SOVEREIGNTY of a state can only be guaranteed by the will of its citizens to protect it with their blood and lives.
It cannot be achieved by outsourcing national security to foreign powers through defense pacts etc. In that case, it will become an illusion, which will be shattered when a threat arises. Many Gulf states are presently faced with this dilemma. They must reconsider their priorities. A country cannot function by converting its territory, into a bonanza for real estate foreign investors. They will abandon it when the bonanza subsides, even temporarily. Let us pray that Gulf states recover from this catastrophe and learn some lessons.
Investment in human resource development, alongwith inculcating a sense of patriotism and love for their motherland, where their parents have lived for centuries, is very vital. It is the love of their soil, and their faith and religious beliefs, which inculcates patriotism to a level, where citizens are willing to die, defending their borders. We in Pakistan have suffered when our national security was outsourced in 1957-58, to foreign powers, with whom we did not share any regional interests. Iran has just displayed that even when confronted by most powerful super power, equipped with latest fighter jets, the will of the people can prevail, as long as they are willing to stand up and fight for their country. Kudos to their political leadership, military and their clergy. Their leaders “walked their talk” and won the trust of all citizens, irrespective of their sect, faith and political differences.
There is no politician in Iran, or any other public office holder, who own assets abroad, because they have strict monitoring control and accountability. They have suffered both in terms of human lives and infrastructure, yet they have survived. It is the hatred of Zionists, which have united them in times of war, despite their petty differences.
We in Pakistan must realize, that hatred of Hindu Supremacists in Modi’s India, leaves us with no other choice. MAJ, Allama Iqbal, Nawab Mohsinul Mulk, Maulana Zafar Ali, Abdullah Haroon, Malik Barkat Ali, Nishtar, AK Fazalul Haq, Liaquat Ali etc., and scores of other pioneers of AIML saw through this mindset. As early as 1924 Hindu nationalist Lala Lajpat Rai wrote to Bengali nationalist CR Das, that Hindus and Muslims were two separate nations.
People motivated by religion, or love of their motherland, are willing to offer ultimate sacrifice to defend their motherland and state sovereignty. Collective regional security pacts, can and do offer viable defense guarantees. Pakistanis who love and cherish Mecca and Medina would be willing to die defending it. It is part of their religious beliefs. Devoid of this spirit, individuals will tend to shy away from their responsibility. Individuals motivated solely by financial benefits, fall in the category of financial migrants, and will abandon their country of birth, or residence, whenever the going gets tough. Mercenaries fight only for money, and hesitate to offer supreme sacrifice. It is important for national security to preserve and strengthen bonds of love to motherland, by ensuring that individuals with split loyalties are not allowed to hold public offices of importance. They should never be allowed to enter corridors of power, where sensitive decisions are made, that decide the fate of citizens for whom Pakistan is the only country, they call motherland.
There is no issue with individuals who migrate to foreign countries seeking better opportunities, as long as they retain citizenship of Pakistan, without pledging on oath of loyalty to any other state and constitution. While individuals have a right to migrate and seek foreign nationalities, they can no longer be trusted to hold sensitive posts in corridors of power, where lives and destiny of millions of Pakistanis is at stake, who have decided to live and die here, “for better or worse”. We in Pakistan need to set our house in order, by ensuring that this large-scale transfer, of much needed foreign exchange is curbed. The irony is that our expatriates who were deprived of opportunities, are remitting billions every year to support their families, while the corrupt few, including those holding important offices, are involved in reverse flow of this scarce foreign exchange.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Lahore.
