The Pakistani Spectator

On this day, a need to focus, demand, push or at least articulate what needs to be done differently or else we may be just adding to the level of pity…………..

PITY THE NATION - PAKISTAN 2012 VERSION

Pity the Nation that is at war with itself but is happy to blame the world for all its sins

Pity the Nation that refuses to learn from history but continues to distort historical facts

Pity the nation that relishes in living on myths but tries unrelentingly to spurn reality

Pity the Nation where citizens express anger at international atrocities but is oblivious to cruelties inflicted daily by its own sons & daughters on its own sons & daughters

Pity the Nation where a nuclear technology salesman is a hero but is reluctant to honour its most distinguished nuclear scientist

Pity the Nation where the judiciary functions as a moral brigade & law-enforcement agencies dispense ‘quick justice’

Pity the Nation where usurpers are deemed to represent the will of the people and thus not subject to legal restraints but elected representatives are compelled to surrender to the majesty & the ‘rule of law’

Pity the Nation where the incarceration of a ‘brave’ daughter in a foreign land invites intense anger but where countless hapless daughters rot in local prisons seeking justice

Pity the Nation where law officers garland a confessed murderer but where victims’ families wait endlessly for justice

Pity the Nation where defence forces assume the responsibility to guard ideological frontiers but outsource territorial defence to armed zealots

Pity the Nation where hate-mongers are treated as patriots but peace activists as foreign agents

Pity the Nation that laments its decrepit school system but where state created monsters are committed to destroy existing schools

Pity the Nation that perpetually carries a begging bowl in its hands but expects its benefactors to treat it with respect

Pity the Nation that boasts of its nuclear arsenal but does little to protect the life & liberty of its own people

Pity the Nation where the rich seek personal security through bullet-proof cars & armed guards but the poor are expected to seek it through prayers alone

Pity the Nation that espouses an ideology that ensures equal rights for all citizens but remains indifferent to gross violations of the rights of ‘lesser citizens’

Pity the Nation that treats its friends as foes but its enemies as friends

Pity the Nation where the rich rob the state of taxes but the loss is recouped from the poor

Pity the Nation where anchor persons act as judges & judges as anchor persons

Pity the Nation where warriors are plotting, politicians wrangling, media shrieking, black robes braying and where people are fast losing the hope of a better tomorrow.