On a lighter note: We have something in our DNA that makes us very resilient to change, maybe someone told us change is Haram.
For Pakistan, as compared to other nations there are many different factors at play. I often contemplate on the same thoughts as to what went wrong, as to why we were able to make rapid progress initial and then practically halting down to zero and in some cases maybe even in the opposite direction altogether and some of the other ancillary thoughts in the overall realm of things.
There are many different points of view already out there but I am personally convinced we lost it the day we became "The Islamic Republic of Pakistan". Because it might seem like we merely added the word "Islamic" but in reality, it changed everything. As we never became truly Islamic and left whatever we were and ended up being a hybrid mix of everything yet being nothing. So on every cross road we as a nation keep on hearing notions like "is it islamic thing to do?", "why should we follow West, Islam is better" and many other paradoxical questions and in the end we have been running around in loops; one step forward three steps backward. And the irony is we don't even know the real teachings of Islam.
Nations are built by visionaries, leading the pack while the rest being convinced in the overall idea and marching behind, putting in their bit and collectively the whole society, country, or the nation rises, achieve objectives, and reach places. That is what our founding fathers taught and proved to us as well. That is why initially things were sailing in the right direction, rapid progress was made and goals were being achieved, at-least our course was correct.
Following is the 11th August 1947 speech of our Quaid, he clearly laid down the vision of Pakistan. And if he ever wanted an Islamic Republic he would have said so, I believe his English was not that mediocre that he couldn't spell or pronounce it.
(I am just posting a major chunk of the speech as I personally know a lot of People still have not read his message in its entirety)
"If we want to make this great State of Pakistan happy and prosperous, we should wholly and solely concentrate on the well-being of the people, and especially of the masses and the poor. If you will work in co-operation, forgetting the past, burying the hatchet, you are bound to succeed. If you change your past and work together in a spirit that everyone of you, no matter to what community he belongs, no matter what relations he had with you in the past, no matter what is his colour, caste or creed, is first, second and last a citizen of this State with equal rights, privileges, and obligations, there will be no end to the progress you will make.
I cannot emphasize it too much. We should begin to work in that spirit and in course of time all these angularities of the majority and minority communities, the Hindu community and the Muslim community, because even as regards Muslims you have Pathans, Punjabis, Shia's, Sunnis and so on, and among the Hindus you have Brahmins, Vashnavas, Khatris, also Bengalis, Madrasis and so on, will vanish. Indeed if you ask me, this has been the biggest hindrance in the way of India to attain the freedom and independence and but for this we would have been free people long long ago. No power can hold another nation, and specially a nation of 400 million souls in subjection; nobody could have conquered you, and even if it had happened, nobody could have continued its hold on you for any length of time, but for this. Therefore, we must learn a lesson from this. You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this state of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the state.
As you know, history shows that in England, conditions, some time ago, were much worse than those prevailing in India today. The Roman Catholics and the Protestants persecuted each other. Even now there are some states in existence where there are discriminations made and bars imposed against a particular class. Thank God, we are not starting in those days. We are starting in the days where there is no discrimination, no distinction between one community and another, no discrimination between one caste or creed and another. We are starting with this fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one state. The people of England in course of time had to face the realities of the situation and had to discharge the responsibilities and burdens placed upon them by the government of their country and they went through that fire step by step. Today, you might say with justice that Roman Catholics and Protestants do not exist; what exists now is that every man is a citizen, an equal citizen of Great Britain and they are all members of the nation.
Now I think we should keep that in front of us as our ideal and you will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the state. "
Jinnah, August 11, 1947
Look how beautifully he presented the example of England to the masses and before that while he was explaining the shortcoming of India because of the diverse social fabric, aren't we witnessing the same hindrances in present day Pakistan?. Our Quaid gave us the vision, it is us who distorted it. He was visionary enough to know that the new nation will have very diverse religious and ethnic beliefs and that is why he discarded this whole idea and presented the idea of the state of Pakistan which was above all colors, castes and creeds. That was the identity of Pakistan hence the nation of Pakistan.
All these other matters like corruption are very secondary. So if we are truly an Islamic republic don't we all know the punishment of a thief? when did we implement it? The thieves who have robbed our nation are roaming free living in mansions abroad or within.
We have wasted 70 years and we will waste another 70 until we first decide who we really are only then we can be who we want to be.
