Published
in The News on October 2nd, 2000
First, it was purported Hamoodur
Rahman Commission Report published in Indian newspapers, followed by rumours
about thousands of wealthy Pakistanis queuing outside western embassies begging
for visas to get out of the country. And for the past six weeks or so a story
has been making the rounds about a study conducted by the US Defence Deparment
predicting a nuclear exchange between Pakistan and India, and the eventual
disintegration of Pakistan by 2010.
This study has been quoted by almost
every columnist in the country. I'm sure all those columnists who make use of
such alarmist studies and reports in their columns are staunch patriots and
have only the good of the country at heart, but one does wish that they would
at least look upon the bright side occasionally. Like, for instance, the news
that Edhi received an award the other day, or that we have men like Edhi at
all, or even that the press in Pakistan is still free despite frequent
criticism of the military government.
One columnist even compares the
current situation to that prevailing in 1971 in erstwhile East Pakistan. But
that was a different matter altogether. Every Pakistani who read foreign
newspapers or listened to the BBC at the time knew that Pakistan's position was
grim. But even after the fall of Dhaka, the Indians anticipated that what
remained of Pakistan would soon break up into four separate units. This did not
happen, as we know. Should we attribute our survival to luck or to the
incompetence of our foes? Shouldn't we be grateful that despite the rampant
corruption of politicians and others, we have managed to endure?
In April, columnist James Clad of
the Washington Post prediccted the disintegration of India. He said, "I
found evidence of abuses by security forces too numberous to doubt. The steady
breakdown of national cohesion is strikingly reflected in the political parties
campaign. These include appeals to Hindu fanaticism and caste unity."
I have not seen this article quoted
in any Indian newspaper, perhaps because their journalists are mature enough to
ignore such alarming reports about their country.
As for those who write of wealthy
Pakistanis migrating overseas, the Canadian Embassy has issued 3,000 visas to
such people. Mind you, each of these 3,000 Pakistanis had to transfer to Canada
the equivalent of US$ 300,000 before being considered for the L-1 visa. I don't
know about Canada, but I doubt if there are many Pakistanis who have the
equivalent of three hundred thousand dollars "white money" (income on
which income tax has been paid).
Clearly, most of those who can pay
such an amount (plus visa charges, lawyer's fees, etc.) are not the types who
declare their true income. It would be interesting to know if the Canadian
government (which is so fond of lecturing to us on the need for restoring
"civil" government) did anything to verify if the amounts remitted to
Canada by the visa seekers were earned legally. (For all you know, some of the
visa applicants may have been involved in the narcotics trade).
If Pakistan requests the Canadian government, I'm sure they will confiscate such illegally earned money and speedily return it to us, assuming that their love for democracy has not unduly clouded their sense of justice.
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