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These days one often comes across statements from the president saying 'Pakistan is not a failed state', 'Terrorists cannot get hold of our nuclear assets' and 'Extremists cannot take over Pakistan' etc. Such statements coming from someone no less than an authoritarian president and someone who has been calling the shots for the last eight years, is certainly not encouraging. When General Pervez Musharraf took power after an army coup in 1999, he was widely welcomed by the people expecting him to bring about positive changes in the state of affairs of the country.

However after eight years and much water having passed under the bridge, when we compare then with now, we realise that at that time there was foreign currency crunch but no blatant foreign intervention in our internal affairs. There was corruption in the political system but people had not lost total confidence in the country's leadership. There was rivalry amongst the political parties but they were not at each other's throats as they are today. There were no suicide bombings in crowded places then, no attacks on military convoys nor life threats to almost each and every politician as the situation stands today. Where have we come ?

Simply hearing the harrowing statement that Pakistan's nuclear arms will not go into terrorist hands sends chills down the spine. The very fact that we hear such statements today tells us that things have been going towards the worse all this time and the situation has deteriorated to such an extent that today we have to hear such unexpected and demoralising statements. If statements like this continue one day we should not be surprised to hear a statement saying "The sky is not going to fall on Pakistan".