{"id":964,"date":"2025-06-10T19:19:41","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T14:19:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/perspective\/?p=964"},"modified":"2025-06-10T19:19:41","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T14:19:41","slug":"the-soul-of-a-nation-without-shared-values-we-cease-to-be-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/perspective\/the-soul-of-a-nation-without-shared-values-we-cease-to-be-one\/","title":{"rendered":"The Soul of a Nation: Without Shared Values, We Cease to Be One"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar (retd.)<\/strong><\/p>\n

A nation is not merely a geographical entity marked by borders, flags, and an anthem. Nor is it simply a demographic reality of people grouped by a census or even by religion. A true nation is a living organism, vibrating, growing and more importantly, bound together by a soul, and that soul is composed of Shared Core Values. These values, define what its people believe in, what they strive for, and when necessary, what they are willing to fight and sacrifice for.<\/p>\n

In Pakistan, a country founded in the name of a unifying religious identity, one would assume such values would be self-evident and deeply ingrained. However, ask any student, any businessman, any public servant, or any cleric, what are Pakistan\u2019s Core Values, and you\u2019ll receive vastly different answers. That dissonance reveals a deeper issue, that we\u2019ve never collectively agreed on what our national values are, let alone taught or practiced them.<\/p>\n

In Pakistan, we often see nationalism galvanised around transactional and reactive events, especially sports (most notably, the emotionally charged India-Pakistan cricket, Hockey matches and other sports) and the looming spectre of an external threat, again, typically from India. While these moments unite us, they are fleeting and conditional. The spirit fades as the game ends or the threat recedes. What remains is the continuous vacuum. Therefore, the fragile glue of competition and crisis, can do only that much. There must be something constant, something sacred and non-negotiable, that holds us together regardless of the scoreboard or security situation. That constant, can be a set of widely known and widely lived by, national values. Let us see, why do we need core values, anyways.<\/p>\n

Across the globe, developed nations thrive not just on infrastructure and industry, but on the invisible architecture of value system. Japan teaches punctuality and respect for others, among other things, right from kindergarten, Germany instills a strict respect for the law and civic duties, Singapore functions as a multi-ethnic society precisely because of its institutional emphasis on meritocracy, harmony, and national responsibility. One can go on and on discussing more developing countries, however, let us focus on Pakistan. In contrast, Pakistan, with its rich religious, cultural, and ideological foundations, has immense potential to derive national values from its own heritage, particularly from our religion \u2013 Islam. And yet, we lag far behind in practicing or promoting those values at the required scale. There has been a gradual, sometimes un-noticed, however, perpetual erosion of character, which has taken shape of a cultural Malaise.<\/p>\n

We often lament at the state of our education system and rightly so, however, what we often conveniently ignore is the equally critical importance of upbringing and training, the essence of \u201cTaleem-o-Tarbiyat.\u201d Walk down any street or drive through any city, and you\u2019ll witness a glaring lack of basic civic values. Cars, luxury or modest, driven by well-dressed adults, with children (some, around school timings), routinely violate traffic laws with impunity, dump garbage onto roads, or exhibit disrespectful behaviour in public. This is a glaring result of decades of neglecting moral training and civic responsibility. Education must evolve beyond text books and degrees to include value-based instructions and behavioural training, beginning from our homes and reinforced through schools, media, and religious institutions.<\/p>\n

There are islands of such excellence within Pakistan we see functioning, albeit only few, with a consistent value system, where, integrity, duty, sacrifice, discipline, and honour are not just words, they are principles to live, and die by. These values are not inherited \u2013 they\u2019re taught, inculcated, and reinforced through education, practical manifestations and rigorous training (Tarbiyat). Why can such values not be generalised to the rest of the population? Why can\u2019t these values, be mirrored in all of us \u2013 honesty, punctuality, or commitment to the rule of law? A natural foundation for Pakistan, is our Great Religion, which offers us, a value framework that is universal, practical, and time-tested.<\/p>\n

Justice (\u2018Adl): equal treatment under law, Trust (Amanah): especially in positions of leadership and authority, Honesty (Sidq): from business dealings to political discourse, Discipline (Sabr): in personal conduct and public life, Compassion (Ihsan): toward all beings. These are not abstract ideals, they were lived by our beloved Prophet Hazrat Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam (PBUH) and form the very core of an Islamic Society. In a country founded in the name of Islam, these values should be the DNA of every institution and individual. Ultimately, to my mind, what defines a nation, is this critical question: \u201cWhat will its people live for\u201d ? and \u201cWhat will they die for\u201d ? If the answer is only, ethnic identity, political loyalty, or personal gain, then we are not a nation, we are merely a crowd. However, if a man or woman can say, \u201cI live and, if need be, will die for justice, truth, integrity, and the future of my homeland,\u201d then Pakistan has already succeeded in becoming a true nation. Rebuilding Pakistan\u2019s National Character, cannot be a single event, it is a comprehensive, generational mission. It requires a layered approach across time and sectors, starting from the most intimate unit of society \u2013 the home, and permeating through education, governance, and public life.<\/p>\n

As an immediate action, Pakistan needs to lay down a foundation, and then to develop on it. This stage, alone might take 10 to 12 months, thereafter, this will continue as a perpetual phenomenon. Lets call this stage, \u201cBunyaad\u201d, laying empasis on the concept that Parents are the first teachers, and the home is the first school. Respect for elders, discipline, honesty, and empathy must be taught from infancy. For this, public awareness campaigns through TV, radio, and social media must emphasize parenting responsibility in character-building. Introduce parental orientation sessions in schools and mosques to reconnect families with their value-transmitting role. Next, introduce a National Values Charter (NVC), create a single-page document, listing 10 Core National Values, which should be drafted, endorsed at the national level, and widely circulated through schools, media, and institutions.<\/p>\n

1-Truthfulness (\u0635\u062f\u0627\u0642\u062a | Sidq), 2-Justice (\u0639\u062f\u0644 | Adl), 3-Integrity (\u062f\u06cc\u0627\u0646\u062a | Amanah), 4-Respect for Others (\u0627\u062d\u062a\u0631\u0627\u0645 | Ihtiraam), 5-Discipline (\u0636\u0628\u0637 \u0646\u0641\u0633 | Sabr and Nizam), 6-Responsibility (\u0630\u0645\u06c1 \u062f\u0627\u0631\u06cc | Zimmedari), 7-Compassion and Mercy (\u0631\u062d\u0645\u062a | Rehmat and Ihsan), 8-Unity in Diversity (\u0648\u062d\u062f\u062a | Wahdat), 9-Hard Work and Excellence (\u0645\u062d\u0646\u062a \u0627\u0648\u0631 \u0627\u0639\u0644\u06cc\u0670 \u0645\u0639\u06cc\u0627\u0631 | Mehnat aur Aala Mayaar), 10-Loyalty and Patriotism (\u0648\u0641\u0627\u062f\u0627\u0631\u06cc \u0627\u0648\u0631 \u062d\u0628 \u0627\u0644\u0648\u0637\u0646\u06cc | Wafaadari aur Hub-ul-Watani). This Charter must be displayed in every classroom, office, and government department, and included in textbooks. Friday sermons, at least once a month, community announcements, and TV content should highlight ethical behavior, civic responsibility, and shared values, drawing from Islamic teachings and national unity themes.<\/p>\n

After this stage, say after a year, there will be a need to institutionalise the foundation. In this stage, we need to come up with an, \u201cIntegrated Home-School Character Curriculum\u201d, and introduce a \u201cTaleem-o-Tarbiyat\u201d curriculum across all educational levels, focused on values such as truthfulness, responsibility, empathy, patriotism, and civic sense, taken from those 10 CVs decided in foundation stage.\u00a0 Schools and parents must be seen as partners, not rivals. Regular school-family workshops should ensure consistent messaging between the two. There would be a need to re-design teacher training programs, to equip educators as moral guides, not just academic instructors. They must lead by example, reflecting the values they teach.<\/p>\n

Public officials and Government employees should have performance metrics tied to ethical behavior, service orientation, and honesty. This can be linked to awards and public recognition for civic behavior (e.g., honesty, returning lost items, voluntary cleanliness drives, etc). Launch sustained national campaigns (TV dramas, social media series, talk shows) to normalize and celebrate civic virtues and ethical conduct.<\/p>\n

Next Stage will ensure deep cultural transformation with core values embedded in National Identity. Over time, the values promoted should\/ must become a defining part of Pakistani identity, something every citizen is proud to own and practice. Civic sense and ethics should become examinable subjects, reinforced by practical community service in schools and universities. The Government and the Private sector will then need to partner with Madrassahs and Mosques to ensure that their teachings align with national character-building efforts, focusing on compassion, tolerance, justice, and civic duty.\u00a0 There are already many such programs in the institutions, they need to increase and institutionalise, National Civic Service for youth, focused on community work, environmental action, literacy, and health outreach, where values are lived, not just taught. Lastly, there will have to be constitutional and legislative reinforcement, by strengthening the legal framework for transparency, meritocracy, and accountability at all levels, so that national values are also embedded in law and practice.<\/p>\n

We all must remain aware that the heart of national character lies, within a sacred partnership between home and school. One lays the foundation, the other builds upon it. When a child is taught honesty at home but sees cheating rewarded in school, or vice versa, the result is obvious confusion, cynicism, and eventual moral decay. The nation\u2019s revival starts not in the Parliament or Supreme Court, but at the dinner table and the classroom blackboard. This synergy, if achieved, will produce generations, who not only know what is right, but feel compelled to do what is right. It is hoped, that if we collectively commit to inculcating core values today, our next generation will be better than us, more Honest, more Compassionate, more United. A generation, that knows, what it means to be a Pakistani not just by passport, but by character. The time to act is now, as the price of delay is already evident. And the reward, a stronger, more dignified, and truly united Pakistan, is worth every effort.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar (retd.) A nation is not merely a geographical entity marked by borders, flags, and an […]<\/p>\n

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