QUARANTINING during Covid in another country without your tools of comfort is tough. Of course, I am grateful for the support system I did have, like (but not limited to) my sister’s dog, who kept me company when no one else could and accompanied me on walks. My time outdoors allows me to reflect on things like wellness and healing — issues that have weighed heavily these past few months. I wondered if I could take heed of a doctor’s prescription and apply it to our ailing country.

It stems from a conversation I had with a doctor wherein I asked why I should proceed with his prescription. No pill is without side effects and in my experience, medicine invariably impacts a part of the body it wasn’t intended for, usually the gut. Is it worth it, I asked, in this specific instance when I was not in pain? He said the answer didn’t lie solely in the medicine.

I had presented him with symptoms, he ran tests and examinations after which he diagnosed and prescribed treatment. Another doctor could offer another prescription based on the same tests, he explained. Ultimately, I would have to take the medicine and see how I feel and work with him until I felt better. It wasn’t a one-size T-shirt that fits all, he said. Often a patient doesn’t see results in five days and either abandons treatment or seeks another opinion. Sometimes it is a quick fix like a pill for a headache but often the road to wellness takes time and requires patience and faith.

You see where I’m going with this.

Those attempting to cure Pakistan are not transparent.

Many leaders speak about healing a nation but what does it actually entail?

I don’t imagine I’ll see a greater leader than Nelson Mandela in my lifetime. His endorsement of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the work it did in investigating human rights abuses committed during the apartheid regime between 1960 and 1994 tends to overshadow his commitment to public health. He lost a son to AIDS and talked publicly about the need to normalise the disease like TB, cancer etc, removing shame from it. Mandela’s advocacy on AIDS helped save millions of lives and transformed health in Africa.

Mandela is equally known for forgiveness — of his opponents and his prisoners. In a 1998 conversation with former US president Bill Clinton he said: “You know, [the oppressors] already took everything. They took the best years of my life; I didn’t get to see my children grow up. They destroyed my marriage. They abused me physically and mentally. They could take everything except my mind and heart. Those things I would have to give away and I decided not to give them away.”

Here in Pakistan, our leaders have faced much injustice at the hands of the establishment but have they chosen forgiveness? The Charter of Democracy was an attempt but it stands fissured today. Leaders vow to heal the nation but then get caught up in a vortex of anger driven by revenge. I believe we’re witnessing it now under the guise of ‘making amends for past wrongs’ and will probably see a new level of anger if/when Imran Khan returns to power.

Pakistan is an ailing patient who has received all sorts of treatments but it’s also kept in some comatose state or life support. Those attempting to cure it are not transparent about their plans because, let’s admit, they are not qualified to treat it. They remind me of some doctors I have encountered: in it for the money, not the patient.

Pakistan is like me and the growing number of people being diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder where the body mistakenly attacks itself. I recognise I have agency in choice and the right doctor to guide me to my wellness but I’m unconvinced about the folks in line to treat Pakis­tan next.

Writers on these pages offer sound prescriptions on how to treat the fractured economy and other matters of governance. I’m daring to offer the new government a tiny prescription for the media, which is deeply polarised and mistrusted. I suggest the next information minister come clean and show just how much money the state has spent on nurturing relationships with journalists and media owners — from press junkets to funding “journalists” to promote their policies rooted in declaring XYZ as unpatriotic.

The next government can lead by example and tell us what they spent when they were in power last with a vow never to do it again. This will help (re)gain the public’s trust and begin Pakistan’s journey to healing from the toxic illnesses that lies and deceptive propaganda have caused. Pakistanis deserve to know who has fed them these stories so they can make informed decisions about who they choose to trust.

The writer is an instructor of journalism.

X: @LedeingLady

Published in Dawn, January 14th, 2024