Who are we?

                                    

It has been almost 6 decades since Pakistan came into existence. Many people were skeptical whether Pakistan would survive. Pakistan existing today in itself is an achievement. But it has not been easy as many problems had to be faced in this time period. Even today Pakistan has many issues at hand, and once again people are questioning whether Pakistan would make it through this crisis.
According to me, the biggest issue Pakistan faces at the present moment is an identity crisis. All the other problems are rooted out from us not really knowing who we are as a nation and who we are as individuals. It is the way we think that has given rise to this confusion, i.e. our thought patterns.
Over time, we have lost our identity and have failed to capture and preserve the true essence that our country once possessed. All the problems that Pakistan is facing at the present moment are rooted to us not being aware of who we are as a nation. This results in lack of unity among people as now people are not united under a common culture (their culture), but rather an assortment of cultures that have been adopted from different nations. This adoption of various norms and values, that were never ours to begin with, has resulted in more blurred and vague picture of Pakistan’s own culture.
Today we see that segregation is taking place within our society. People have very different and very rigid opinions on different matters, which are leading to diversification. The question we must ask ourselves is: is diversification a good thing? In this case no. people are getting divided into groups and these groups follow a different line of thought from others and to add to the problem they are very rigid with their opinions. This form of extreme opinions is leading to our society breaking down. People react very strongly to others who do not follow their line of thought and also refuse to hear the opinions of others if they are contradictory to their own. Again this has been caused by Pakistanis not really knowing what their identity is. A result of this form of extremism that is causing a major threat to Pakistan is terrorism.
Because of the blurred vision that they have in their heads about their identity they have started mixing up religion with their culture as a Pakistani. Being a Pakistani is not being a Muslim. We have given the culture that existed in Pakistan a back seat now and we portray ourselves focusing on religion, when we should put forward the talent that is present in our country, and Pakistan does not lack of it. But as religion is being put in the lime-light, the world has started identifying us the extremist nation or as the terrorist nation.
All the problems that Pakistan is facing at the present moment are inter-related. If these problems are tackled one by one, it would become easier to deal with the rest.
Conclusion
Today Pakistan is experiencing a major existential crisis. But crises are mixed blessings which can lead to regression or progression. Firstly we should change our own perceptions. Try to broaden our minds and thinking outside the box. We should try and think of ourselves as a single nation and limit the segregation that is taking place. Overall we should gain back Pakistan’s lost identity. As a nation we have many problems at hand, and these problems cannot be tackled unless we put up a joint from in front of the world. We as Pakistanis need to change our attitudes and bring forward a society that cares, and that works towards building and restoring a better Pakistan. 

Mehak Najam