Militant’s attack on Pakistan Air Force camp near Peshawar that killed 29 people is a reminder to the world community that Pakistan is a victim of terrorism. Pakistan is doing all that it could to eliminate terrorism and wanted cooperation of its neighbouring countries. It is time that neighbours must also deny space to these terrorists. Now the world should do more. International cooperation is the need of the day to address the root of terrorism. I agree with an observation that terrorists enjoy the advantage of will, time and space, with the security forces naturally being in a strategic defensive and reactive mode. Urgent effort that Pakistan should make is to remove roadblocks and difficulties in implementation of national security plans. Criminals’ psychology and strategy should not be difficult for governments to understand. Criminals act at will. We need to break their will, no matter where they come from.
Our Sovereignty4h5gw matters the most. Rethinking our internal and external relations is of vital significance especially in context of counter terrorism strategies. Media needs to move on the right path. The people must be watchful of merchants of doom and gloom in spite of all odds and balance is essential to maintain and to be optimistic.
It is important that we put our own house in order. Our external relations and national exposure in the comity of nations can never be impressively and strongly established if our national character is badly plagued with educational, socio-economic and political ailments and malpractice. A virtuous educational and judicial system is the need of the time, which should be thought of, planned and implemented on war-footings. However, education and Justice are inseparable entities; justice not only in terms of an upright court system but also characterizing Plato’s doctrine of justice that is, the right person for the right job. Whereas, we see square pegs for the round holes.
We do need self-analysis and have to be self- reliant. Let us salute our brave soldiers and pay tribute to martyrs for their great sacrifices in defending our sacred and beloved homeland.
With the same quest for knowledge, with the same historical perspective we need to re tackle the same questions for our own times. Needed is an enabling culture – genuine innovation and creativity and a truly free society evolving and foster. We need to understand relative underdevelopment and poverty within and between societies and what it means for development planning and strategies. Societies are constantly subject to economic and political conflict that is resolved in different ways because of specific historical differences, the role of individuals and just random factors. Research indicates that the differences created by institutional drift become especially consequential, because they influence how society reacts to changes in economic or political circumstances during critical junctures.
Our self assumed sense of superiority and false pretenses of past glory; lack of dedicated and honest leadership combined with religious fanaticism is probably our biggest hindrances to embark on the journey of innovation and creativity.
The fact that institutions have not been allowed to function in context of mission, goals and objectives and structural-functional framework explains the failure. Individual and random factors make institutions dysfunctional. It is a serious issue for governments to tackle.
In general repetition of same policies time and again have also resulted in failing our socio-economical system. It is thus important to introduce and integrate viable economic, social as well as political aspects within a holistic, balanced and sustainable framework.
Need is to strengthen institutions throwing out the corrupt and bluffers. It is important to tackling the growing public skepticism and disconnect with politics and unanticipated consequences of bad governance and implementation of plans and policies. The central vital institutions of all states representing the people have to listen to the voice of the people and meet their aspirations and expectations for peace and development and promotion of democratic and diplomatic mode and means for resolving international disputes. Violence leading to unending war presents no lasting solutions.
The success of any form of government and its policies is solely dependent on coherent flow of legislation and its implementation at the grass root level. Evidently the chief executive is mainly voted into office on the basis of his party’s manifesto. Here we need to think which party has actually delivered and what its manifesto had promised? From Roti, Kapra, Makan to Gas, Electricity and Housing none of these issues have ever been addressed seriously by any of Pakistan’s political parties. Adding to the miseries of the people all we see is ever growing menace of terrorism, ethnic violence and corruption. These problems were not present some years ago when we had a One Unit presidential system.
At this juncture parliamentary system could be questioned for its failure. We were not ethnically so much divided as we are now. This system has not only created division among masses but also divided us politically. Pakistan, an ideological state, needs strong federation and centralized executive system.
Institutions such as family, education and government represent an interrelated set of norms. Upholding of institutions, of their usefulness, validity, authority and sanctity means upholding the very foundation of society and the character of its people and recognizing the norms and direction in which the society is expected to direct its activities effectively. That means the importance of organization and management in determining and ensuring success of plans and policies and the delivery system to the satisfaction of the people.
Ingredients that are supposed to propel a society to move forward are rule of law and respect for democracy. But individual and random factors are often responsible for failing the democratic system.
Institutional drift is a deviation or a course away from the established norms, forcing a society to be driven at random in an environment of increasing uncertainty and growing complexities, all leading to crises.
Projecting the truth through unbiased reporting is of vital significance. What we see and hear may not be the truth. Realizing the importance of information warfare and its quick and smart usage to change perceptions has given an edge to some over others. Make believe, White is Black. And Black is White. Information has been used as a terrible weapon to distort facts through disinformation and propaganda to project, deliberately, a designed viewpoint to change perceptions. Battles won militarily are thus lost on political front. Why do we fail to tell the world effectively that it was not we at default? Why let the Kettle call Pot Black? Enough is enough. The people of Pakistan wish to get out of the vices circle of blame game, crises after crises with no light at the end of the tunnel. War against terror we must win.
Countries have national interests. Pakistan has to watch its own. Politics is not so easy a toy to play with. Its Rigmarole, rambling talks and a succession of confused or foolish statements create more confusion. Blame game (internal or external) once started never ends. Let us keep our eyes and ears open. National security and sovereignty matters most. Toward this end we have to be open and bold. And keep the struggle on. Others being unreasonable with us we simply cannot afford.
iftahmad786@hotmail.com
Source: http://nation.com.pk/columns/22-Sep-2015/sovereignty-matters-most
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