Human beings can create hell and paradise on Earth. While incidentally damaging nature ever since birth, human beings have also made it hell for themselves through wars and violence and that is on top of the pollution, while we were domesticating nature. However, beautiful nature survived. The Earth has wonderful mountain ranges of peaks, lakes, with trees, and grand landscapes, lush woods, blue skies and chirping birds. Once we are away from crowded cities we love it and we are always enamoured by nature.
Pakistan is one of the rarest of countries with diverse landscapes including beautiful beaches that start from Badin to Gawadar, fabulous lakes such as at Saifulamlook and Hanna, magnificent peaks like K.2 and RakhaPoshi, colourful cultures of Sind, Baluchistan, KPK, Chitral, Kashmir and Punjab, plus ancient civilizations such as at Harrapa and Moenjudaro. There are also the green landscapes of Sind and Punjab, and much more.
Pakistan is rich in natural and human resources. Unfortunately, our incompetent and corrupt leaders are trying to damage this paradise and transforming it into a hell – but paradise remains paradise!
Human beings have been threatened from the fires of hell after death but they continue to live in hell despite warning from holy men. The concept of an earthly hell is meaningless without the fiery evidence of violence, hate, discrimination and suffering. Therefore, all religions warns their followers to avoid the punishments of hell on judgement day.
Jean Paul Sartre wrote, No Exit which focuses on three individuals trapped together in hell. Hell is shown as a locked drawing room with three couches. This doesn’t sound like the traditional conception of hell and it isn’t. As the three characters try to determine why they are in hell and how they are to be tormented, they soon come to the conclusion that they will act as torturers for each other. The play famously concludes with one of Sartre’s most-quoted lines: “hell is other people” contrary to Aristotle’s famous quote, “Man is a social animal”. Sartre described one side of the coin in which human beings live in hate, disapproval and discrimination but if we reverse to the other side we can find paradise in the same couched room. These three individuals found themselves in hell because they didn’t find love and care. Existence of others is hell if hate and discrimination exist, but existence of others is paradise if love and care exist.
Whenever we open newspapers or turn on any news channel we listen or watch disgusting news of man-made disasters, target killing, corruption, violent strikes, deaths and whatever, telling of a place where people not only don’t like each other but hate each other and thus create hell out of paradise.
If we compare modern media technology (such as Internet, cable TV etc.) with old news channels such as radio, we find the older more relaxed and a comfortable technology where someone can listen to updates and continue work on his/her farm, industry and in the kitchen. Modern technology engages human beings completely and we can’t do any work but only watch TV. Even we can’t continue discussions with friends and family members because we are occupied with updates, movies, or other media. All this information make one’s stomach upset and it wants to vomit to reverse it.
Violence against nature as well as against human beings is easy to initiate but hard to stop. It works like an old heavy wheel, once you rotate it, it will move with its own force and weight. Gandhi, Martin Luther King and modern Silo along with other advocates of nonviolence defy this and suggested alternative theories to protect, protest and rule.
Since the creation of Pakistan leaders tried to disturb nature through corrupt practices and have kept the masses ignorant without any civic education or formal education. These leaders know that silent crowds and masses always follow leaders to do whatever they like to do. Once they get education they raise question and challenge authority. Therefore ignorance is blessing for them. Pakistan National Accountability (NAB) has presented a list of corrupt leaders in which all leaders of ruling parties and top business men are included. What a shame for such rulers who remain in jail not due to their principles like Nelson Mandela but due to corruption cases.
Our existing government is cutting old trees and entire forests to develop metros, roads and disturbing nature without assessing the impact on the environment and on Earth itself, therefore unpredictable weather hits us each year. Green lands are destroying to make new communities and colonies in Punjab. Barren lands are still barren. There is water and drought. No water management and neither is there water conservation. Nature provides all resources to use each year and we destroy same just like babies.
Ethnic, sectarian, religious and linguistic militance and extremism with a spirit of jingoism is making life miserable and pathetic in most of the major cities of our country particularly Karachi , Quetta and Peshawar. M.M., Sunni Tahreek, TTP, Leyari Gang, PPP party, Jamaat-e-Islami, BLLF, Nationalist Parties and other groups have adapted same tactics in Karachi (biggest city of Pakistan) to conquer the lands, grab money and loot business.
This game has been being played since many years in Pakistan. Finally, establishment (PAK Army) decided to clean the garbage of violence and corruption with more violence. All political criminals have started to make a hue and cry in the media. Daily we read and watch news of shooters, kidnappers, and target killers being arrested by security agencies. It seems endless war not just guerrilla war but war against war.
No doubts crime graphs do show that casualties have gone down – like boiling water after extinguishing the causal fires. In 2014, number of killed among security force personnel was 533 compare to 160 in 2015. Terrorist attacks also reduced from 3182 to 1413 between 2014 and 2015 (but for the six months of 2015 we are ahead, looking causalities). However, things are unpredictable. War is not yet over as all sleeping giants and monsters are awaking against State and civilians. This might be another war like Lord of the Rings.
In spite of all these ups and downs, whenever we visit any areas of Pakistan we also find beautiful and cool landscapes with hospitable citizens. Violence, extremism, sectarianism, Talibanization and ignorance of several decades couldn’t disturb this paradise. Paradise remains paradise where life is still beautiful, it depends on the person who sees its colour. Rainbows still shine in beautiful skies of Pakistan after rain.
