End of Dark Stormy Night

End of Dark Stormy Night It seems that after a dreadful, stormy dark night, our beloved Country is about to witness a reassuring dawn, hopefully harbingers of shining bright future. And what are the reasons of this surprising optimism? Is it a shot in the dark or just a careless blind prophecy? If we look around and watch carefully, the indicators are showing. First and foremost is the waning political, military and economic hegemony of the so far sole super power. Failed Turkish coup, unsuccessful projects of Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, and failure of intimidating economic and military postures against China, all point in that direction. Assertive Russia and non-flinching China are continuously expanding their influences in all directions, especially in Africa and Asia. Turmoil ridden Middle East is realigning their internal and external relationships giving signals of pragmatism as opposed to idealism. All these events are helping in creating a new global balance that will definitely be helpful to restore peace in countries where proxy wars and economic exploitation resulted in internal turmoil. Closer home, after failed attempts to alleviate the misgivings of our neighbours, both in the east and the west, we have rather settled with the rude reality, that there seems to be no option but to fight against the ominous collaborative powers, that are trying to undermine our national integrity and solidarity. Even the most antagonist analysts and many self-bashers who found everything wrong with own attitudes, have now understood the real politics of the region and have recognised the forces behind the vitiating scenarios. The valor of our armed forces, and steadfastness of the nation, has won us the unique distinction of resilience and ability to ride through extreme adversaries. Surge in the great political struggle of Kashmiris has surprised the perpetrators of tyranny and oppression, and has also attracted the world attention. There are also positive statements now coming out of Whitehouse. All this abodes well for the region, where comparative potentials have been well gauged by each other, and now various settlements can be negotiated. It seems that an era of collaborative attitudes is in the offing. All this will not happen overnight or with a magic wand, but the dotted lines are revealing the direction of the movement. The prospects of CPEC and Pakistan being declared as one of the leading emerging economies, has surprised many detractors. The rebounding performance of our Stock market has defied all calculations. As the CPEC activities gain more pace, the economy is likely to experience a snowball effect, with exponential positivity. This is likely to restore self-confidence that will further strengthen political and diplomatic stance, bringing respect and attraction for foreign and domestic investors. Afghanistan, India and Iran may well be our future partners rather than enemies. Looks like Iran first, followed by Afghanistan and later on India. The greatness is about to be thrusted on this region, not necessarily because of visionary leadership, but more due to lessons of history and common sense. The stumbling blocks on the road to rapid progress and bright future are the poor education and justice systems, resulting in corruption and lack of discipline; thus creating a social upheaval. Looking at the emerging political awareness, one may conclude that the prevailing apathy and inefficiency in the governance system is no more sustainable. A lot is likely to change, hopefully, before the next elections, or as a result of that election. The perpetually hanging sword of military takeover has lost its appeal. Those who were waiting for a stiff standoff between the political and military institutions are now changing their narratives. Thanks to the vision of leadership at all ends, otherwise we were nearly caught in the treacherous trap, neatly laid out by interested entities, with enemies waiting for the last pounce. It seems that the political system internally and in external relationships with other institutions, is on a self-correction course. Internally because of the opposing forces are creating balance, and externally because of past and present lessons. Emergence of multiple factors external, regional and domestic nature, well-timed accidentally or as a Nature's gift, will soon, in not very distant future, is likely to forge a situation that will alter the course of history in this long neglected region. Keeping all the above in view, and some other half baked, but positive factors, is the optimism expressed too far from reality?