Pakistan in grip of uncertainty

Dr. Tahseen Mahmood Aslam is worried about the prevailing situation in the country

Things have become extremely unpredictable in the country. One feels unnerved about things happening inexplicably, and to add to the woe, leaving no trace of their perpetrators and motives. Most of the time the reasons assigned to inexplicable events are nothing but conjectures and Pakistan in grip of uncertainty. The lack of a credible explanation of things taking place around us is simply dumbfounding.

Moreover, Pakistan in grip of uncertainty appears sensationally biting because the regional situation has changed beyond recognition and the influential international interlocutors profoundly realize avoiding any old-fashioned tilts and aspire to balance things. In such circumstances, the need to put things in their proper perspective with a view to allay feelings of uncertainty could hardly be over-emphasized.

Pakistan in grip of uncertainty is the ultimate expression of the inability to perceive things in their proper perspective. The feeling creeps up when the segments responsible for devising and designing future courses of the action face situations that are above their ability to comprehend and counter.

Presently it clearly appears that decision-making circles in the country are facing difficulty in getting to grips with whatever is happening around them. This is a dangerous phenomenon that may prove damaging for the polity and may well prove irreversible.

It is getting exceedingly unclear what is motivating the decision-makers to take actions that are further confounding the situation. The gap between comprehension and policy-making is ever-widening revealing that, contrary to general belief, there is tremendous confusion compelling multiple factors to drive matters.

The result is a contradictory impulse that is now ruling the roost and is visible in almost all decisive actions. It looks as if most of the primary stakeholders are either deliberately looking askance at the obvious or are forced to keep on following the murky path.

Ladders Of National Life

The confusion at the top is badly impacting all ladders of national life. No one is sure about setting the goal as the feeling is mounting that someone will remove the goalpost. The reasons for change are profoundly clouded in mystery because no one knows where final decisions are taking place.

The duplicity of authority was usually blamed for myriad problems existing in the policy but no one was prepared to face the prospects of a multiplicity of decision-making centers. The acceptable norm of definite enunciation of principle is completely missing.

More problematic is to assess the underlying factors causing uncertainty. Apparently, matters are propagated to have been aligned but in practice, it appears to be a fallacy. There is hardly a cogent, single-purpose approach that could be witnessed as almost all actions are contradictory in content when viewed in their entirety.

It is an amazing situation but no one is paying any heed to it. It is equally surprising to observe responsible sections beating around the bush but staying clear of the main issues. Uncertainty assuredly eats into confidence and hampers initiative. It makes a mockery of all aspirations and puts cold water on all schemes of action.

The current difficulty is that there is no light visible at the end of the tunnel. It may not be out of place actually to mention that the tunnel is probably temporarily lost as uncertainty has badly blurred the path towards it.  And It is equally difficult to predict the possible way out of this instability that uncertainty has created.

It could hardly be stressed that the prevailing Pakistan in grip of uncertainty is required to be overcome. Matters should be spelled out clearly and with transparency. The situation is conducive to opening up and putting matters in their proper perspective.

Pakistan In Grip Of Uncertainty Asserts

It is the best time to remove the veneer of probability and assert a way of maintaining continuity with the past and avoiding the disruptions of political unrest such as are witnessed currently. The ritualized status of state institutions may be utilized to sanction political change and ignore some of its aspects considered inappropriate for the general concepts of governance.

It should be borne in mind that uncertainty is self-defeating and may prove untenable in the longer run. If it is perceived that by maintaining a murky stance matters will sort themselves out then nothing could be far from reality. It is imperative to appreciate that human activity is a chain of action and reaction and that keeping an action under the ambit of uncertainty is more dangerous than carrying it out. And It is far more advisable to clarify matters and call a spade a spade.

It is fervently expected that the decisive strands of the polity will try to remove the prevailing Pakistan in grip of uncertainty and come out with actions that may reassure the majority that things have started to improve. Let the actions, strongly guided by prudence and transparency, take their course and let the reaction emerge. It is not very difficult to align an action with a reaction but it is almost impossible to be enveloped in an uncertain situation and then expect positive results. The Weekender