Shaukat Aziz, et al.
By Imran Hussain Khan Sudahazai
CA
This week I received an absolute barrage of emails all pertaining to one issue. For those of you who are regular readers of this paper you will no doubt realize, the issue in contention is my interview with Shaukat Aziz.
Initially, the majority of emails I received all questioned my biased support and presentation of Shaukat Aziz and his accomplishments. People wanted to know why I had not delved further and deeper into the quagmire that he (Shaukat Aziz) has left Pakistan in. They felt I had somehow supported him and allowed him an easy time to defend his policies and legacy. Other emails relating to the same issue congratulated me on finally allowing him to speak to a predominantly Pakistani audience and revealing his personal side and persona to a mass audience.
I personally do not have a problem with either response. I am rather flattered to have received such attention from such a diverse plethora of the Pakistani Diaspora. However, I will take the time to briefly albeit firmly clarify my position and stance on what is acceptable, agreeable and beneficial for the nation of Pakistan.
First and foremost on being asked to interview Shaukat Aziz I was under no illusions as to the criticism and controversies he faced. Nor was he!
The whole interview could have been designed and calculated to present a vitriolic polemic that attacked and undermined Shaukat Aziz’s time as Prime Minster. If I had followed this course of action than ask yourself this: So what?
It has been done before and is continuously replayed and re-printed in every major Pakistani daily, Internet chat room, blogs and TV stations all across the world.
What would I have achieved with such an approach? Was it feasible for me to really have pried open the windows of truth and reduced Mr. Aziz into a state of self-realization and doubt that ended with his pleas of mercy and forgiveness? Should I have dismantled his character and reduced him to a groveling scoundrel? Is this how we treat our leaders? My answer in concurrence with many of the Pakistani community is a huge resounding NO!
I am not here to malign the leaders of my nation, Pakistanis or Muslims so that the world can pick up and read the farcical nature of our self-loathing ability. For too long we as Muslims and Pakistanis have ignored the real issues. We harp on the ‘economy’, the mills, electricity, power, democracy, accountability etc. but we never stop to think and reflect as President Kennedy so famously said: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for it?”
Every time we denounce our system, our leaders and our way of life we take a thousand steps back and every time we take those ill informed steps into an abyss of deceit and ignorance we lose a piece of our identity and our moral and ethical fiber.
Not too long ago many of the present-day commentators were crying, howling and begging at the gates of mercy in London and Washington for a democratic idealism that would sweep away the tyranny and misery that the General and his Military usurpers has wrought over Pakistan. Now they have their wish! Pakistan has a democratic policy in place, the once Army General is no longer a General, but a sentinel puppet known as the President, a position from which he will no doubt be relived off in the very near future and Pakistan is on the course of the very democratic ideal that every Pakistani seemed to be crying for! Now it turns out, those very same commentators (no names mentioned) are crying again. Do you see a pattern?
One may feel that Shaukat Aziz is as John Perkins famous book implies ‘an Economic Hitman’ or he could be an astute yet sincere player who played the only cards that he knew how to play with!
The point is you and I cannot and should not make assumptions. I met the man in person and off the record we had a very frank and free discussion. Thus, I know that his point of view as dictated by his training in free market capitalism stands true and he achieved his objectives in accordance to those principles. Too many people want to have their cake and eat it too. People want a democratic Pakistan but lose none of the sovereignty associated with democratic ideals as espoused by Western idealism.
How many of the wealthy Pakistanis residing here in the West are prepared to invest their own money into projects and take the lead in Pakistan? It’s easy to curse and pass judgment when you do not have to sit in the hot seat!
Remember this fellow brothers and sisters we are only 60 years old and yet dominate table talk from the East to the West. We are a poor nation, illiterate, backward, facing constant domestic instability and outside pressures yet we survive and continue to forge ahead. The Arabs have more money, India has greater stability and willingness to please yet Pakistan still dominates the table! Why? Because we are a nation with destiny and promise! I cannot and will not denounce anyone that I can categorically place as someone who has achieved above the norm. I along with many other young journalists will not make our money and fame by playing on popular negatives to gain hype and promotion of our articles and viewpoints by fanning the sentiments of despair.
I love all of humanity as Allah intended it to be but in essence I love Pakistan and I love Islam! That is who I am! That is my identity!
I will not resort to political shenanigans and disparaging remarks about our people because that is exactly what the enemies of Pakistan and Islam want from us!
It goes against being a Muslim and Islam as directed by The Noble Qur’an.
My words are honest, sincere and meant for reflection! I am not friends with Shaukat Aziz nor do I know him personally, nor will I be meeting with him in the near future. So I have nothing to gain by siding with him. I only present the good! There are plenty of other people who have made it their life's work to focus on the negatives. I am not one of them!
Imran.khan@pakxpats.com
