When time gets tough, we don't give up. We get up: A lesson for Pakistan.

 When time gets tough, we don't give up. We get up: A lesson for Pakistan.

Barak Obama, one of the most renowned American presidents, said: "When times are tough, we don't give up. We stand up." The head of a living nation accurately stated that the USA has had several difficult periods throughout its history and that its notable figures and nation responded to these times with fervor, succinctness, and dedication. For instance, the United States did not gain independence through a piece of paper but rather through a war of revolution; immediately following independence, the USA faced one of the largest civil wars in world history, which it eventually overcame; the USA fought in two world wars, both of which had successful outcomes; furthermore, the USA faced one of the greatest economic crises, the Great Depression, and it came out of such an economic crisis with positive results. In addition, the USA fought multiple wars on different battlefields around the world and achieved its status as a "superpower." No one gave the status of superpower to the USA, but it achieved it through its bold and mature decisions both on the national and international fronts. It teaches Pakistan a lesson that if the United States can unify 50 states or provinces under one umbrella despite many crises and problems, why can't Pakistan unite just 4-5 provinces? If the United States can recover from many crises, why couldn't Pakistan? If the United States can become a superpower, why can't Pakistan become a secure state? Not to mention that the United States, India, and Bangladesh have all grown faster than Pakistan. Why? There are multiple factors, but one of them is that when time gets tough, the leadership of the United States rises and the leadership of Pakistan falls.

Pakistan has been passing through a persistent state of crisis. Not to speak of other crises, it couldn’t unite all the provinces under one umbrella yet. Despite having the world's top intelligence agency, the world's 7th most powerful army, and some of the greatest economic and human resources, the state exists under consistent insecurity in the form of economic, political, human, defense, and now cyber insecurity. On the other hand, India has been developing more rapidly than Pakistan in different sectors, including economics, information technology, agriculture, industry, defense, and the list goes on. Not to speak of India, Bangladesh, which got independence from Pakistan just fifty years ago, has more stability than Pakistan and has been developing faster than Pakistan. Pakistan has been facing consistent political instability, where none of the prime ministers have completed their five-year tenure yet; it has been passing through a phase of the worst economic crisis where inflation has reached the top and foreign reserves have been depleting constantly; it has been passing through a state of human insecurity where there is a consistent threat of terrorism; and it has been passing through a state of cyber insecurity where the fundamental rights have been jeopardized. In short, the state has passed through all kinds of insecurity, whether it is economic, political, social, or cyber.

One of the major reasons behind this state of crisis is the lack of unity. A divided nation and a divided leadership can never succeed in achieving the greater interests of the country. A nation that does not unite in tough times can never fulfill the dream of a peaceful and stable country. The founding father of Pakistan, Quid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, gave a road map to the nation with his three golden words: unity, faith, and discipline. None of these has been followed by the nation—neither unity nor faith or discipline. It's not possible that all people to have the same opinion, but it becomes compulsory to have the same opinion and to stand on the same page when there is a question of national interest. Both the military leadership and civilian leadership must learn from Pakistan's history and that of other nations to get up from their unending negligence and unite for the greater well-being of Pakistan.

Another notable reason behind this state of crisis is the lack of competence in the leadership—the leadership cannot sustain pressure. Great leaders never give up in tough times—instead, they get up. When the time gets tough, leadership and the public at large must get up and observe the situation and then make a comprehensive analysis of how the crisis can be avoided and what mistakes have been made that should not be repeated at any cost. Unless the leadership does not get up, the sleep of negligence will put the country in the worst state of crisis—a state from which recovery would be next to impossible. Therefore, it is time to get up from the unending sleep of negligence.

Another notable reason behind this state of crisis is the preference of personal interests over national interests. All the stakeholder groups in the country have deviated from the constitution and moved in their own personal interests. Politicians prefer their personal interests over national interests, followed by military leadership, judiciary, and media. No one thinks about Pakistan—but about their own interest in the country. After 76 years of Pakistan's journey, the leadership has learned nothing from its history. They still do not understand that their interest is secondary to the national interest, and they can never achieve their interest unless the country achieves its broader goals. Sad but true—no one thinks about Pakistan but thinks about themselves.

In addition to the above reasons, the repetition of history is the most common and horrific practice that has been followed by the leadership since the independence of Pakistan. Great nations learn from their history, and Pakistan learns from the repetition of history. Every time history has been repeated, the same solution has been presented to the existing and new problems, and every time solutions are being presented to the problems with the same mentality. Political affiliations are repeatedly changed by the establishment; people are convinced by the controlled media; falsehood has been spoken and shown as reality; and the voice of the people has been suppressed all the time. This practice cannot sustain itself; as the famous quote goes, "You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time." Abraham Lincoln said: So the leadership must learn that people cannot be made fools anymore, and they must not repeat history anymore for the greater interest of the country.

In conclusion, a nation that does not learn from its history—history suppresses it and puts it in the worst state of crisis, from where coming back becomes next to impossible. Similarly, a nation that does not unite during a tough time can never see its country rise. Likewise, the leadership, which does not get up during tough times, the sleep of negligence puts them into another century of ignorance and backwardness. So Pakistan must learn, and it must get up now or never.