PAKISTANIS are very concerned about the country’s image on the international stage. Whenever I have lived or travelled abroad the first few questions on return have focused on what people in other countries think of the goings-on in the Islamic Republic.

Not just that. Pakistanis who write or make documentaries or use other creative avenues to expose the various ills in society are at the receiving end of the wrath of the pious patriot who routinely targets those putting the spotlight on the ugly reality.

Collectively, if we spend half the time on trying to right the wrongs that we spend on being obsessed with our image abroad and on self-righteously lashing out at those pointing out the evils, I suspect, we would live in a much better, freer environment.

The concern is firmly with our image and expressing outrage at the ‘traitors’ who sell ‘negative stories’ abroad.

But for now, the concern is firmly with our image and expressing outrage at the ‘traitors’ who sell ‘negative stories’ abroad and never see anything positive. This when many of those whose commitment to Pakistan is often challenged have written endlessly about a man called Edhi.

And not just about Edhi but the miracle that one man’s devotion to public service can create. Endless articles, columns have been written and documentaries made on the other miracle worker Adib Rizvi and his team who have created the heaven-sent SIUT in Karachi.

If the detractors choose not to read or watch such reports and comments what can the poor writer do? They will indeed notice the lines such as the ones that follow and may rush to first question their veracity and even when that is established it would still be the reporter’s fault for seeing what they choose not to.

This is a Christian friend of mine on social media: “Always faced housing discrimination in Islamabad over our faith ... completely shattered when Karachi too refused to rent to my mother and sister for the same reason. Where should we go, Pakistan?” This was followed by a broken heart symbol.

If this does not fill you with rage and despair, and God knows how many other emotions, what will? My friend’s post has left me with such a sense of humiliating defeat and failure that it is difficult to express these in words. Even the tears seem to have dried up.

Is this the country representing the dreams and aspirations of Quaid-i-Azam, or have we lost the way over the past 70 years, to an extent that we cannot recognise the nation he spoke of and fought for with such single-minded purpose?

He was not just an eminent lawyer but a true believer in the rule of law. Where would our state-engineered disappearances sit with his thinking? How would we react to what happened at Karachi University just this week.

Saghir Ahmad Baloch, a young Baloch student from Awaran, was sitting with some class fellows outside his department on campus when plainclothesmen are reported to have approached the group. They collected everyone’s identity papers, forced the young student into their car and drove away.

Since then, nobody has heard about the whereabouts of Saghir. His teachers happily testify to his academic excellence and also say he was focused on his studies and didn’t seem interested in politics. So, they are perplexed as to why he was taken away.

Given the fate of the many Baloch who have become a statistic in the enforced disappearances file of human rights groups, disappeared without a trace, or worse, had their tortured, tormented bodies dumped, one fears for the well-being of the student.

For the sake of the young man, his loved ones and sanity, one hopes he is returned unharmed soon. If, at all, he has broken any law of the land he should be charged and produced in a court of law. The same plea is made for Raza Khan, a Lahore-based peace activist.

Raza Khan has also been missing for several days after criticising at a public forum the intelligence agencies for facilitating the Faizabad accord. If this were not offence enough, he was a peace activist who used to make calendars using the peace-themed paintings of young Pakistanis and Indians.

Running the risk of sounding like a broken record, I have no issues if he is charged and produced in a court for any law that he may have broken. But the enforced disappearance of those expressing a point of view not currently in favour with the establishment is wrong and unacceptable.

I personally know of a case or two where the disappeared were cleared of suspicions of acting on behalf of hostile foreign agencies but several days of severe physical and mental torture in captivity have left them scarred for life.

Yes, whenever I am abroad, foreigners with an interest in Pakistan do ask me why there is so much tolerance for the security establishment to allegedly act with complete impunity in violating the fundamental rights of the citizens. I struggle to find an answer. Sometimes I have tried to argue that the state is fighting an existential fight against terrorists and in such situations some excesses are inevitable.

The smiling face of the young Second Lieutenant Moeed and the resolute expression of Sepoy Basharat, both barely 21 years of age, remain etched in my mind. Both brave defenders were added to our long list of martyrs this week.

What would be a fitter tribute to them and their ultimate sacrifice — a vibrant, diverse and open Pakistan, or one where deals are cut behind the scenes with the most militant, intolerant of entities for the pettiest of perceived gains?

And would we want a society where openly flouting the law, making a joke of the Constitution, are acceptable but the odd voice of dissent isn’t? Why should Pakistanis be concerned about our image? Wouldn’t our energies be better utilised changing the reality?

The writer is a former editor of Dawn.
abbas.nasir@hotmail.com

Published in Dawn, December 16th, 2017