Peace between Mohajirs and Sindhis. Between government and opposition. Between centre and provinces. Between Zia ul Haq and Z A Bhutto. Between Pakistan and India. Between ISI and Kabul.
Yes, give us peace so that we can get on with life. Without dacoities, kidnappings, sniping. Without strikes, lockouts and shutdowns. Without political victimisation, horse-trading, no-confidence moves. Without bombs, bloodshed and the threat of war hanging over our heads.
We are exhausted. For over two decades, since 1968, it has been tough going. The loss of one half of our country in 1971 was unbearable. The Z A Bhutto years, full of civil strife, personal vendettas and senseless industrial dislocations, offered no respite. The execution of a democratically elected prime minister scarred us for years to come. Under Zia ul Haq, the peoples’ struggle to restore legitimacy to their lives against the crushing burdens of the coercive state never abated.
Since 1988, instead of allowing the wounds to heal, our leaders have sharply escalated the state of turmoil and confusion within society. After the long downpour, where we expected to rejoice at the sight of a rainbow, we have been scattered by the screaming winds of war, communal venom and base political ambitions. No, nations and people rarely survive the buffetings of unending misfortune and political misconduct.
The tragedy is compounded by the fact that this predicament is all too obvious to everyone, yet our leaders seem unable or unwilling to deliver us from this desperate situation.
Take Altaf Hussain’s senseless hunger strike. For one week, he held Sindh to ransom, threatening to snuff out thousands of innocent lives. And what did he achieve? Nothing.
Take the continuing saga of centre-province relations, starring Mian Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto. Directed by the Godfathers whose ghosts haunt the landscape of our waking hours to sow the seeds of discord, this hopeless sparring succeeds only in sapping the spirit of democracy upon which we pin our goals for the future.
Or take now the spectre of war with India, imagine the scale of death and destruction; the cruel displacement of populations, the ruination of the economy. What does the PM hope to achieve by reiterating her father’s pledge to wage a-thousand-year war with India? What purpose is served by heightening the propaganda, raising the rhetoric, promising to raise ten crores for Kashmir, unless the base motive is simply to conduct an election campaign in Azad Kashmir? Why should we, the people, remain silent and allow frustrated politicians to play havoc with our lives?
No, enough is enough. We are sick of these rampant corruptions that plague our body politic.
We want peace. Peace to work, to produce, to build afresh, to prosper, to be creative. So that we can improve the quality of our lives. So that our children can grow up to be responsible, meaningful citizens, living in civil harmony, taking pride in their country, joy in its culture, participating vigourously in its diverse endeavors. So that Pakistan can take its rightful place among the modern, dynamic nations of the world.
The prime minister and the oppositionists should calmly reflect on the crying needs of the hour — justice, jobs, health, education, industrial development. The fruits of representative government must be shared. Benazir Bhutto should be generous in sharing power. She must seize the initiative and extend the hand of genuine friendship and cooperation to her political opponents. Let bygones be bygones. Warring with one another or with India doesn’t solve anything. We have had enough of it. A new Pakistan awaits fulfillment. Give peace a chance.