Its my seventh year away from Pakistan. I left with a heavy heart, a few tears and a lifetime of beautiful memories. In my memories my beloved city of Karachi and the country I continue to vouch for at all occasions, still live and breathe in the same way as they did back in 2003. Oh how I would love to see the clock turn back to those days.
In 2003, Pakistan and its metropolitan cities were brimming with hope. Business was good, opportunities were aplenty and there was a buzz of national progress that was evident all around. Then something snapped, some would say (and I may agree with them) that it had been a long time coming. Between then and now hell broke loose, on multiple occasions, across the nation. The financial capital Karachi was engulfed in all sorts of violence, the cultural capital Lahore fell prey to countless attacks that put a stranglehold on our society and the national capital Islamabad started a plummet into the abyss of multiple terrorist activities.
Our allies are scarred by 9/11, our neighbors wail at the horrors they witnessed on 26/11, but the people of my nation don’t have the privilege to pick and choose a specific date to mourn the loss of the threads in our national fabric that have been regularly targeted on a monthly even weekly basis in the last few years.
And while the subsequent governments and security apparatuses have failed to provide the basic human needs of security and certainty - the nation itself has lost the very hope that it was buzzing with in 2003.
Yesterday, Lahore faced another set of brutal attacks - terror gallivanted through the streets of the city that used to host merry makers from around the globe for festivals like the Basant. The heart of Pakistan faced yet another stroke. A vivid reminder of how things have gone from bad to worse to outrageous.
My friends, my countrymen and Pakistanis in general across the world stare helplessly at the images of the victims of this seemingly perpetual evil that has enveloped our existence. The common man does not have a clue as to what could be done. The average Joe, or more suitably, the average Javaid feels helpless. We all recognize the need to do something, we all agree that a change of some sort needs to happen, yet we fall short of ideas as to what could be done. We then choose to go back to our routine, taking care of life one day at a time, till the next horror of terror is unleashed upon us.
At seeing this, I am reminded of a saying that evil prevails when good men fail to act. The only people who are taking any actions in Pakistan are on the wrong side of the social ideology. I wanted to - nay - needed to do something so I thought why not start doing the one thing that I can do on my own. Write. Share thoughts, share ideas and maybe, if I am lucky I may inspire a few on the ground in the motherland to take some sort of action. Hence, Notes to Pakistan was born.
On a regular basis I will share my thoughts with all supporters and detractors of my country in the hope of creating a constructive dialouge.
Do check back often and share your feedback.
Pakistan Paindabad.
