There had been years of Passion

—scorching, cold,

And much Despair, and Anger

heaving high,

Care whitely watching,

Sorrows manifold,

Among the young, among the

weak and old,

And the pensive Spirit of Pity

whispered, “Why?”

How ironic. These lines constitute the first stanza of the famous poem, And There Was a Great Calm composed by Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), the English poet from the romantic tradition. The poem describes the horrors of World War I. A survey of media reports, editorial analyses and media channels during 2021 could leave one feeling that the stanza is a fair portrayal of our situation.

That poem came out on the signing of the Armistice, November 11, 1918. Does Pakistan today look like the Europe of 1918, devastated by the ravages of an unprecedented four-year war (1914-1918) or does such a description exceed actual fact?

Control over the process of constructing a narrative has acquired over-riding significance in some political orders. In Pakistan’s case, the control is currently being exercised by the Opposition. Wresting it back is going to be the most daunting of the challenges for the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government in the year 2022.

Making a lasting impression through media is one of the most effective political tools. The sooner the government gets to understand this, the better it would be for it. For now, it is losing the battle for perceptions. Prime Minister Imran Khan and his political colleagues are in dire need of some sort of relationship between major media houses and the government.

In the current scenario, rife with socio-political polarisation and geo-strategic uncertainty, the government and the state institutions need unanimity with the media. This can be the first and most decisive step towards forging a consensus political framework to address and resolve the crucial issues besetting Pakistan. These issues include institutional decay, structural maladies and corruption.

Initiatives like convening a meeting of the OIC foreign ministers in Islamabad, holding a dialogue with the Taliban government in Kabul to resolve the tangled dispute pertaining to the border and enunciation of the first ever national security policy bode well for the future. These are likely to boost the government’s confidence. The OIC moot has helped Pakistan out of isolation. It was a sort of recognition of its international role, particularly in the Muslim world.

More importantly, Pakistan has managed to showcase the Afghanistan crisis and drawn international attention to the war-torn country. Besides, through the OIC moot, Pakistan has mobilised opinion in the Muslim world so that the Afghan masses can be rescued from a hopeless situation.

The osmosis between civilian and military leaderships is the most noteworthy fact about the national security policy. One hopes that the two vital components of the Pakistani state will keep complementing each other throughout 2022. Pakistan’s sustenance and stability could depend on that. Political stability and economic viability are undermined when these two components are at cross purposes. The hope is that political chaos and disorder will be avoided by ensuring unanimity between the two at all costs.

A disconcerting aspect of Pakistan’s democratic experience has been the ineffective role of the parliament in holding useful debate on matters of national/social importance. The basic decency and civility needed to interact in an informed manner has been starkly missing. Frequent deployment of expletives and vitriolic articulations must not be a recurring feature of the most important organ of the state.

It is imperative for the public representatives to invest time in the National Assembly and the Senate to reflect on matters significant to the welfare of the people, instead of engaging in diatribes against their adversaries.

The parliament should be an active channel for the expression of public dissent. Otherwise, outfits like the TLP will keep mobilising multitudes on the streets to show dissent and, thereby, legitimise their existence and authority. Dissension must be democratised to preclude anarchic spectacles in Pakistan becoming media spotlights throughout the world.

The state and the government are expected to revise and review their ways and means of executing their policies. They are expected to stem the price hike for essential commodities. So far, the entire focus of the government has been on improving the macro-economic indicators. Micro-economics, which mostly concerns the working class, has remained unaddressed.

Practical manifestation of policy initiatives is imperative. Whether the projects are cost-effective or epitomise extravagance hardly concerns the people at large. A strong and assertive government must tie up all loose ends.

The deteriorating educational standards, at almost every level, warrant highlighting. Boards of intermediate and secondary education and all the exercise that they carry out to assess the students are nothing short of mockery. So many students scoring full marks is astounding.

All said and done, the secondary education boards have lost their credibility because they lack any semblance of academic rigor. It is the same with many universities. Public sector institutions of higher learning present a dismal scenario. One expects some reform process to rectify the anomalous practices.

The Education Department in the Punjab needs to act to address the serious complaints from various quarters. Around 900 professors and associate professors previously serving in autonomous institutions were called back. They are still waiting for postings. In such a state, one is not even paid a monthly salary.

The Punjab government is also expected to initiate its own programmes to eradicate beggary and make school education compulsory. Hopes and expectations are vital (impulses). They keep us afloat in the most attenuating of circumstances. Pakistanis must not part with hope. That is what matters the most. We are supposed to hum in tune with Emily Dickinson:

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -

That perches in the soul -

And sings the tune without the words -

And never stops - at all -

and a writer.

The author is a professor of history and a writer. He can be reached at tahir.kamran@bnu.edu.pk