The terrible terrible situation we find ourselves in...

If there ever were lines of sanity, stability and peacefulness, our country just crossed them. Thought many would say we had done that much earlier, the latest attack that tore through the capital reinforces the enormity of the issues concerning us once again and more profoundly than ever.

The recent attack by American drones in our tribal areas of Bajaur and Waziristan, reflect our lack of will and capacity to control our own territory and its affairs. No matter how many placatory statements come out from the Foreign Office, we all know too clear that there’s nothing General Kayani or Prime Minister Gilani will or can do about it. In the same vein, one does not understand why President Zaradari is so tepid in his condemnation of the American incursions on our soil.

The latest killing of civilians in the garb of targeting Taliban hideouts, certainly adds one more to the already existing plethora of problems Pakistan needs to deal with immediately to secure a stable environment across the country.

What the recent developments suggest is that till now Pakistan was fighting a proxy war for USA, but now the country itself is involved and the whole state is at stake. It’s easy to bash US special ops and fighters in the drawing rooms, but the consequences of Pakistan’s declaring a war with US are disastrous, though polls may suggest the view is widely popular among the citizens these days. Its one thing to be patriotic and intolerant towards external aggression, fighting it out in the middle with the enemy is quite another. With the strength of army that America has and its ammunitions, Pakistan would be wiped out many times over if it were to be bold and stupid enough to declare a war against US. And trust me we Pakistanis would not like to soil our thoughts with images of devastation and horrors that any such situation might lead to.

So, what then the blessed country of Pakistan must do?? Truly, there’s very little that is in our hands. We cannot possibly stop US incursions, and there’s no way we can fight back. All we can do is sit and criticize and plan strategies that cannot be implemented, like the retired generals, anchors, intellectuals and analysts keep on doing, effortlessly, moving from one channel to another. One hopes things will get better soon, and there will be something to smile about, that the times are too fraught of and we desperately need.