Other long-term reforms remain largely ignored. Our public educational and health systems have virtually collapsed. The population continues to grow at an unsustainable rate. Our shortfall in energy generation is hobbling industrial growth. The violent insurgency in BaloÂÂchisÂÂtan, and the state's ruthless attemÂÂpts to quell it, go on claiming innocent lives. And sadly, Sindh is still controlled and strangulated by a cynical, venal PPP leadership.
As you can see, I'm back in my doom-and-gloom mode. But if we are to indeed put Pakistan on track towards peace and prosperity, some serious decisions need to be taken, and a consensus evolved. And while the military has taken the lead in the anti-terror campaign, it obviously cannot deliver on the economic and social fronts.
One problem in reforming the madressah system as well as our school curricula, where deemed problematic, is that such a step would lead to an immediate confrontation with our clerics and religious parties. Over time, their street power has increased, even if their representation in our assemblies has not. Musharraf, at the height of his power, backed down when it came to reforming the madressahs.
So how to evolve a consensus on this divisive issue? In a country that has been tending to move towards fundamentalism since Ziaul Haq, no politician wants to take on our clergy. With the space for rational debate shrinking rapidly, we seem stuck in our trajectory.