannot come together on any issue, there are many nay-Sayers and a few who want to make a difference. I saw people from all walks of life, some with integrity and some who are just going with the flow and then again some who only want to find the shortest path through illegal means. These people brag about their accomplishments and no one dares to call them on it. What’s more if you have a conversation about integrity the same people hide behind religious beliefs and justifications. The insanity of it all is that all over the walls it is written, one book, one prophet one God then why the division, people are divided into, a fine lines of ethnicity, language, religion, and class. We got Sindhi Bluchi, Pathan , Mahajir and Punjabi, then the Mahajirs are further subdivided, two major branches of MQM, and then some more, then we have Punjab divided by languages and classes, there are many divisions of languages and cultures in NWFP, then there are the Bluchi's who not many people care about but the Government wants to monitor for fear that they want freedom. We have the industrialist class, the military class, from the past generals, and colonels down to the majors and captains, and now the Taliban. The religious breed extends from the most moderate to the extreme. The media is quietly trying to keep its mouth open without saying too much. There is no way that Pakistanis feel much about their country. They are first and foremost interested in keeping them self safe and secure. Anybody who is willing to stick their neck out for what is right will get chopped. Next comes the religious agenda, people use religious emotion to manipulate and control others. Then we have the ethnic agenda, you are a Sindhi first and a Bluchi first based on where you live and what language you speak. Then comes the class structures, Are you educated then you belong in that class, if your parents left you money you are in a different class, if you struggle to feed your family you are in another class, then we have the really poor working class. And of course the not so working class.
There is no social contract in Pakistan because of all these divisions. And if someone tries to build consensus then some small class will revolt because the powers that be want the status quo to remain. In Pakistan progress is only one step away. The one step that is missing is courage of conviction. Conviction to do what is in the benefit for all, courage to act in the face of no agreement from the ones in charge. To take ownership of a country you require individuals who have a sense of belonging to a place and a shared history. That shared history is a shredded history of competing elements in the society. That is why there are very few successful grass roots movements in Pakistan and that is why my thesis is that there is no Pakistan, what exists are the interests of some people. Some haphazard rules, designed for those who cannot afford to obey them. A government and politics based on shared power to a few. Where are the visionaries? sitting abroad or in jails. Where is the critical and creative thinking, that makes a society move forward, well most of them are trying to find innovative ways to breakdown and tear down the existing system. The rule that there are no rules, makes for an exciting free market system, but in the absence of regulations, the power goes to the established cash.
I am leaving with fond memories of Pakistan this time, I was not as scared to walk around, there was not much pollution, and the people just didn't seem as upset or aggressive about making it. Everyone seemed complacent and resigned about the way things are and will be. I think I am beginning to like that feeling.