Political analysts and intellectuals are immersed in a raging debate whether Pakistan is going to become Asia's Somalia or the country is moving in the direction of the Balkanisation, as that of Yugoslavia.
In the opinion of various accredited and astute analysts, Pakistani is under attack from a host of "violent non-state actors" (VNSAs). In the perception and view of an ordinary Pakistani, the nation is also under attack from the "violent state actors" (VSAs). Candidly speaking, Pakistan is under attack, like never before - more than 180 million helpless and traumatised citizens are under attack by a host of both the 'VNSAs' and 'VSAs'. The VNSA elements, as we all know, include the Taliban terrorists, the religious extremists, sectarian outfits, militants and insurgents, who are not only killing our soldiers, but also maiming scores of innocent citizens everyday across the country in suicide attacks, as marauding bands of wanton killers and through planted Improvised Explosives Devices (IEDs).
The VSA, without a shred of doubt, include the corrupt to the core ruling junta, both at the federal as well as provincial levels, its coalition partners, crooked, self-serving politicians and the manipulative bureaucracy, who all are bent upon taking the country to the cleaners by destroying its national economy, taking the country to the verge of collapse, indulging in rampant corruption, perpetuating widespread mis-governance, abject incompetence in running the affairs of the state, inability to arrest fast deteriorating law and order situation and by making the life of the poor a living hell with galloping inflation, unbearable and unchecked sky-rocketing prices of daily food items, incapacitating the industry, across-the-board, that neither has the electricity, nor the gas to run the manufacturing sector.
But what is most alarming and destructive, is the active involvement of the ruling junta, together with its coalition partners, in the rampant targeted killings, land grabbing, extortion and kidnapping of industrialists and members of the business community in Karachi, a fact that has been confirmed by none other than the supreme judiciary of the country in its ruling on the ongoing killings and lawlessness in country's financial hub. According to the Supreme Court ruling, all the major political parties which are part of the Sindh provincial coalition government, have violent armed militant bands and goons in the form of mafia cells that are actively involved in targeted killings, extortion and acts of kidnapping for ransom.