Testing times

Brig(Retired) Khalid Kibriya
A measure to gauge the national unity and readiness, in the wake of monumental challenges facing the nation, are the extreme narratives emanating from the ongoing Azad Kashmir electioneering campaign.
Bilawal Bhutto’s campaigning punch line is that Kashmiris will not take dictation from Delhi and Islamabad, thus clubbing Pakistan and India together in relation to Kashmiris. The toxic nature of this punch line, needs no elaboration.
Likewise, Maryam Nawaz has carried her politics of confrontation to a whole different level. Her punch line has been scathing criticism of Imran Khan and his “selectors” in her characteristic tone .
In the opinion of a media anchor, by rubbing this punch line again and again, she has succeeded in creating an impression that the Prime Minister and his “selectors” have , God forbid , sold the Kashmir cause.
Nothing can be more damaging to the Kashmir cause as these narratives create hopelessness, confusion and despair for Kashmiris on both sides of the divide as also Pakistanis.
These are carefully prepared toxic narratives for ulterior motives, being read out from prepared speeches by Bilawal and Maryam. In my view these narratives neither fall in the domain of electioneering nor within the domain of freedom of speech in democracies any where in the world.
Given the unlimited tolerance threshold of the Pakistani State, this will not ruffle any feather, as even more damaging narratives emanating from the PDM platform targeting the Armed Forces and the unity of the nation have gone unnoticed.
This weak writ of the State of Pakistan has come about due to our collective failure as a nation, leading to decades of rule by dynastic parties constituting our entire political landscape.
Over time, our entire State structure at every level has been politicised by these dynasties to the extent of making them a stakeholder in the system.
The resultant culture of clientelism, nepotism, bad governance and corruption has weakened the state immeasurably causing deep internal divisions, weak economy etc, leading to compromises on sovereignty.
Such has been the encroachment on our sovereignty that our internal political issues needed foreign arbitration and deal making to resolve them. The religion based segment of our politics is also susceptible to external influence by way of unchecked foreign funding to our Madaras, which they control.
The dynastic culture has also fostered a
deal making culture both internally as also with external quarters as one man, the life time Chairman or leader makes a deal, to which his followers acquiesce unquestionably.
At a time when nation needs rock solid unity, we are witnessing extremely divisive narratives targeting national cohesion and creating confusion about our cause and position on Kashmir.
With the election commission, relevant State Organs and agencies as also seasoned politicians from across the political divide choosing to remain fence sitters, the nation seems to be adrift and rudderless in troubled waters, with no one in control.
In these testing times, we need mature political leadership, proactive State Organs and very responsive bureaucracy to measure up to daunting challenges of security, economy and governance the nation is faced with.
Last but not the least we need a very responsible and mature media to facilitate national unity and cohesion.