Pakistan’s Tragedy Not It’s People: It Is The State That Has Betrayed Them

.. by Salman Ahmad

For decades, Pakistanis have been blamed for the country’s failures. We are told that we are corrupt, undisciplined, emotional, tribal, intolerant and incapable of democracy. But millions of Pakistanis prove otherwise every day.

Look at Pakistanis who have left the country. In Britain, America, Canada, Australia, Europe and the Gulf, they have become doctors, engineers, scientists, entrepreneurs, teachers, professionals and successful businesspeople. They work hard, obey the law, pay taxes, educate their children and contribute to the societies they live in.

They did not suddenly become better human beings after leaving Pakistan. They simply found systems that allowed their abilities to flourish.

The real question, therefore, is not: What is wrong with Pakistanis?

It is: What has the Pakistani state done to Pakistanis?

At home, merit is too often replaced by connections. Justice is delayed or denied. Public institutions are weakened. Jobs and opportunities can depend on sifarish. The powerful can bend the rules while ordinary citizens struggle to have their voices heard.

A child in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Chitral or Gilgit has the same dreams and potential as a Pakistani child growing up in London, Toronto, Houston or Melbourne. The difference is the system surrounding them.

A functioning state turns talent into progress. A failed state turns talent into frustration, silence or emigration.

Pakistanis have not failed their country. The state has failed Pakistanis.

It has betrayed their trust, wasted their potential and, worst of all, made millions believe that their only hope for a better future lies somewhere beyond Pakistan’s borders.

That is not the failure of a people. It is the failure of a state. .. Adapted from Twitter. Read full post Here