Sure Thing!

According to a leading newspaper of the country, when the concerned Superintendent of Police was contacted regarding the security lapse that led to the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team, he said that since he had just recently been posted, he was not sure about providing VVIP security to the visiting players. He further clarified that Blue Book security (the highest level of security in Pakistan) was provided to individuals and not groups. Other sources confirmed that Blue Book security is normally reserved for the President, the Prime Minister, Governors and the Chief Justice and it can be provided to any other individual if the government desires.

First let’s get the facts clear here. The government of Pakistan promised the Sri Lankan management that the team would be provided maximum security and stressed that they did not have anything to fear on their tour. The government does have the capacity to provide Blue Book security. A few things really bother me here. First, why did the government not desire to provide the visiting team with the best possible security? This is especially alarming since most of the cricketing world had already refused to tour Pakistan citing security reasons and the Intelligence Agencies had forewarned the government about the possibility of such an attack. And second, what is the logic behind this principle of providing maximum security only to individuals and not groups? In the current scenario we should be extremely conscious of our reputation in the world and our prime concern should be to take every possible measure to make sure that nothing happens that could make it worse.

However, what’s done is done. The past has no importance except what you learn from it. This is true for individuals as well as nations. We must learn from this incident and not take decisions on security issues in such a laid back manner ever again.

But what bothers me much more about the news report above is not what kind of security was provided to the Sri Lankans. It is the statement of a senior Police officer saying that he was not sure about the kind of security to be provided to the team. Not sure! Unbelievable! But then again, maybe it is not that big a surprise. How many of us are sure about anything.

I think this is one of our most fundamental problems. We, Pakistanis, are never sure. I have rarely seen a housewife who is sure about what to cook for lunch, or a driver who is sure about whether to stop at a traffic signal or keep moving, or a customer who is sure if the price he is paying for something is too much or too less, or a voter who is sure about why he is voting for one person and not another, or a government that is sure about what policies it wants to implement and the list goes on and on.

We are a nation of cricket lovers. I wish we could learn something from the game at least. Ever seen a batsmen being run out? 99% of such dismissals occur when one or both the batsmen are not sure whether to take the run or not. If both decide to run and don’t become unsure in the process, you will rarely see one of them being run out. We, as a nation, are like our beloved Inzi, destroying all the hard work put into an innings simply because we were not sure.

What is the reason for this? Probably that we have a terrible habit of being satisfied with illogical and irrational explanations for things and sometimes with no explanations at all. We don’t want to know for sure. There is a popular song in Pakistan which goes Laal meri pat rakhyo bhala jhoolay lalan, sindhri da, sehwan da, sakhi Shahbaz Qalandar, Dama Dam Mast Qalandar …….. All of us must have heard this song hundreds of times since it is sung at every wedding by the sisters, cousins and friends of the bride and groom. A year or so ago, I asked a number of such young girls what they actually understood by these words. Surprisingly not a single one of them was sure about the meaning of what they had been singing on joyous occasions all their lives.

I do not intend to exaggerate the importance of this ignorance. After all, it’s just a song. But this attitude is not restricted to songs. We are not sure about anything from our choice of dress to our choice of religion. The only difference is that where we feel free to ask others about the trivial matters like what to cook for lunch or what to wear for a wedding, we are much more reluctant to ask others about our religion or what kind of security to provide to a visiting group of players.

This sort of behaviour is bound to lead us to disaster (if we are not already in one) and the worst thing is that we will probably not be sure if it actually is a disaster or not. Unfortunately, life does not come with three umpires who can at least raise a finger or press the red button to free us from the indecision about our ultimate fate. But then again, who knows? We are a nation stranded in the middle of the pitch indecisive about whether to run or not.

We have made huge blunders throughout our history. It is time to start learning from our mistakes. Being sure is not the path to success; it is not even the first step. It comes way before that. If we are not sure, we will never be able take the first step. Let’s start by admitting our faults. Let’s accept that we don’t know. Let’s start the search to find out the truth; the truth that we can be sure about.

And it is not that hard. I will lay down certain truths that I am sure about. One, that our country is in the most undesirable condition. Two, that I, being a citizen of this country, must shoulder a part of the responsibility for this state of affairs. Three, that I have to play my part in improving the conditions. Four, that I don’t have any idea how to go about it. Five, that I am determined to try my best to find out how I can contribute more and to do whatever I can.

Let’s stop the uncertainty. Someone who is certain that he does not know is still better than he who is uncertain. A batsman who does not take a single run may look stupid, but he has hope. One who has attempted an uncertain single and paid the price has none. But let’s not sound too pessimistic. We have many more innings to play and it is never too late to learn except when it is.

If nothing else comes to mind, start by learning the meaning of Dama Dam Mast Qalandar. If you already know that, you are already on your way.

Socrates based his assumption that he was the wisest man in Greece on just one piece of knowledge which he realized that none of the others wise men had. And that was oída ouk eidós meaning “I know that I don’t know”.