Sleeping Giant?

Today, Pakistan has over 6 millions citizens who are over the age of 65. Such people witnessed the partition, some survived the treacherous journey from Amritsar to Lahore, whilst others left all their livelihoods and in effect migrated to the new nation. The creation of Pakistan, the struggle and the sacrifices are all taught in schools and every Pakistani can reel of Pakistan's history. Even though 50% of Pakistan's population is under the age of 15! Pakistan's history and its constituent parts form part of the Pakistani psyche.

After more than 60 years something has gone seriously wrong, the fact that 72% of Pakistan live on less than $2 a day and the fact that 40% of Pakistan are not even on the electricity grid do not reveal the misery the Ummah in Pakistan face every day. I realised this just travelling outside Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Islamabad, Things got even worse as I got further from the Capital. Barefooted children in freezing temperatures occupied the roadsides, whilst the stench of sewage in many places became unbearable.

Pakistan to a large extent has not even been developed, key roads linking cities are falling apart and many villages (Pakistan today is largely rural) have no roads. The government however has taken pride in the fact that most Pakistani's posses a mobile phone, I was shocked at the fact that even the cleaner in my house possessed a mobile phone.

As a visitor to the country I questioned all those who would listen (and Pakistani's will always discuss politics) on what has gone wrong. The resonating answer I got was the failure of Pakistan's successive leaderships. Those who were above 65 and witnessed all Pakistani governments with intermittent military rule have nothing good to say about past Pakistani governments. As one elder in my family explained that a country that has not been developed, going into politics is the assured path to make a quick buck. Many politicians are born into such a culture and see governance as a personal opportunity to amass wealth rather than govern.

With the nation is such disarray every man must fend for himself as no leader will ever provide for his/her subjects. The current bombings taking place in Pakistan are beginning to affect the nation's livelihood. As the bombing have become more and more random fear has gripped Pakistani society and as the sun sets every day many resign to their homes and occupy themselves with the cable discussions and debates about the country. On scratching the surface of the bombings many believe the US is behind them, who are conducting a campaign of terror through the private security firm -Blackwater. I questioned this premise and would quietly informed that The Taliban do not bomb mosques, Iwas told the moulvies of Pakistan threaten universities and colleges who permit students to wear mini skirts. I was informed the Taliban would have long targeted Lahore's red light district and other vice area, Pakistani's are in no doubt that the Taliban cannot be behind such attacks as their psyche is well known by the public.

Government failure and corruption have at the same time created much pessimism about any change ever coming to Pakistan. A public that busies itself to ensure their dependents are fed and clothed and who have never seen anything in the realm of long term policy would naturally be very pessimistic about change. This is the same public who have always been taught since independence that Pakistan is weak and the West is too strong. Continued leaders who sold the nation to fill their own bank accounts have affected public confidence for change.

At the same time however Islam remains deeply entrenched in the heart of every Pakistani and many want the return of Islam. Unfortunately the abuse of Islam by previous governments, the utilisation of Islam by some ulema for their own ends all translates into Islam being seen as primary spiritual rather than a system that can organise a nation. This was the very reason many in Pakistan supported the Taliban government. Many consider the understanding of Islam by the Taliban today as simplistic, but for most Pakistan's it was Islam and they support Islam. It is this situation that has led to many foreign journalists to view Pakistani's as emotional and in need for a lesson on rational thought and enquiry. With Arabic not being the language of Pakistan the Ummah here is reliant upon the ulema to access the Islamic sources, the Ulema themselves have been effected by the general decline the Ummah has undergone over the last 300 years and do not comprehend Islam as a system for society offering rules to structure the economy, elect and account the ruler and organise male-female relations.

Before departing from Pakistan I explained to all who I discussed with that Pakistan is sitting on a Gold mine. The West comprehends this very clearly and as a result US policy makers have sleepless nights on the fact that the trends point towards a Pakistan that wants change, but more worryingly has all the necessary ingredients to change its status quo. US think tanks have continued to reiterate that Pakistan has more love for Islam than many Arab nations.

Pakistan Gold mine consists of:

• - The world's fifth largest reserves of copper in Baluchistan
• - The Thar Coal Field in Sindh is the world's largest coal field. Pakistan posses the worlds largest Coal reserves in the world after the US. The 175 billion tonnes of coal are the equivalent of 618 billion barrels of crude oil.
• - Pakistan possesses 25.1 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of proven gas reserves. Pakistan today has highest number of compressed natural gas (CNG)-run vehicles in the world.
• - Pakistan has developed an advanced tactical ballistic missile programme alongside nuclear weapons
• - Pakistan has managed to develop a basic space programme by the creation of the ‘Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO).
• - Pakistan has also developed an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) otherwise known as a drone named the ‘Uqaab'.
• - Pakistan produces over 21 million metric tons of wheat, more than all of Africa (20 million) and nearly as much as all of Latin America (24 million metric tons).
• - Pakistan is the worlds largest producer of ghee (Clarified Butter), 2^nd largest producer of Chickpeas, Buffalo Meat and Milk, 3^rd largest producer of Okra vegetables, 4^th largest producer of Apricot, Cotton, Goat's Milk and Mangos, 5^th largest producer of Milk, Onion and Sugar Cane, 6^th largest producer of Date Palm and the 7^th largest producer of Fresh tropical fruit and Sesame Seed.

Pakistan from just such resources is in a better position on the eve of development then many of the nations that have industrialised. Germany and Japan were forced into territorial expansion due to their lack of mineral resources and small population - Pakistan has no such issues. The leaders of the Capitalist nations are loosing sleep to ensure Pakistan never rises, they live in fear at the prospect. The National Intelligence Estimate of 2004, which is the intelligence community of the US opinion on future trends predicts the return of the Khilafah in 2020. It reiterated that ""Radical Islam will have a significant global impact...rallying disparate ethnic and national groups and perhaps even creating an authority that transcends national boundaries."

The final part of this jigsaw is for Pakistan to understand that it has the capability to bring change to its own situation, the day this is achieved the task of attaining political unity with the rest of the Muslim world would begin. To do this Pakistan must embrace not only its sole hope of survival and salvation, but also its destiny. It must become the Khilafah, as prophesised by the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم in his hadith:

"The Prophethood will last among you for as long as Allah wills, then Allah would take it away. Then it will be (followed by) a Khilafah Rashidah (rightly guided) according to the ways of the Prophethood. It will remain for as long as Allah wills, then Allah would take it away. Afterwards there will be a hereditary leadership which will remain for as long as Allah wills, and then He will lift it if He wishes. Afterwards, there will be biting oppression, and it will last for as long as Allah wishes, then He will lift it if He wishes. Then there will be a Khilafah Rashidah according to the ways of the Prophethood." Then he kept silent. (Musnad Imam Ahmad (v/273))

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