Mending the Fences: Pakistani Doctors Playing Useful Role
By Salahuddin Haider
Karachi, Pakistan
I have been to America a number of times and can say with confidence that being here has always given me a great feeling of spending time in a free and liberal country which is struggling to overcome an economic slump and yet remains the cheapest place in the world for food and clothing. Strange it would appear, and strange it does look, but that is a fact, hard and indisputable. During a little less than two weeks of my current stay here so far, I have had quite a fair chance to meet opinion makers, policy planners, officials, intellectuals, academics and their like.
It was by sheer dint of luck that I was invited to speak on Balochistan as one of four panelists on an alum ni congress of Dogana (Dow
Graduates Association of North America). The panelists included Anwar Iqbal of daily Dawn, and Sohail Waraich of a local TV Channel. It coincided with the APPNA annual congregation, arranged by the powerful organization called the All Pakistan Physicians Association of North America. They are doing a wonderful job here and can act, with government backing, to be a strong lobby for Pakistan in the US.
They can be great marketing specialists for their mother country, to counter the negative propaganda of the Indians, anti-state elements, and above all, the fundamentalists growing in number slowly but steadily, little realizing that in their fanaticism they are not only hurting the image of their beloved Pakistan, but smearing the peaceful message of Islam.
Luckily, they make up a microscopic minority. A very great number of Muslims, though wearing hijab and keen on promoting Islamic values, are deeply conscious of the fact that their actions should be directed at creating cohesion: there have been several instances where Muslims have offered mosques to Christians to pray when the latter’s churches were flooded. Americans, likewise, take care of Muslim interests.
They all live in peace and harmony. This is a good thing. It was clear, after my interaction with those focusing on South Asia, that neither the US administration nor the peace lovers want to do or encourage anything damaging to the region or its unity. They all want Pakistan to flourish, and even the American government is keen on developing the social sectors in Pakistan and see India-Pakistan end their feuds and live like good neighbors. None of them wants Balochistan to secede, certainly not the US government.
There is overwhelming consensus that a couple of lawmakers, moving resolutions in Congress to back Balochistan separatists, are novices who have failed to get any support. They dispelled the impression that a resolution, once moved, remains on the House agenda for any length of time to be taken up. Nothing of the sort. If a resolution is not registered for debate, it loses legitimacy and automatically gets erased. There is no fear, therefore, of the US Congress or the Senate backing Balochistan separatists, at least not till such time that we decide to commit suicide ourselves. The creation of Bangladesh was our own mistake. We, in our stupidity, drove the Bengalis to a point where they were forced to court the enemy. Regrettably, at that crucial juncture we refused to shake hands with our own people.
If that foolishness is allowed to gain strength, it will be our own fault, not of any outsider. Farsightedness demands that the Baloch splinter groups be invited to hold talks. America wants to see Pakistan united and grow in strength, and is keen to see its economy improve.
Luckily, friction over NATO supply to Afghanistan has been greatly reduced, but Hilary Clinton’s recent speech in Kabul granting non-NATO ally status to Afghanistan may cause concern in Pakistan because Afghanistan army, if equipped and trained by the US military, may some day become an ominous threat to Pakistan’s integrity.
However, Pakistan’s case in the US has been suffering from a marketing weakness. Its image is extremely poor in America. We have persistently refused to help it improve and selling Pakistan has become a difficult job for the new Ambassador Sherry Rehman. She is an educated and enlightened lady and has been doing her best to have a meaningful rapport with opinion and policy makers to sell the Pakistani point of view to them. But a bad product, which unfortunately Pakistan has been for the last five years, is difficult to sell. Pakistan needs to improve conditions internally. If corruption is checked, and the parliament-judiciary tussle is over, it may be easier for Sherry to work harder to market her country, and help improve its image in the American pressure groups, which in turn, will automatically influence the US government to be more helpful to Pakistan, than at present.
It is in this context that the job of the Pakistani doctors, who are thousands in numbers spread all over major and minor towns, to engage in image-building for their mother country becomes a prime task. I was convinced, after being part of the annual APPNA convention in Washington, that if the Pakistani doctors can congregate in such huge numbers for their own professional-cum-social sessions, they surely could liaison with America’s elected representatives, Democrats and Republicans, with whom they have good connections, to support Pakistan on sensitive issues, like development work within our country, and in keeping peace in the region. They need to be backed by their government.
A much greater attention is required to rebuild the Pakistan image here, than has been done to-date, especially in recent times. Dr Talha Siddiqi, heading the Dow Graduates alumni; Dr Saima Zafar, heading APPNA as its current president; Dr Fareed Qazi, currently APPNA treasurer, and would-be secretary and president in the next two years; Dr Fauzia Wali Khan, Dr Zahid Imran et al. have all been very active. The Dow Alumni Dinner, after the social session, had a large attendance. Deservedly, Dr Mohammad Ali Jawad received the presidential award while Dr Muhammad Sharif Ashraf was given lifetime award. He has now moved to Karachi to look after his cancer hospital. Devoted as he is, he has given up his private practice to extend free treatment to cancer patients. Dr Ayyaz Qureshi, Dr Tasleem Mirza and many more are rendering yeomen services. Their good offices should be utilized by Islamabad to help sell Pakistan to the American opinion makers. They can be our best ambassadors and lobbyists.
Barring few exceptions – some ladies hint at celebration of birthdays as unIslamic and ask girls to wear hijab during sojourns to Pakistan - a large number of ladies, who believe in core Islamic values, are very enlightened and adopt an enlightened approach. They build good relationship and harmony between religions. Respect for religion or faith is mutual. Stories fanned in Pakistan about religious intolerance are highly exaggerated, and need to be dismissed lightly. Pakistani children are treated equally and at par with normal Americans.
Minor or isolated cases may have happened, but time has been a great healer, and with the passage of time, any ill-will or bad feelings that may have been noticed initially after the attack on the World Trade Centers in September 2001have dissipated. There is no ill-will or bad feelings now.
In fact, during and after the 9/11 incident many Americans assured their Pakistani friends about their safety and well-being and to let them know of any threats. That was indeed reassuring, and that also brings me to a happy ending to my story.
s alluhaider@gmail.com
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