WHEN the Soviet army withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989 there was great jubilation in the streets of the country. What a victory! But it proved short-lived. The victory turned into a quarrel and the quarrel led to civil war.

Every group and faction was trying to get as much out of the spoils of war as possible. This self-centred and egocentric attitude added to the ruin of that nation and the Afghans have yet to recover from it.

We have also been facing two wars from within one from the fanatical militants of the northwest who are now poised to take control of the whole country, the other from politicians. The second war, now over, did not involve any artillery but was waged through words and political moves. The guns were drawn and swords were crossed as soon as the two political exiles landed in this country. There was heavy personal interest on both sides. Finally one side decided to withdraw from the battle and the war was over.

Now we will see if we follow the same egocentric path that groups in our neighbouring country did or choose to show maturity and magnanimity. I fear the worst. When given the history of the two unelected representatives who are leading the country at this juncture, this fear develops into emotional anguish.

We are a nation of sore losers and arrogant winners. This should not become an obsessive and narcissistic mission to persecute a former head of state. If we do not act with extreme caution at this point in our history then there shall be no history left for us. If we turn this democratic departure into another battle, then we are all doomed.

It is true that media all over the world is biased. They are an institution running on the principles of business and their foremost goal is to achieve financial profit. The easiest way to do so is through resorting to sensationalism. But the media in Pakistan has to play a very important role now. It should highlight the misgivings and misadventures of the current government as vehemently as they have been doing against the ex-president.

We should not act as though we suffer from amnesia and should clearly remember that the present lot at the helm of affairs in the country consists of no other than the same old felons who amassed their riches abroad from looting just a decade ago.

Resilience can be described as the capacity to withstand and overcome adversity. Michael Rutter outlined

four different protective mechanisms which help an individual overcome adversity. These include reducing risk impact, reducing negative chain reaction, establishing and maintaining self-esteem and self-efficacy.

The state has to help the nation develop self-esteem by reducing the negativism which is always emanating from political circles. A sense of cohesion should not be restricted to electing representatives unopposed. It can also be used to establish systems to keep a check on the workings of their own people and future governments as well.

We need to join hands now and help build an egalitarian society. The fundamentals of any progressive nation are deeply ingrained in the distribution of justice at the grassroots level. This does not mean that we should revert to medieval practices. In fact, we should do completely the opposite.

The methods of investigation of a crime and the process of gathering evidence against a criminal should be of high standard and carried out with state of the art equipment. This must be done to ensure that while dispensing justice we do not become the tormenter and avoid miscarriages of justice.

I hope that the 'coming soon' of an independent judiciary lives up to expectations and starts the suo motu unravelling of the National Reconciliation Ordinance, the 'qarz utaro mulk sanwaro' and similar scandals. If the pillars of state fail the people this time, there will be no hope left and we shall continue to sink ever deeper in the abyss of corruption, inequality and moral degradation.

Economic, social and ethnic instability has led to the creation of a vast number of dissatisfied individuals. If their grievances are not addressed soon, the people will turn into mobs and mobs into groups, who will be fighting to impose their own version of justice. Such reactionary movements do not have a religious or belief system to guide them. Instead, they exploit the masses' sense of insecurity. During the French Revolution, the revolutionaries killed anyone who had soft hands as they equated them with the ruling classes.

One cannot help but quote a whole segment from The Garden of the Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. This still holds true for our oxymoronic country

“My friends and my road-fellows, pity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion. Pity the nation that wears a cloth it does not weave, eats a bread it does not harvest, and drinks a wine that flows not from its own winepress. Pity the nation that acclaims the bully as hero, and that deems the glittering conqueror bountiful. Pity the nation that despises a passion in its dream, yet submits in its awakening. Pity the nation that raises not its voice save when it walks in a funeral, boasts not except when its neck is laid between the sword and the block. Pity the nation whose statesman is a fox, whose philosopher is a juggler, and whose art is the art of patching and mimicking. Pity the nation that welcomes its new ruler with trumpetings, and farewells him with hootings, only to welcome another with trumpetings again. Pity the nation whose sages are dumb with years and whose strong men are yet in the cradle. Pity the nation divided into fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation.”n

The writer is a psychiatrist in general adult and substance misuse psychiatry at the Sheffield Care NHS Trust, UK.

dryiabbasi@yahoo.com