- By: Mohsin Mumtaz
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What will Pakistan look like in 2035? is a question that pops into everyone’s mind recurrently. Given the socio-political and economic situations, some clues paint an abysmal panorama of Pakistan in the future. There is little doubt that the country has weathered many storms in the past and, withstood the headwinds of multiple challenges. Since the nature of ongoing hurricanes is mirroring an array of overlapping challenges to the nation.From the crisis of equitable politics , through the economic uncertainties, to the situation of law and order, everything has contributed to thrash upon the prosperity of the country.
Several theatres of national confrontation have added to the overall discontent of the state. The very first of all factors that has roiled the hopes of national progress is political instability. Decades of political dissonance have yielded nothing but a state of flux in the political arena of the country. Coupled with the political dismemberment of the past and the current discontent in political circles of Pakistan, have triggered a growing stream of hatred among the subjects. The worst gesture is that the so-called contradiction in political ideologies of political elites has now turned hatred into bestial violence in an agitated way. Considering the present state of politics, it seems pertinent to say that Pakistan will not be labeled as a democratically reliable and politically stable country in the future.
The second highest risk is the economic framework. A country struggling to avert the state of bankruptcy can barely expect any sustainable economic growth in the coming years. To unfold the grim reality, convincing the IMF to approve a loan of a few million dollars is being considered a feat by the legion of economic experts. In the economic sphere, tightly embedded are the grievances of the agricultural site of the country, too. To elaborate, the recent outbreak of public outrage against the backdrop of wheat prices gives multiple hints of agricultural production’s uncertainty in the future.
Then equally important is the abandoned situation of law and order that has rendered the state a death hell for its natives. In this regard, the scourge of terrorism has once again raised its cobra head to shake the peace situation in the country. The rise of Taliban and resurgence of TTP have fanned the flames of national insecurity for both security forces and the citizens.It is crystal clear that if a strong kinetic military campaign is not stepped up against militant factors, then the country will have to play out along with the far-reaching impacts of terrorism.
Additionally, the malpractice of mob lynching as an outcome of religious intolerance or more rightly said a product of religious extremism is forecasting a severe threat to the very basis of the state. It has become a usual figure of our news cycle that the people are becoming void of ethical and moral sanity while dealing with alleged blasphemy cases. It becomes evident that if the government does not rein in the extremist elements then the country will be entitled to an unsafe haven for minorities.In tandem, the
religious extremism will derail Pakistan’s narrative of Islamophobia on international grounds in the coming decades..
Needless to say, the most imperative of all is the urgency to redress the boiling-hot issue of gender disparity. The tribal as well as urban areas of the country are smoldering with the flames of gender-based violence. The status of women is being relegated to the background by the patriarchal figures. Whether it is a matter of education for girls or a case of honor killing, the female segment of society is subjected to disregard in various forms. This notion of disenfranchisement of the women portends a dark future for the nation’s daughters.
For all these reasons, the hopes for a better future for the country hit a new low. Having said about political instability, the political stakeholders need to put off their rivalries for the sake of the state’s interest. As far as economic fragility is concerned, the state’s policymakers must propose effective economic reforms to come out of this economic abyss. Meanwhile, this scourge of terrorism should be mitigated at the earliest for livable circumstances for the citizens. Similarly, the government and society both need to radicalize themselves while confronting religious extremism scenarios. Succinctly, all of the aforementioned reservations should be addressed before the situation turns into an endless loop of crises for the country. There should be a collective effort to tread the way to the country’s prosperity.
- The writer is an independent analyst and student of English Literature at University of the Punjab.