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Special Report |
LAST UPDATE July 12, 2005
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| July 10, 2003 |
Pakistan from the inside – Presentation - Aman Azhar |
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| Pakistani International Student, Aman Azhar, listens to a statement from Indian, Aditya Sarkar, regarding the refusal of his entry into India |
Working as a journalist for a political magazine called the 'Weekly Independent', Aman Azhar is someone with his finger on the pulse of the current state of affairs in Pakistan. As well as his job as a writer, he is an activist on issues of sustainable development, and has been involved in the training of journalists.
Aman introduced his presentation as an explanation of questions he has asked himself. But before he began, he asked Indian student, Aditya Sarkar, to offer a comment on why he, a Pakistani national, had been refused an entry visa to land at Cochin. Other Pakistani nationals had been granted permission to enter India before, so why not him? Aditya took the stage and said that this action symbolized the Indian government only, and not the people. He added that he could not apologize to Aman, as he did not represent the officials making the decision. Aman replied by wondering whom the India-Pakistan peace talks were actually representing, and how legitimate they really were.
This exchange followed the press conference held on arrival in Cochin at which both IS spoke. Peace Boat expressed its regret that both students are unable to visit the other's homeland and hoped that the work the two are doing together, will help strengthen civil society in both countries and further the process of peace and reconciliation between them.
Aman went on to explain how Pakistani society has struggled to develop in a socio-economic sense since gaining independence in 1947, and that the disputed region of Kashmir has been a constant issue in maintaining the politics of nationalist governments. He said that it took the political actors 26 years, to reach a consensus finally in 1973, on the constitution. This political shortsightedness invited military bureaucracy to join the political affairs of the country. He also maintained that the left politics also betrayed the people due to its centralized working and inability to provide alternative thinking.
The late 1970s saw the rise to power of General Ziaul Hak, a military dictator who overthrew the previous administration. Media, human rights and democratic values were suppressed, and the Afghanistan conflict between the US and the Soviet Union saw the creation of the Mujahedeen. Funded by the US and powered by the politicization of religious values - pumped into society through the government censored media - the Taliban are the making of a war fought from a distance by the Cold War superpowers. |
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| Pakistan from the inside, not the view shown by the Western media |
Even after Ziaul Hak was killed in a plane crash, and much of the country celebrated, it was too late. The power was still in favour of the military, and through engineered elections, they could wear a 'political mask'. The media boom of the 1980s exposed much of the western world to conservative elements of Pakistani society, but instead of opening up minds to different ways of living and thinking, the contact made groups fear for their beliefs even more, creating extremes and serving to further weed out moderates.
The current leader, General Pervez Musharraf, is another dictator ruling the country and setting bad precedent. Politicized religious institutions combines with a male dominated society, produced exploitative laws, including a ruling in regard to accusations of rape in which a woman must produce four witnesses before the case can go to court. Failing to do so would mean being sent to prison to live the life of an 'untouchable'. There has however, been progress in the area of women's rights in Pakistan over the last few years, but this is still a difficult struggle.
Aman spoke of the need for more practical non-governmental organization (NGO) help, saying that many organizations are good at making a noise, but offer few real solutions. Pakistan is not ready for globalization, and will degenerate unless there is progress made towards change. Aman concluded his presentation by asking where were the visionaries and critical thinkers, saying that there are not enough practical ideas from Pakistan's intellectuals, and that the creative thinking and imagination of his people is missing at an important time. |
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