The people have stood up

Haal-e-chaman par talkh nawai/ Murgh-e-chaman, kuch iss se ziyada (A bitter song on how the garden is/ Oh nightingale, say more than this!) – Faiz Ahmad Faiz

At long last a glimmer of hope dawns on our benighted country. May it brighten into a sunlit day in which hopes begin to be fulfilled and prayers are answered.

But this can only be the beginning of a long hard journey of struggle, sacrifice, and ultimately, Inshallah, success. The world has paused in amazement and respect for the people of Pakistan after having written it off as a lost cause.

While the true heroes of this epic are the people of Pakistan the tenacity, courage and conviction of Imran Khan must be acknowledged and saluted. He helped shore up the faith of the people that they could prevail over power and violence no matter what the odds.

At the time of writing this, there is still many a slip between the cup and the lip and the rug may yet be pulled from under the feet of the people. The Form 45 results differ significantly from what the Election Commission of Pakistan has been announcing after hours of delay and there are reports of the election counting being physically interrupted.

This would be a major crime if substantiated. Donald Trump was in fact disqualified for trying to alter the results of the national elections.

However, the people of Pakistan have shown that they can no longer be taken for granted, taken for a ride, or taken to the cleaners. They are aware of their cause, their strength, and their potential. This is the best of beginnings.

Well begun, as the saying goes, is half done. But the harder half is ahead and must be run. Harsh realities will not conveniently disappear. Vested institutional interests arrayed against the people will still present a steep mountain to climb. But if each of us remains resolute and reaches out to each other greater victories for all the people will lie ahead despite the challenges.

All of us more or less know what needs to be done to get the nation on to the track of justice, peace, security and progress. The ‘to-do list’ is very long and even more demanding.

But the people have shown that they will no longer be daunted or overawed by the scale of the challenge or resign themselves to the ‘inevitable’. They have already confounded the pessimists (among whom I counted myself often enough if not always.)

No matter what happens in the next few days – and there are reports of dark developments – Pakistan will never be the same again. It will be better, and it will get better and better as long as the people retain the spirit, defiance and optimism they have already demonstrated.

It will be even more important to reach out to so-called adversaries and opponents in a spirit of mutuality, cooperation, friendship and, yes, love because our fate shall be one and our collective duty must be to ensure a safe, secure, prosperous, and happy future for all our children and grandchildren in these most challenging of times for our country, our region and indeed the world.

My articles and talks have been critical of the powers that be because in my view that was the truth. If they now continue to pour cold water on the newly kindled hope that informs this moment and inspires this writing, I shall sadly but vehemently return to the bitter-sounding truth-telling that in my view has described the reality in which we have been trapped for so long. But let us reach out to the sliver of hope and optimism that today beckons, and build a new reality.

This is something that all of us can hopefully devote the rest of our lives towards realizing. It will be a challenge, but nothing can be more exciting and inspiring. Let us no longer mock our potential to which we have so far paid glib lip service without ever demonstrating our belief in it through concerted and sustained actions.

Let us make this daybreak and this morning the one that Faiz Ahmad Faiz and his generation dreamed of but were denied – a daybreak no longer benighted, a dawn unclouded.

The writer is a former ambassador to the US, India and China and head of UN missions in Iraq and Sudan. He can be reached at: ashrafjqazi@gmail.com