Can Jinnah live without fear in today's Pakistan?

Islamabad, Dec 21 (ANI): Mohammad Ali Jinnah, who envisioned a secular state of Pakistan and wanted people to be happy and prosperous, would not be able to live in the country today without feeling threatened and insecure.

There has been no dearth, for some time, of foreign experts and analysts who imply that Pakistan is becoming a failed state and being projected the most dangerous place in the world, The News reported.

Pakistan becoming a failed state and being ungovernable, who should we expect to pick up the pieces and set a direction for the country that is in consonance with the dictates of the modern world and, to invoke a cliché, the vision of Mohammad Ali Jinnah? The paper asked.

Pakistan of today is beset by grave challenges, the aftermath of the Mumbai carnage being only one dimension of what ruling ideas have wrought.

One of the major regrets is that the forces that should be on the side of democracy and enlightenment are not united and have not been mobilised into action.

This is one reason why people feel disenchanted with the leadership of Asif Ali Zardari and mourn his apparent loss of credibility and moral authority.

If Pakistan is beginning to present the look of a failed state and if it is ungovernable in the eyes of a politician of Nawaz Sharif's importance - and that too in the aftermath of the Mumbai carnage that has planted frightening thoughts in the minds of most Pakistanis - what lies ahead?

Given the stance that has been adopted by both Pakistan and India with relation to the terrorist attack in Mumbai, the situation is likely to get worse, at least in the near future, The News said.

The conflict between the potentially militant Islamist forces and the democratic forces of enlightenment will decide the fate of this nation. This historic contest is surely becoming rather ferocious, mainly because of the complexity that has been injected by the global war against terrorism and the social and economic deprivations of the people of Pakistan. (ANI)