Revisiting Pakistan after a whole year presented an interesting if not obvious challenge. To navigate through changing streets and attitudes of people, gauge the seriousness of the security and crime issues and try to make an unbiased observation from the point of view of a visitor. In the middle of all this, also get some work done.
Wet winters are not the ideal time for road works and it shows in Islamabad. Come to think of it, its not the ideal time for anything! The cold and damp keeps your spirits down and the news splashes a dose of ice cold water every couple of days. Its a harsh lesson in reality which can only be experienced and not taught.
This year has had a particularly bad start in spite of all the recent fuss about the golden pig. With the ongoing turmoil in our foreign politics and the worsening situation with domestic crime and terrorism, its very hard to think calmly and come up with solutions for improvement. At least asking questions is a start, and this is now possible with the changing policies for media. I would even go further and say the government in its haste to 'free' the media has stopped having ANY policies for the media. There is a general consensus that quality has gone down as quickly as new channels have sprung up. Geo and its sensationalized flavor of journalism is a subject for another time.
I believe the people are not really hurt at heart by American policies in region or the economy or global terrorism. But its smaller but more serious issues like street crime and domestic terrorism. Its shocking to find out how losing your cellphone at gunpoint has become a way of life in Karachi and Lahore. While the security agencies are apparently busy participating in a larger scheme of things in the so-called global war on terrorism, the first and most obvious victims are people on our streets who are suffering because of a lack of basic crime prevention. The police has become a protection agency for the high and mighty, its no surprise the place has become so unsafe.
This year I'm seriously getting worried that with the steady decline in the state of affairs, we're desperately losing hope. And that is the real problem.