Has the Dream Gone Sour in Pakistan?
By C. Naseer Ahmad
Washington, DC
“Pakistan - A Dream Gone Sour” by Roedad Khan was published about a quarter of a century ago on the 50 th anniversary of Pakistan’s creation. Now it has been 75 years since the creation of Pakistan, so it is worth revisiting the book written by one of the senior most civil servants – and not some mindless disparager.
As a civil servant, Roedad Khan seems to have a stellar record who served his country with dedication and distinction. During his service, Roedad Khan served five Pakistani presidents and three prime ministers. He has authored three books.
In “Pakistan – A Dream Gone Sour,” Roedad Khan takes the readers along the alleys of his journey through an interesting life. At different stops, the reader will find people who later became presidents or prime ministers. First, the readers will meet a young Colonel Ayub Khan who wants to park his motorcycle in the college where Roedad Khan was teaching. Then the readers are likely to meet another dashing young officre, Yahya Khan, whom Roedad Khan describes as “full of life.” And the list goes on.
Roedad Khan (second from left) with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Abdul Hafiz Pirzada and Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi — Photo courtesy: Aurangzaib Khan
Roedad Khan tells the readers about his family background as well as his education at Forman Christian College and later at Aligarh University. He provides a historical context while describing events during his student days. One such event is his performance for a George Bernard Shaw’s play Geneva in which Roedad Khan played Franco. The purpose for staging the play Geneva was to raise funds for the Soviet Union in response to Hitler’s invasion in 1941. Readers will also learn about Roedad Khan’s transformation from a Marxist to a nationalist.
As in a play, the book introduces different characters whom Roedad Khan met at various stages. Readers will get to learn about what he liked about them and how the relationships either changed or endured with the passage of time as well as his changing roles in the government. Roedad Khan’s knowledge of poetry, as well as history, becomes increasingly evident, as the pages turn. No doubt that he has a keen interest in poetry, history, and philosophy.
Similar to theatrical plays, the readers will become familiar about the characters who appear, rise, and disappear but who led Pakistan into the current downward spiral. Roedad Khan gives a vivid description of the high points and low points of the presidents and prime ministers he served under. He makes it feel as if the reader is in the room when a Pakistani president is about to dismiss a prime minister. Or when Roedad Khan assists the sister of a former prime minister who is about to be executed so that she can be there in time to receive the body of her beloved brother and to ensure that his burial is dignified.
The information Roedad Khan gives in his book is quite interesting because it gives the reader the ringside view. For instance, he quotes General Zia ul Haque in effect admitting that if he did not execute Bhutto, Zia himself would have been executed by the ill-fated ex-prime minister. Roedad Khan confirms that the execution of Bhutto was a calculated decision that lacked legal strength.
As he narrates the stories of the people involved, Roedad Khan gives credit in some instances and criticizes the leaders. Some of the criticism is quite valid. For instance, he stated that “Bhutto introduced socialism in the politics of Pakistan. Zia introduced Islam. Bhutto did as much disservice to socialism as Zia did to Islam.” To be fair, Roedad has some self-criticism for misjudging some of the characters in the sordid dramas in Pakistan.
Roedad Khan — Photo: Aurangzaib Khan
The reader unfortunately will have some unanswered questions like what highly capable people like Roedad Khan did to stop the downward slide of events in their country or why such talented people like him were ineffective in stopping the excesses of the leaders he mentions in his book, not to mention that the plunder of national wealth has continued unabated since the creation of the accountability process in 1990.
Roedad Khan concludeds his book on a somber note which fits with the title of the book. This is not reassuring because if people like him who occupied senior most positions of authority in the federal government of Pakistan are so pessimistic then the message to the youth of today is not one of hope but of despair.
Considering that Roedad Khan leaves the reader somewhat bewildered, should one assume that the fighting between PTI and the current coalition government is merely about rearranging of the decks on the Titanic? Is there really no capable soul in the population of 225 million to navigate the ship around the glacier of reality?
