Sixty-six years ago, there had been a “founder”, who created a nation for the Muslims of India on 14^th August, 1947. They had raised their hands to Allah in gratitude for blessing them with a nation of their own, a Nation called Pakistan.

Thousands of innocent men, women and children had died, as riots broke out during the partition, but for those who lost their loved ones, the sacrifice was worth it, as they were now free citizens and masters of their own destiny.

But since then, we have been trying to find another “builder” who could build this nation and introduce a system of governance that is “of the people, for the people and by the people”. A government that would improve the quality of life of the uneducated millions, who still live below the poverty line.

However, we failed to do so and our politics of tragedies and errors gave the army repeated excuses to dismiss and remove governments for corruption and mismanagement and take control

of the Nation.

We had one PM hanged, one general-president blown up in the skies, one President and CJ, forced to resign, of which the CJ has been restored and now our current PM, whose government was dismissed twice for mismanagement and now holding office for the third time.

At the same time, numerous Presidents, PMs, Field Marshals and 5 Star Generals have come and gone and have tried various types and systems of governments, from basic, to tailored democracy, to dictatorships in different forms and the present one, which is a cocktail of all of these.

The one common factor in these explosive ‘Molotov Cocktails’ was, that they were all “in the best interest of the country” and promised us a better tomorrow and a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. And along the long journey, heroes and villains have merged and played musical chairs with the destiny of this nation.

In the process, we have seen our constitution mutilated and mauled, our LEAs and civic services made ineffective and nominated as the second most corrupt nation in the world, about to implode.

At one of Helpline Trust’s seminar, a former Chief Economist of Pakistan had stated: ‘There are only two stakeholders in Pakistan, the privileged few, about 5%, which includes the feudals, the armed forces and the rich and the famous, while the other stakeholders are the balance 95%, who are their subjects. They have no say in their own destiny or the destiny of this nation’. They are the forgotten citizens of Pakistan, like the people in T/ S. Elliot’s well known poem, ‘The Hollow Men’. 

‘We are the hollow men, We are the stuffed men, Leaning together, Headpiece filled with straw. Our dried voices, when we whisper together, Are quiet and meaningless. This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper.
(http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/t__s__eliot/poems/15120).

We may be a nuclear power with a growing economy, planning mass transit transport systems, under and over passes, etc., but unfortunately for the forgotten subjects, things have remained the same for the last 66 years and their plight is as dismal as before. Like most of Pakistan, they have been shamefully neglected and are still without electricity, safe drinking water and the basic amenities.

Rape and crimes against women are common all over the world, but civil society in other countries, show their disgust, by organizing protests on a National basis, demanding lawmakers to take immediate and visible action.

However, in Pakistan, civil society has also failed miserably, as it has never played its expected role, refusing to take a stand on important issues and demand accountability and turned a blind eye to the crimes against women, including ‘Honor Killings’ and the plight of the Forgotten People of Pakistan.

It took a brave, uneducated woman from a village, who was brutally raped, to shame the Nation. She demanded justice and begged the government to take notice of the plight of the women in Pakistan.

But the Nation turned their backs on her and she was forced to seek justice from strangers and take her case to the citizens of the world and it was the International community that recognized her courage and honored her by calling her the bravest woman in the world.

The Gods had woken us up from our deep slumber with a jolt, when the devastating earthquake struck the northern parts of the country, destroying homes and killing thousands of innocent citizens.

This was then followed by the devastating floods, which again killed thousands, destroyed crops and livestock, submerged numerous towns and swept away entire villages.  

The plight and suffering of these pitiful victims had been brought into our comfortable homes by our TV channels and though many citizens jumped into action to assist the victims, we failed to learn from these tragedies.

Seeing the gravity of the suffering of the flood victims, experts had warned the government, that if dams were not built to prevent such floods, the people of Sindh would be committing mass Hara-Kiri.

But as usual, the warning fell on deaf years and the government failed to learn from the tragedy and take preventative measures. Forgotten were the sufferings of these people and today we once again see the loss of life and property, caused by the devastation of floods in Sindh.

Even our financial Shylocks have not spared the Forgotten People of Pakistan. They have broken their already bent backs, extracting their pound of flesh from their already undernourished bodies, by constantly raising the prices of electricity, petrol and essential items.

Returning to real time, the Government seems to be unable to stop the drone attacks, target killings, ethnic violence and enforce the simplest of laws, while the Great Khan seems to have survived his day in court, without eating humble pie and boosting his status as a person, who is not prepared to compromise on his principals.  

Let us hope that the new government will review its priorities and improve the lives of the Forgotten Citizens of Pakistan and not just the privileged few. And if not, then they will be forgotten again and continue to suffer for another decade.

May God protect Pakistan from the hollow promises of hollow leaders.

Hamid Maker. (email: [email protected]).