When people ask me what it’s like to live in Pakistan, The only appropriate answer I find worth responding to that it’s the best of times and the worst of times. Well how else can you describe an experience of such polarities as living with drivers and servants while seeing starving children begging in the street?

Pakistan has for long lived in between the two extremes where you can always pick either of the side to criticize it or admire it, for instance it is the country with extreme poverty, extreme pollution, extreme over-population, where people can sit outside in the shivering cold with dead bodies of their loved ones, refusing to bury them till they get justice for the innocent lives.

A country where people can be killed for merely carrying 10 dollar worth Cellphones, or they are burnt alive for pity differences with mafias/officials; it makes no difference whether they are doctors, engineers, shopkeepers or labors, their fault is that they belong to a lower middleclass or as dubbed in the political-elite circles as; the subhuman-class.

This was one side of Pakistan but unfortunately the most spoken and heard side of Pakistan because the domestic media would love to cherish the misery of this country up to any level, as far as it offers them a good old sacred TRPs where even there was not enough adversity to broadcast; they tend to exaggerate the uncertainty to a destructive position.

The biased approach towards Pakistan is not just limited to media but has also been seen among many self-hating Pakistanis. These self-hating Pakistanis are often coming up from the privileged backgrounds who are deluded into thinking that by spitting out venom against their own Country they are actually helping themselves in overcoming their self-esteem issues.

Who could deny the harsh realities our country faces every day? Who deny the above mentioned problems such as sticking poverty, inflation and terrorism? But would it really help the country by ridiculing it? Why it is that all the opinions are being formed based on this side of Pakistan that is for sure a filthy side? What about the other side of Pakistan? A side that is rarely discussed and spoken about but still pretty much holds its ground.

Yes there is the other side of this country where after a suicide bombing at a military ceremony more people show up the next day at the same event despite threats of another attack, people who are determined terrorists cannot break their resolve.

There is a side that speaks about people who are fighting for minorities and an effective social justice system. Yes it is a country where in certain remote areas some can denounce education for their girls, but most will fight for their daughters to go to school.

This side of Pakistan tells you that after a suicide bombing thousands would show up to hospitals to donate blood and help. This country has sons’ like that teenage boy who tackled a suicide bomber and died to save his fellow students lives.

A country that can boast of incredibly hard-working and creative people, A country that has over the years dominated the world of sports, a country that has vibrant culture and rich ancient history (Indus Valley), a country among the sixth mightiest Armies of the world, a country that literally offers world’s most beautiful tourist spots, a country that may look fragile from outside but is very much united within, a country where people love to smile and live in peace.

While self-hating Pakistanis continue to seek hate for their own nationality, there is a dedicated minority which is trying its best to pull this country out of crisis; they may not be visible on mainstream Television screens as their ambitions refuse to offer good TRPs but they are determined to stand up and overcome the challenges other than just complaining about problems.

Yes, Pakistan does have certain grave problems but only if you care to read and understand that many countries have in past suffered from such problems but were able to pull themselves out of those challenges merely because their youth wasn’t wasting their time in whining over what is bad about their country, they actually managed to turn things into their favor and this gives us a lesson that promoting negativity while complaining about it is a very easy task that any A-B-C character could easily do but what is more important is to seek moderation and talk about solutions because solutions offer hope and hope is the integral part of positivity and this, for me, is Pakistan’s other side, the positive side that needs to be equally if not more projected.