By Adeela Akmal

The animal Pakistan is...

If the world is a jungle, what animal would Pakistan be? I've given it a lot of thought. I thought about it from every different angle and tried to come to a conclusion but failed miserably. Pakistan can’t be labelled because it’s not just one thing. There is a different view from every angle and it’s one of a kind.

The people who reside in this land are different from one another. There are varying religions, culture, lifestyles, values and norms which makes it hard for me to decide upon one thing.

 Let’s take an example of he people who govern this wonderful land. I feel as if  some people who run this state are baboons. They eat their prey alive and it is only when the prey takes its last breath, the torture ends.

There are many more analogies that can be given but it only proves that Pakistan is a jungle in itself. It has many varieties of species that live in this habitat and have their own niche.

But the question remains unanswered? What animal Pakistan would be? What animal would, if not exactly, define Pakistan a little? To that, I still drew a blank. There is literally nothing that I might compare it with because Pakistan is so many things at once.

Maybe, Pakistan might be a species of its own. Maybe, Pakistan is so unique and incomparable that it requires a new addition to the animal kingdom.

But, since I must, I decided upon looking at Pakistan from this one particular angle. I think Pakistan is a dog. I could said horse because it sounds graceful but I am trying to be truthful about my thoughts here.

A dog is known by its faithfulness to its master. Regardless of what happens the dog remains with its master till the end. Pakistan is like that to me and to all other Pakistanis. No matter how hard the times get and no matter what happens after that, we’d still have this land. This land that has been faithful to us throughout. This land that is a blessing of the Almighty. We take it for granted and we blame it for our shortcomings when it is us who can shape this country in to a lion.