Author: Babar Ayaz
Genre: Political Science
Publisher: Hay House
ISBN: 9789381431597
Date: 2013
Edition: 1st
Language: English
Description: Beginning with the 'genetic defect' that Pakistan was born with, Babar Ayaz highlights the numerous problems faced by Pakistan todaythat have arisen as a result of the country's foundation being based on religion. What Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah managed toachieve as a separate homeland in August 1947 is today being consumed by religious fanaticism. Ayaz attributes such a state of affairs tothe Islamization of Pakistani laws, which are in conflict with the twenty-first century value systems. The author next pinpoints how Jinnahfailed to recognize the ethno-linguistic diversity of the Pakistan he had created, which needed proper distribution of power between theCentre and the states in the then-existent West Pakistan and East Pakistan. He describes how the centralization of power and theimposition of a single language for both wings of the country led to the dismemberment of Pakistan and the creation of Bangladesh in1971. The book also analyzes the 'unwritten national security policy' of Pakistan and how it has dictated its foreign policy. Relations withthe US, India, China, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Afghanistan are discussed visà-vis the overall national security policy. The author contendsthat the rise of fundamentalism is a global phenomenon, but in Pakistan, it has given birth to a plethora of Islamic militant groups covertlysupported by the Pakistani intelligence services. Pakistan has been branded as 'the most dangerous state of the world' and the 'epicentre ofterrorism'. He laments the fact that attempts to present the peaceful side of Islam are extremely feeble because of the dominance of thepro-jihad elements, which are pushing the country into a civil war-like situation. In spite of several years of attempts at indoctrination ofthe people through mass media and educational institutions, in Pakistan, the anti-Indian feelings and extreme stands on Kashmir have beenlimited. Ayaz believes that India and the developed world would have to help by being more accommodating and understanding, sothat the people of Pakistan can re-invent their country. Without moving towards secularism, the author warns, Pakistan willremain at war with itself as it is torn between the twenty-first century and medieval religious value systems.
Log in to borrow this book.