Suspension of the fundamental rights of the citizens is an evil

We have been hearing innumerable voices in applause and support for the five nuclear tests by Pakistan at Chagi on Thursday. This tremendous upsurge in the national pride is indeed welcome- but for all the wrong reasons.

The years of oppression and abuse in the Indo-Pak subcontinent have resulted in the creation of a region that has lost all sense of direction. We have been subjected to many humiliating experiences from within by our rulers and from without by letting the sanctity of our respective nations to be violated by the foreign powers. This confusion and directionless-ness have generated a state of intolerance and disunity among the people of the subcontinent. Neither religion nor a distinct national identity could unite us.

In the late 1960s and early 70s the vision of "Roti, Kapra aur Makan" united the people of Pakistan. In 1990s no dream or slogan could unite us.

The answer came from across the border- the nuclear bomb. The people have once again united around this issue but for the wrong reasons. The BJP claims that the five nuclear tests by India were carried out to construct the structure of deterrence against the possible Chinese or Pakistani act of aggression. But the truth is that a nuclear test is nothing but a political gimmick that the BJP chose to manipulate its coalition partners and also to send a signal to the United States of America vis-a vis any possible attempt by US to abandon India economically. The Americans are notorious for deserting their allies whenever it suits their strategic interests. From Noreiaga to Marcos to most recently Suharto, the history of American foreign policy is replete with examples of US abandoning its erstwhile allies. The Indian leadership realised that the honeymoon between India and US may not last for very long. They felt it was the right time to tell their American friends, "if you mess up with me, you mess up with my bomb". Moreover, the US targets are not very far away, considering the presence of US ships in the Arabian Sea.

This is precisely the tactic Pakistan could have employed in the mid 80s during the Afghan War when America needed Pakistan more than we needed them. Today America needs India more than India needs America, primarily because of the huge consumer market that India has. The sad part is that in those days Zia was in charge and he chose not to detonate the nuclear bomb even though Pakistan was quite capable of it. And now we see Nawaz Sharif sending the son of the dictator (Ejaz-ul-Haq) to negotiate with Americans over this crucial issue. What we are witnessing in Pakistan today in the form of pre-blast calls or cries by politicians for a befitting response as well as the post- blast euphoria are a reflection of a lack of imagination or sense of initiative that our political class suffers from.

Where was this courage in 1994 when Mir Murtaza Bhutto had categorically demanded the testing of the nuclear bomb, when time was still on our side and when we could still manipulate the situation to our advantage. In those days Benazir Bhutto was in power and reports emanating from Washington suggest that an attempt by Pakistan to test the nuclear device was opposed by US and the then government coyly obliged. Such politicians can never be trusted because what they have proved today is, through their vociferous demands for the nuclear blast, that they are only too willing to subject national security and chances of economic progress to their own very myopic and short-term political gains. By demanding an immediate nuclear blast, Benazir Bhutto tried to play on the emotions of the same masses that she had abused during her tenure in power. By testing without regard to peoples, Nawaz Sharif has done the same.

We should have initiated a new trend in foreign policy by exercising restraint and becoming the leader of the region, calling for a conference of armistice - the conference that would put the socioeconomic uplift and increase in GDP on top of the geo-strategic agenda of this region.

By giving in to temptation of testing we have lost an opportunity of assuming the pioneering role of initiating a peace process in our region.

Another sad aspect of this regional crisis is the role that the global media is playing these days. Not very long ago representatives of the countries of our region witnessed a very humiliating experience on the media regarding child labour. The "global media" obliged the industrialised countries by intimidating representatives of our region by questioning them publicly about the neglect and non- chalant attitude towards child labour . It is the same media which is refusing to condemn the G-8 countries who refused to sanction India, conveniently ignoring the connection between arms race and deteriorating human rights situation.

Economic stature is the foundation of regional or global political power. The fifty years history of the nuclear bomb, starting from the holocaust at Hiroshima/ Nagasaki and until the latest French nuclear testing in the Pacific Ocean has proved that a nuclear device cannot be a criteria for being a superpower. We have all witnessed the crumbling of USSR and all its satellite countries. That withering away of the Communist giant was a clear example of inadequate economic stature vis-a vis the western camp then. Historical events have proved that you cannot carry an illiterate, starving population along to the club of the super powers. The only criteria of power is strong economy and a literate and healthy population. By educating our people and lifting their standards of living , we would be starting the process of civilisation within the intuitive patterns of behavior of our people.

And by doing so we would be forming a vehicle that would help in transporting our nation to the highest echelon of power on this planet. Dinosaurs became extinct because they were too big and too destructive for this planet and the last fifty years- starting from Hiroshima/Nagasaki to chernobyl - have proved that nuclear bombs are far too destructive for the civilisation of this planet. They are the Dinosaurs of the modern era.

Now that what is done is done, we should concentrate on going through this hard phase through correct economic policies and patriotic devotion to the well-being of Pakistan. While I believe that the economic measures Mr. Nawaz Sharif could have implemented without a nuclear explosion, I believe the suspension of the fundamental rights of the citizens is an evil. The citizens will have to suffer from within along with the sanctions that have been imposed. I first met Murtaza Bhutto in Damascus, an elegant man that he was, dressed in suits even during the hottest day of the Syrian summer. I used to watch him with wonder as to how much he used to enjoy sitting under the sun. I could not understand his behavior until I came to live in Pakistan and integrated myself with its culture. When I realised that a common man here, especially in the interior of Sindh and Punjab, considers himself a part of this soil. It is common knowledge that the heat of the sun is very good for the soil and whatever is good for the soil is good for us. Pakistan now due to this crisis, is being exposed to extreme heat, and just like our soil we should emerge as a better nation. Just like our soil, this extreme form of heat should go into the making of a strong and self-confident nation.

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