Pakhtunkhwa Peace Forum: VIEW: Pakistan for the 21st century —Shahid Ilyas

Shahid Ilyas writing over at FaceBook on the Pakhtunkhwa Peace Forum,

The Pakistan that belonged to the previous century, which sought legitimacy on the basis of Islam, in which dictators had a free ride, and in which the province of Punjab virtually meant Pakistan at the cost of the other component units, is no longer feasible

The world is changing fast. If resurrected, a man who died a hundred years ago will be shocked at how different the world looks from the one he had left behind. The economic, political, social and technological advances have been enormous. People are enjoying the fruits of unprecedented economic growth, technological innovations and democratic plurality. Gone are the days when feudal lords exploited the common man and dictators in centralised states violated people’s rights on one pretext or another. Ours is a world of a fast growing middle class that seeks economic and political rights. States can no longer sustain themselves by virtue of grand ideologies. They are left with a grave choice: either deliver on economic growth and political freedoms or vanish.

Pakistan is an example of this. The Pakistan that belonged to the previous century, which sought legitimacy on the basis of Islam, in which dictators had a free ride, and in which the province of Punjab virtually meant Pakistan at the cost of the other component units, is no longer feasible. It faces the proverbial choice between ‘to be or not to be’. Therefore, a process towards forging a new Pakistan for the 21st century is an urgent need of the day and it requires attention by both the leadership of Pakistan and the international community.

Read the whole thing, but note his call to the international cocmmunity.