The year was 1985, but I remember the moment vividly. I was barely 13 years of age, and I was living in a charity-run Madrasa in Faisalabaad, Pakistan at the time. As we heard the distinct whirring of helicopter blades approaching from the distance, other young boys of my age and I sprinted through the dusty streets in hopes of catching a glimpse of the landing, our curiosity un-bounding.
As the chopper touched down and the door opened to reveal who was inside, out came Mr. Nawaz Sharif, the handsome and charismatic leader of Pakistan’s most populous state, Punjab. We didn’t know it for certain at the time, but there was a sense this man had grander ambitions, and, of course, he would go on to become Pakistan’s Prime Minister, for three non-consecutive terms.
Since I first laid eyes on Mr. Sharif nearly four decades ago, I have completed my primary and secondary schooling in Pakistan, spent a year learning English from scratch, completed my two-year pre-university education, my four-year Bachelor of Laws, my one-year Master of Comparative Laws in Malaysia, and my four-year doctoral research in Australia. I have worked for a year as a prosecutor, a year as a judge, and over four years as the Attorney General of the Maldives. I have run as a presidential and vice-presidential candidate and served as special advisor to two presidents. Ten years ago, I had the good fortune to retire from public service and political life.
I knew the time had come for me to step away from active service, clearing the path for the next generation. So, imagine my surprise when I learned that after all these years, that young Nawaz Sharif I saw on the dusty streets of Faisalabaad some 40 years back, is making a grand political comeback! Even more shocking, after returning from exile, Mr. Sharif is in fact leading the polls for the 2024 February election, looking primed to become Prime Minister for the fourth time!
If it weren’t for my sincere sadness for the 237 million Pakistanis living in abject poverty, I would find the headlines comical – the joke of the century even! Why, you might ask?
Given my unique range of experiences, I have seen this before, and I fear we will allow history to repeat itself.
You see, I personally witnessed two public executions carried out as part of General Zia’s Islamization of Pakistan back in the 80s. I saw firsthand during my teenage years how my friends who were members of the country’s armed forces were paid to play sports and live in luxury rather than report for their duties. And I watched a stunning role reversal as Pakistan moved from being the darling of the West in the 80s, outweighing neighboring India, a pariah at the time, in terms of economic and educational indicators, to itself being ostracized, while India has in turn become the world’s fifth largest economy today! Pakistan is now a country that must beg the IMF and friendly nations to rollover its ever-growing debts, desperate to simply keep the lights on; literally.
Pakistan deserves better than the fate it has endured. During my time there, I remember the awe I felt as I traversed Khunza, with its incredible beauty that easily matched that of globally-admired Switzerland. It is a travesty that the country is in its current state. There is no doubt in my mind that it has been the military and political leaders, men like Nawaz Sharif, who have ruined the potential that Pakistan once held. If there was a Nobel Prize for destruction, surely they would be recipients.
Over the years, I met several Pakistani ambassadors to the Maldives. While they were always decent and kind, they were always retired military senior officials who lacked basic diplomatic skills, and who had clearly been rewarded with a cushy post to enjoy retirement in our tropical paradise.
Their Indian counterparts in contrast were a world apart, skilled and career diplomats. It was a single anecdote, of many, that underscored a lesson I learned during my time in government; while you might be a good solider, building nations, running countries, and conducting diplomacy require a different skill set. So please, I implore the military leadership of Pakistan to stop trying nation-building, running the country, and conducting diplomacy. You are horrible at it. You have caused more misery than one can imagine. I implore for the sake of the potential that once was, and for the wonderful people of Pakistan who have played such a critical role in my own personal development.
And to Mr. Nawaz Sharif, allow me to close by paraphrasing words from the great boxer, Muhammad Ali: you are not the man you were 40 years ago. You know that. Your wife knows that. Your family knows that. We all know that. So, please, stop pretending otherwise. It’s time to board that helicopter and fly off into retirement.
Dr Saeed, i read this article between the lines and i 100% agree on every single sentence and deeper insight analysis of the situation over the decades. Today 80% above of population of Pakistan especially education younger generation is with the same view what you have elaborated and this is very unfortunate and we are waiting for good time to come, inshallah. Mayoosi kufr hai” (hopelessness is Kufr), so we stand with true leadership of Pakistan and we are hopeful for good time to come.