At the start, I should like to inform you that the gist of this lecture has been made at various Pakistani forums already. Indeed, the part relating to Pakistan was published almost word for word in my newspaper as an editorial some months ago. So it should not come as a surprise to my Pakistani compatriots here and at home. I do not practise double-standards, as will be evident in due course. I am deeply and passionately concerned about what is going on in my country and I am not afraid of speaking the truth at any forum in my quest for posing the problem.
Pakistan's socio-political environment is in the throes of a severe multi-dimensional crisis. I refer to six major crises which confront Pakistan on the eve of the new millennium:
The crisis of identity and ideology refers to the fact that after 50 years, Pakistanis are still unable to collectively agree upon who we are as a nation, where we belong, what we believe in and where we want to go. In terms of our identity and our demands, are we Pakistanis first and then Punjabis, Sindhis, Baloch, Pathan or Mohajirs or vice versa? Do we belong —in the sense of our future bearings and anchors do we belong to South Asia or do we belong to the Middle East? In terms of ideology, are we Muslims in a moderate Muslim state or Muslims in an orthodox Islamic state? In other words, are we supposed to be like Saudi Arabia or Iran —which are orthodox Islamic states — or are we supposed to be like Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Algeria, etc, which are supposed to be liberal Muslim states? And if none of these fit the bill, what then? Whose version and vision of Islam do we follow? The Qur'an and Sunnah, say some people. Well, if the Quaid-e-Azam and Allama Iqbal both had their own interpretations of how the Qur'an and Sunnah were to be applied in the real life of a modern state like Pakistan, the problem has been compounded by the myriad interpretations of their interpretations of an Islamic state. And the problem doesn't end there.
The Jamaat-i-Islami, the Sipah-i-Sahaba, the Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Islam and countless other Islamic parties and Islamic sects all have their so-called exclusive Islamic axes to grind. So there is no agreement, no consensus on this issue. Indeed there is so much tension, violence and confusion associated with this issue that it has begun to hurt Pakistan considerably. It has assumed the form of an identity and ideological crisis.