by Anwaar Hussain

How is the Pakistani political leadership doing today? Are they burning their midnight oil in steering the country out of its present morass or are they, from the situation in the FATA to the Long March of March, busy instead in wasting the precious national resources by creating wholly avoidable situations and then succumbing to the results with not a tweet?

I do not know how a nation is led. But I do know a thing or two about leadership.

I know, for example, that national leaders are made in the streets but tested in their offices. That such men will give to the selfless performance of their duty and mission the best that effort, thought and dedication can provide. That this country is crying for a leader who can light the fire in the hearts of its citizenry and lift them from their present state of gloom and doom to one of spirited existence. And that such indeed is the pedestal on which rests the responsibility of national leaders. Yet I also know that this country needs a leader and all she keeps getting is losers.

I know that governing today’s Pakistan has become a fierce mix of complex management tasks and that it requires superb leadership capable of withstanding the heat of these vicious times and delivering under fire. I also know that despite knowing the enormity of the task and the smallness of their selves, these same leaders will yet spend a hefty chunk of their ill-gotten fortunes to reach these same offices. They know that these are challenges of a kind that have to be addressed in great seriousness. Yet I know that a focus such as that is most conspicuous by its absence today. Regrettably, I also know that we gullible Pakistanis are reliant on these leaders as never before, there being none other visible on the national scene. And that this country needs a leader and all she keeps getting is losers.

I know that with the almost daily suicide bombings, the ceding of sovereignty of a sizable part of the country to the extremists, a near total absence of governance in the rest of the country, needless political confrontations, and the rising cost of living, the country seems to be slowly but surely drifting towards a general disarray. I know that the common Pakistani sees his every day existence as increasingly bewildering, ever more violent and hard to live by. And that the psychological stresses on the thinking sections among the citizenry are as dreadful and desperate as never before. I know that hanging thick in the air are the sustained uncertainties surrounding the entire Pakistani nation and the conflict of values that arises from such situations. And that this national fog needs to be lifted post haste. Yet I also know that this country needs a leader and all she keeps getting is losers.

I know that ruling a country is an art and political leadership is an expression of that art. That a political setup will choke on its effective street politicking if it is incapable of producing delivering leaders once in the office. And that leading a country, therefore, assumes an almost mystical place in the book of political values and most certainly occupies a central place in its code of conduct. Yet I also know that this country needs a leader and all she keeps getting is losers.

I know that leading a country is unique in that not every one is fit to assume the command of a nation. That a man can be bankrupt in a wide variety of ways and still be outstandingly good in general politicking. And that the many odd creatures in Pakistan’s political jungle are a ringing testimony to this fact. But I also know that what the bankrupt man cannot be is a good leader of the nation. That the leadership of a nation, therefore, forms a rare storehouse of moral supply that should always be a source of strength to the denizens of that state. And that this country needs a leader and all she keeps getting is losers.

I most certainly know that heading a nation has an ancient tradition, with high and exacting standards and an inherent dignity derived from the very nature of the role. That traditionally, a national leader is expected to possess a minimal measure of morals and virtues in all facets of his life. That for the leader of a nation, performance expectations are believed to be higher than those for the general cadres. And that at the very heart of it all lies the notion that a national leader should serve as a symbol of all that is best in the national character. Yet I also know that this country needs a leader and all she keeps getting is losers.

I know the reality that national leaders even on the world’s stage often work disreputably despite the fact that leading a nation ultimately is the most coveted of roles politicians the world over aspire for. Yet I also know that this brings us squarely to the conversely related yet the most critical truth of national leadership. And that is that a national leadership indulging in non-ethical pursuits, unsure of itself and its standard of conduct, and unable to maintain focus on national urgencies is a recipe for disaster. That therein lurks the danger of prostituting the very purpose of politicking. And that this country needs a leader and all she keeps getting is losers.

Not just myself but every one knows that buried deep in the sands of time, perished somewhere in the eons, are many mighty empires and nations of the yore. That if one were to sum up all the factors of their decay into one whole, it is none other than repeatedly poor and dismal leadership and the decisions they took or did not take. And that all factors associated with nations’ rot converge on leadership.

Everyone now knows that there is ‘leading a country’ and then there is ‘bleeding a country’. And that this ill-starred country, hemorrhaging profusely as it already is, needs a leader and all she keeps getting is a whole bunch of losing bleeders.

Long live Pakistan.

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