Precis Practice (Part 2)

From the essay "The Past as Present" by Ayesha Jalal

A top columnist in a leading American newspaper recently described Pakistan as ‘Paranoidistan’ - a state that suspects every US move as designed to weaken Pakistan for the benefit of a secret US alliance with India. Paranoia is a mental condition based on delusions of persecution, excessive jealousy and an exaggerated sense of self. Are Pakistanis paranoid and is Pakistan paranoidistan? A partial answer might seem to lie in the common perception of Pakistan as the world's largest assembly line of terrorists - a product of its compulsive uses of Islam as an instrument of domestic and foreign policy. The botched-up bombing attempt of New York's Time Square by a Pakistani born American has strengthened International opinion that, while all Pakistanis are not terrorists, most acts of terrorism in the contemporary world inexorably carry the Pakistani paw print. Perceptions matter but devoid of historical grounding can fall short of providing a balanced perspective. Grasping the reasons for the Pakistani tendency for Paranoia and violence requires assessing its troubling present in the light of a troubling past. Only then is it plausible to ask how, if at all, Pakistanis can be persuaded to change course not only in a strategic sense but also in terms of recasting the rational and emotional framework through which they perceive the world and in turn are perceived by it.

Precis by Fatima Batool

Pakistan as Paranoidistan

Pakistan is referred to as ‘Paranoidistan’, a country so suspicious of an alliance between America and India that it distrusts every American initiative. The answer to whether Pakistan is paranoid lies in its persistent use of Islam in domestic and foreign affairs, which has made it home to many terrorists. The world has started to believe that Pakistan has an active role in most of the terrorists attacks. The ability of Pakistan to get paranoid and to exert violence can be best understood with respect to its troubles in past and present. This is the only way to make Pakistan change its strategic course as well as its perspective of the world, not to mention its image across the world.