World Affairs Board - View Single Post

Ray · 05-01-2005, 12:37 PM

VIEW: The state of denial —Syed Mansoor Hussain

The more vociferous a denial, the greater the chance that the denied story might just be true. During the decade of progress, the only way many of us found out that something had gone wrong somewhere in Pakistan was when the official press issued denials that anything had gone wrong anywhere

A quick scan of recent newspapers suggests that denial is everywhere. In only one day, the army denied that any part of the US armed forces was involved in training members of the Pakistani armed forces to fight terrorism. Then there was a denial about intrusion of US planes into Pakistani territory. Another denial came from the president about having made any U-turn on Kashmir. The leader of the Q-League denied that the party would ever work with the PPP. Leaders of the ARD denied that there was any split within their organisation. The government of Punjab denied that the policemen outside Mr Zardari’s residence were there to keep him in confinement. And, almost everybody is continuously denying any deal between the government and the PPP.

All this reminds me of the US country-western song about Cleopatra being the queen of “denial”. Good queen Cleo might have been the queen of denial but Pakistan can be truly called the state of denial. After all, in a place where few things go right and even fewer are what they seem to be, it would be difficult for anybody to take the blame or credit for anything at all.

From an historic perspective, this would seem entirely justified. Every government that has ever ruled Pakistan was followed by another that denied whatever good its predecessor might have done. As a matter of fact members of the previous governments are put in jail for having done a superlatively bad job.

However there are certain things about Pakistan that cannot be denied. It is a country of about a hundred and forty million, a majority of whom live in appalling conditions in spite of the foreign exchange reserves that are presently around twelve billion dollars. Also, it has never had a freely elected government that was allowed to finish its constitutional tenure. For most of its existence it has been ruled by the army either directly or indirectly. And, for all the importance attached to Kashmir, Pakistan has not been able to win it on the battlefield or in the court of world opinion.

Moreover, most Pakistanis are Muslims and quite conservative at that, making it impossible to impose any system of laws that is offensive to conservative sensibilities. As far as the war on terror is concerned, Pakistan is a close ally of the US and is collaborating as much as it possibly can.

So, a little bit about some of these undeniable things. First, there is the question of the flourishing economy and persistent poverty. The growth rate of the economy is pretty good and if it stays significantly above that of population growth, in time there could be considerable poverty alleviation. The present trends seem to provide some hope for the future. But that future is not going to be around that soon and the present group of leaders will probably be long gone by the time that happens. A problem with the present trends is that they never continue indefinitely.

The next undeniable fact is the expansive role of the army in non-defence related activities. This is perhaps the major conundrum facing the country. Short of another cataclysm like the one in 1971, it is extremely unlikely that the army is going to return to its primary function as the defender of the country’s borders. Therefore, however many denials might be issued from whatever quarters, the chances are that Pakistan is not going to become a functioning participatory democracy any time soon.

Another undeniable fact is that the major impulse among most Pakistani Muslims is towards conservatism. As such any attempt to bring about some sort of moderation, enlightened or otherwise is destined to fail. Conservatism is on the rise the world over and Pakistan cannot escape from its effects. Perhaps one of the reasons for this increase in conservatism is the communications revolution brought about by the Internet. Existing social structures are under assault and the traditional elite are going to do their best to prevent further erosion of their positions of power within the family as well as in the society around them.

It is also an undeniable fact that Pakistan is cooperating fully with the US in the amorphous war on terror. However much anybody might wish to deny it, the US is going to use Pakistani territory and other resources made available to it as it sees fit. Any attempt to prevent this from happening is going to create an intolerable situation for Pakistan. The best that is possible is maintaining a fig leaf of independence while collaborating as required.

As far as Kashmir is concerned, it is undeniable that India is not going to give any part of it to Pakistan. Therefore if indeed there is to be peace between these two countries, Pakistan will have to accept this. The only question is whether these two countries really want peace — not just the absence of war but rather the sort of relations that allow two neighbours to trade freely with each other and to have their citizens travel across the borders without excessive restrictions.

The most denied and possibly the most deniable of all things these days is the news about the impending deal between PPP and the government. Conventional wisdom suggests that such a deal is impossible. If however a deal does happen on account of immediate imperatives for the army-dominated government, it is unlikely to change much of anything except the faces in the armoured Mercedes that ply the roads and block traffic.

Finally, a word or two about denials issued by politicians and official spokespersons; the more vociferous a denial, the greater the chance that the denied story might just be true. Very early in life I learnt a rather important lesson. Never deny a rumour especially if it has some truth in it. The appropriate course of action is to ignore all such ‘rumours’ since a denial only gives them legitimacy. During the halcyon days of the decade of progress, the only way many of us found out that something had gone wrong somewhere in Pakistan was when the official press issued denials that anything had gone wrong anywhere.

Syed Mansoor Hussain has practised and taught medicine in the US. He can be reached at smhmbbs70@yahoo.com

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...1-5-2005_pg3_2

05-01-2005, 12:37 PM	#1 (permalink)
Ray Postmaster General *Military Professional* Join Date: 08-20-03 Posts: 27,213 Country:	Pakistan: The State of Denial VIEW: The state of denial —Syed Mansoor Hussain The more vociferous a denial, the greater the chance that the denied story might just be true. During the decade of progress, the only way many of us found out that something had gone wrong somewhere in Pakistan was when the official press issued denials that anything had gone wrong anywhere A quick scan of recent newspapers suggests that denial is everywhere. In only one day, the army denied that any part of the US armed forces was involved in training members of the Pakistani armed forces to fight terrorism. Then there was a denial about intrusion of US planes into Pakistani territory. Another denial came from the president about having made any U-turn on Kashmir. The leader of the Q-League denied that the party would ever work with the PPP. Leaders of the ARD denied that there was any split within their organisation. The government of Punjab denied that the policemen outside Mr Zardari’s residence were there to keep him in confinement. And, almost everybody is continuously denying any deal between the government and the PPP. All this reminds me of the US country-western song about Cleopatra being the queen of “denial”. Good queen Cleo might have been the queen of denial but Pakistan can be truly called the state of denial. After all, in a place where few things go right and even fewer are what they seem to be, it would be difficult for anybody to take the blame or credit for anything at all. From an historic perspective, this would seem entirely justified. Every government that has ever ruled Pakistan was followed by another that denied whatever good its predecessor might have done. As a matter of fact members of the previous governments are put in jail for having done a superlatively bad job. However there are certain things about Pakistan that cannot be denied. It is a country of about a hundred and forty million, a majority of whom live in appalling conditions in spite of the foreign exchange reserves that are presently around twelve billion dollars. Also, it has never had a freely elected government that was allowed to finish its constitutional tenure. For most of its existence it has been ruled by the army either directly or indirectly. And, for all the importance attached to Kashmir, Pakistan has not been able to win it on the battlefield or in the court of world opinion. Moreover, most Pakistanis are Muslims and quite conservative at that, making it impossible to impose any system of laws that is offensive to conservative sensibilities. As far as the war on terror is concerned, Pakistan is a close ally of the US and is collaborating as much as it possibly can. So, a little bit about some of these undeniable things. First, there is the question of the flourishing economy and persistent poverty. The growth rate of the economy is pretty good and if it stays significantly above that of population growth, in time there could be considerable poverty alleviation. The present trends seem to provide some hope for the future. But that future is not going to be around that soon and the present group of leaders will probably be long gone by the time that happens. A problem with the present trends is that they never continue indefinitely. The next undeniable fact is the expansive role of the army in non-defence related activities. This is perhaps the major conundrum facing the country. Short of another cataclysm like the one in 1971, it is extremely unlikely that the army is going to return to its primary function as the defender of the country’s borders. Therefore, however many denials might be issued from whatever quarters, the chances are that Pakistan is not going to become a functioning participatory democracy any time soon. Another undeniable fact is that the major impulse among most Pakistani Muslims is towards conservatism. As such any attempt to bring about some sort of moderation, enlightened or otherwise is destined to fail. Conservatism is on the rise the world over and Pakistan cannot escape from its effects. Perhaps one of the reasons for this increase in conservatism is the communications revolution brought about by the Internet. Existing social structures are under assault and the traditional elite are going to do their best to prevent further erosion of their positions of power within the family as well as in the society around them. It is also an undeniable fact that Pakistan is cooperating fully with the US in the amorphous war on terror. However much anybody might wish to deny it, the US is going to use Pakistani territory and other resources made available to it as it sees fit. Any attempt to prevent this from happening is going to create an intolerable situation for Pakistan. The best that is possible is maintaining a fig leaf of independence while collaborating as required. As far as Kashmir is concerned, it is undeniable that India is not going to give any part of it to Pakistan. Therefore if indeed there is to be peace between these two countries, Pakistan will have to accept this. The only question is whether these two countries really want peace — not just the absence of war but rather the sort of relations that allow two neighbours to trade freely with each other and to have their citizens travel across the borders without excessive restrictions. The most denied and possibly the most deniable of all things these days is the news about the impending deal between PPP and the government. Conventional wisdom suggests that such a deal is impossible. If however a deal does happen on account of immediate imperatives for the army-dominated government, it is unlikely to change much of anything except the faces in the armoured Mercedes that ply the roads and block traffic. Finally, a word or two about denials issued by politicians and official spokespersons; the more vociferous a denial, the greater the chance that the denied story might just be true. Very early in life I learnt a rather important lesson. Never deny a rumour especially if it has some truth in it. The appropriate course of action is to ignore all such ‘rumours’ since a denial only gives them legitimacy. During the halcyon days of the decade of progress, the only way many of us found out that something had gone wrong somewhere in Pakistan was when the official press issued denials that anything had gone wrong anywhere. Syed Mansoor Hussain has practised and taught medicine in the US. He can be reached at smhmbbs70@yahoo.com http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...1-5-2005_pg3_2 Last edited by Ray : 05-01-2005 at 12:48 PM. Reason: Pressed the Enter by mistake