Our History Demands Justice

History is a reflection of our past, pleasant and unpleasant memories, achievements and failures, moments of pride and disgrace and milestones of fame and shame. It is a sum- total of our past doings and misdoings, both of sweet and bitter tastes and of highly motivating successes and deeply depressing disappointments. It is a large mirror, which never lies. It always speaks the undiluted truth and portrays features of our national face most dispassionately. Its verdict is stark naked, totally impersonal, ruthlessly impartial, fearlessly outspoken and revengefully unforgiving. There is no scope for mincing of words, taking cover of lame justifications, linguistic articulations and selfish interpretations or misinterpretations. It cannot be concealed, covered or camouflaged. Its most distinguished hallmark is its transparent truthfulness and the unblinking conviction for expression thereof regardless of reverberations.

History is a sincere and loving teacher for those who are keen to learn from it. Analytical evaluations, cool-headed investigative examinations and threadbare critical readings of historical facts are indeed very helpful in chartering strategic/tactical formulations to tackle the present and future challenges and threat perceptions. Those who only relish living in history, consider it a lifeless entity, sleep over it indifferently or bury it unceremoniously, do not carry out an in-depth assessment of their acts of commission and omission, do not learn from their past failures and do not tailor their future in the light of history are doomed to repeat it cyclically and suffer therefrom with added ferocity and wrathful vengeance. Only those nations surge forward energetically with well-defined sense of direction which learn from their history in totality. Those who ignore the history, cover up their failures and push their tragedies under the carpet are consigned to the dustbin of oblivion very soon as a divine punishment.

Our history, as a nation, starts from 14 August 1947, the fateful day of our independence. Prior to that we were slaves and slaves have no history of their own. They are used only as pawns and, in the process, might create history for their colonial rulers, but not at least for themselves. They are homeless in their own enslaved homeland and, therefore, are destined to perpetual degradation. Their history starts when they stand up against their foreign rulers to snatch back their lost independence. Our elders created history by waging a sustained and relentless struggle against their colonial rulers under the leadership of Tipu Sultan, Malik Jehan Khan, Bakht Khan, Sir Agha Khan, Nawab Saleemullah, Mohammad Ali Johar, Allama Mohammad Iqbal, Hussain Shaheed Suharwardy and Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad All Jinnah. They had to wade through the turmoil of sweat, blood, tears and sufferings and after huge sacrifices Pakistan emerged on the map of the world as an independent state for all of us.

After independence, the nation was confronted with the gigantic task of establishing non-existent federal government infrastructure and kick-starting as well as running the affairs of the new state. We absolutely started from the scratch. Over and above, the heavy influx of refugees, their daily maintenance and subsequent rehabilitation was an awe- inspiring job. The unending conspiracies of the Indian government, in close league with the ex-colonial forces, including occupation of Junagarh, Hyderabad and Kashmir, added fuel to the ongoing turmoil. All our enemies had ganged up to nip the glow of our independence in the bud, once for all. However, under the selfless, intrepid, visionary and charismatic leadership of Quaid-e-Azam, the nation swung into action and tamed all insurmountable crises through a unique sense of unity, courage, mutual accommodation, national spirit and unflinching faith in its destiny. Our newly born nation wrought a miracle. Pakistan came into being to stay forever. We bow to God Almighty for His unlimited kindness and salute our elders for doing so much to attain and subsequently consolidate our nascent separate homeland for the honourable living of all of us. The history of our independence movement and the initial period of its establishment is, of course, a chapter of national pride and excellence which carries a number of useful lessons for the future handling of the national affairs.

However, we faltered terribly soon after the death of Quaid-e-Azam and thereafter the murder of Liaquat Ali Khan. Most tragically, the fateful ship of the state was later hijacked by a bunch of characterless opportunists and selfish manipulators. Certain foreign powers and their agencies made deep inroads into the civil-military bureaucracy of Pakistan by enlisting a fairly large network of their loyalists who were readily willing to sell the nation’s interests, freedom, pride, honour and sovereignty for their selfishly motivated aggrandisement and glorification. This self-seeking gang of vultures has and still continues to play havoc with Pakistan and its hapless people. They have deceitfully drifted Pakistan away from its moorings, ideology, heritage, patriotic pivots and avowed aspirations of its people. They have transformed Pakistan into a banana state and made it a laughing stock in the comity of nations while playing in the hands of their foreign masters.

Gradually and systematically, all motivated, patriotic and honest political leaders, workers and state functionaries were trashed and pushed out of the national scene. They were replaced by newly recruited foreign agents, who were working here on their foreign masters’ payrolls to oversee and promote their interests. All these corrupt and greedy elements of the civil-military bureaucracy were carefully selected, nurtured, protected, promoted and pushed into pivotal positions in the national hierarchy.

Not very surprisingly, some of our presidents and prime ministers, some military and civil bureaucrats, several cabinet members, higher echelons of important ministries, departments and institutions and a large number of so- called intellectuals, journalists, scientists and lawmakers have benefited and are still benefiting from their foreign masters. These characterless champions are the so-called over-sung heroes of Pakistan, while their actual role has been that of traitors and criminals. Pakistan gave these worthless individuals much beyond its limited resources and more than their capabilities and expectations, but they did a rapacious damage to it. What a height of disloyalty, brazenness, moral bankruptcy and stinking act of treason!

The results are painful. Pakistan continues to be misruled by undemocratic and unconstitutional rulers, even after six decades of its inception. The civil-military establishment remains at the helm of affairs directly or indirectly. There were cults of dictatorship of two civilian bureaucrats, Ghulam Mohammad and Sikandar Mirza, wherein the civil-military nexus was firmly established, formulation of the constitution was wilfully delayed, the democratic political system was kept derailed, genuine political forces were victimised, the “law of necessity” clause was invented (which was later repeatedly used by military dictators to justify their coups), elections were suspended, prime ministers were picked up and kicked out, national institutions were corrupted and crippled, nurseries of turncoat politicians were established and political orphans were patronised, writ of the law was neglected, good governance and common man’s welfare were put at the backburner, corruption and plunder of national resources and evacuee properties were institutionalised and nepotism and parochialism became the order of the day. This is not all and the story of their misdeeds and disservices goes on.

Pakistan has suffered four military coups and the army has ruled all along unconstitutionally and undemocratically. Constitutions have been suspended and rubbished, amended and re-amended, distorted and disrupted, de-shaped and disfigured beyond recognition. Democracy has been ruthlessly butchered and replaced with its fake versions…..controlled, engineered, fabricated, ‘lotalised’, basic, grass-root, sham and khaki etc. Referendums and national elections have been rigged. Political leaders and prisoners of conscience have been criminally lashed, victimised, exiled and even executed. Military debacles and even dismemberment of the country have been pushed under the carpet. Loot and plunder, financial indiscipline, unproductive expenses, misuse of resources and power, VIP obsessions and protocols, blind usage of discretionary powers, political uncertainty, misrule and mismanagement and unabashed misinterpretation of constitutional clauses through hypocritical jugglery of words continue to reign supreme. All these factors have helped the corrupt people execute their selfish agenda, cause political stagnation and perpetuate military rule in Pakistan to serve their foreign masters’ interests.

So, by and large, our history is a chapter of mockeries of our constitution, democratic norms, political liberties, fundamental rights, social justice and civilised legal practices and these mockeries are still going on with impunity. Pakistan and its people are being dragged through a dark and closed tunnel. There is no hope of light at the end of the tunnel and the country and its people have been pushed to an uncertain future and a frenzied state of disillusionment. The only way out of this unhealthy and self-created fiasco is a peaceful but determined display of people’s power, strength of their vote, their mobilisation and free, fair and transparent elections, which mean, in short, a democratic revolution and an absolute rule of people.

Having done that, let us bring to justice through a special, independent, high- powered and impartial judicial tribunal all our past and present notorious characters who have betrayed the Quaid’s vision of Pakistan most shamelessly for their stinking selfish motives. The punishment for all these characterless people is very simple and forthright …..they should be blacklisted as NATIONAL CRIMINALS and the list should be regularly displayed in the media on all national days. In addition, their names should also be displayed at the national/provincial assemblies and important public places. This would put the record of our history straight and also serve as a stern warning to all such future adventurists.

Justice does not mean punishments alone; it also means rewards. Let us acknowledge the sacrifices of all those unsung heroes of Pakistan who rendered meritorious services for the national cause, with an untarnished honesty, integrity, selflessness and professional competence. Such heroes are all those who sacrificed everything for Pakistan, but did not get nor even claimed anything in return; those local Pakistanis (already living in the areas included in Pakistan) who went out of the way to serve, help and rehabilitate refugees at the time of independence; those industrialists, businessmen, traders and rich as well as poor Pakistanis who generously donated during the independence movement, creation of Pakistan, 1948 Kashmir war, 1965 and 1971 Pakistan-India wars and natural calamities; those honest, selfless, silent and competent workers of the civil- military bureaucracy, honourable judges, journalists and state functionaries who upheld the law and justice at every cost and those impoverished and downtrodden people of Pakistan for whom the independence has brought no visible change. All these people are the real heroes of Pakistan. Let us acknowledge their services and sacrifices befittingly to do justice to our history. Pakistan is a matchless blessing and a priceless gift of God Almighty. It is a noble trust of our elders who paid a very heavy price for a secure, dignified and better future for us and our future generations. It is our national, religious and moral obligation to enrich this gift and handle it with utmost commitment, absolute sincerity, flawless integrity and an abiding sense of gratitude. Let us halt for a while, look inwards both individually and collectively, analyze critically the history of our country, draw lessons therefrom dispassionately and make a new democratic beginning, strictly as per the dictates of our constitution. Let us mobilise ourselves and bring about a democratic revolution through the use of our vote. Thereafter, let us empower the judiciary to bring to justice all unconstitutional and anti-people forces as well as stooges of foreign powers. Our history demands justice…..for a civilised, progressive and better future…..free of all illegal adventures, whimsical distortions and selfish experimentations.