Former DG ISI Gen Asad Durrani’s book has created a furor. Individuals seem to be more powerful than collective national and security interests of Pakistan. It is time political parties, civil bureaucracy, judiciary and khaki establishment realize that priorities need to be redefined and our house must be cleansed, so that we revert to Jinnah’s vision of modern democratic welfare state where writ of law prevails. 

It is only recently that our superior judiciary has activated itself from deep slumber to interpret and protect Constitution, as compared to their role of rubber stamping every irregularity committed. MAJ’s vision for Pakistan went into hibernation when First Constituent Assembly constituted by Quaid-e-Azam was dismissed on 24 October 1954 alongwith unceremonious sacking of Maulvi Tamizuddin, who was MAJ’s choice of Deputy President and succeeded him as President of assembly. It was no coincidence that next day 25 October 1954, Gen Ayub in uniform took over as Defense Minister and with that started process of political engineering and intrigues that ultimately led to our disintegration in 1971. 

A nation that disregards Father of Nation’s vision, which he elaborated in his address on 11 August 1947 and later while addressing officers at Staff College Quetta was bound to end in chaos. Today we are neither Jinnah’s welfare state, nor security state whose foundation Ayub laid and which Zia perverted by giving sanctuary to foreign terrorists of all shades to fight proxy wars. In Zia era, CIA’s biggest operational office, outside USA was in Pakistan. Few corrupt generals and politicians on payroll of CIA minted billions, but Pakistan today is a haven for land mafia, and extremists who kill at will, while politicized police looks other way. Over a million have either died or displaced from their homes because of terrorism. 

MALIK TARIQ,  

Lahore, May 27.