This question I get asked almost habitually, regardless of the love I have for this country, “Why Pakistan, is it even safe there?” They say a house is a building, but to me home is a feeling. Pakistan is a place I feel most at home, and I am nothing short of proud to express my sentiments. I don’t think there is any “right” way of answering that question, but this post will be my honest attempt to acknowledge and set the confusion right.
The people who ask the question–Why Pakistan? – Often set the tone with, “Why did you first go to Pakistan?” The simple answer is family. Without family, what is there? I first went to Pakistan in early 1995 as my mother would jet set for her annual visits to the motherland in excitement to reunite with her family and friends she left behind when she got married and moved to the United States.
Every year for the past 22 years I took a trip to Pakistan, a country that not only held a special place in my heart, but a place that helped me build the foundation of what I always knew I loved, writing. The sound of birds chirping and the chickens chatting, that was home. Growing up with the buzzing streets of Lahore following my footsteps into adulthood, to the beautiful prayer call that covered the city in serenity, to the family and folks who raised me to be who I am today, yes, there is no other place I would want to visit more. These points are merely some of the many reasons I fell in love with Pakistan.
I don’t think that’s what most people truly mean when they ask this question in reality. Within this question, lies questionception, as a few others are implied. Why do you care about Pakistan? Why do you go to such a scary country?
These questions I find more fascinating, and my visits and writing pieces are attempts to offer solid answers. In all honesty, without thinking twice, I find myself coming back to the topic idea of Pakistan every time I crack open a college or grad school application, even my good old Huffpost platform. Why I choose to call Pakistan a extraordinary place, that answer I continue to write today.
Which brings me to my point, explanation of my interest in such a country, my love for Pakistan, I can best narrate a specific incident. I once told a college advisor that I was going to Lahore, Pakistan for my summer break with an ecstatic grin plastered on my face. He responded by asking me: “Well I would be scared, get ready to cover up honey!” I’m sure the advisor found himself just giving some witty advice, but his remark left a mark on my heart, as unfortunately many members of the American population have a preconceived idea of Pakistan: not as a country or society in it’s own right and entirety, but more so a problem or challenge for America to carry on their backs, about which it’s necessary for any writer and lover of equality regardless of race or religion, to rise above this argument, and rather educate the “third world” mindsets of the people hiding behind misconception.
I refuse to see Pakistan in such a way, truth is, I genuinely don’t see it in that way. With this being said, I am a Khan, but I am no proud leader such as Ayub Khan who claims to know or understand Pakistan fully. On the same note, I don’t know the plethora of backgrounds my mother or father’s ancestors set in stone, even my own country. But one thing I do know, is I love my mother, father, family, and the roots to my family tree. Despite faults and flaws, love conquers all, as I know they love me too despite my fair share. My unconditional love for Pakistan is similar: human, built by flaws, partial knowledge, genuine understanding, but nothing short of honest and authentic. Still when I go back to the moment of being asked such a question by my college advisor– “Well I would be scared, get ready to cover up honey!” – that I could hardly deliver my answer, what was and still is: “I am not the one who is scared, if anything I feel safest when I am there. The only thing that seems to be covered is your idea of a country I call my second home.”
And so, I find myself typing away while enjoying a delicious cup of my mixed chai in Lahore Pakistan, where I continue for my 22nd year, to kick off yet another summer break, and a beautiful month of Ramadan with the people I love most.
So yes I am here to say, this third world country to some, is my world. I am proud to say I am an American Muslim, born and raised in the states, but Pakistan is the country that has taught me love, culture, and most importantly the feeling of home. We all know only too well how flawed and fragile Pakistan is. But with incidents erupting across the globe, which nation or person isn’t fragile and flawed? The best way I can answer this question for now is with another question: Do you love your family? Do you adore your dog child? Do you love the feeling of home? And for the people wondering am I sitting in Pakistan covered from head to toe, actually I am rocking my Zara ripped jeans and the off-the-shoulder top I snagged at Mango. Lets uncover our minds, and cover up our assumptions, that one is for you my ex-advisor!