Introspection & Retrospection

My hobby of interacting and indulging in casual interaction with the younger generation is always fruitful and interesting. In a recent discussion with a young rising star, who on sensing being cornered by arguments on a subject, curtly remarked that the old generations need to indulge in ‘Introspection’ for handing over the State of Pakistan to the youth, caught in an intractable web of internal and external issues; perhaps he meant ‘retrospection’. So quietly I disengaged from the discussion and as usual, lying on the bed at night, reflected upon the day spent and found that the feelings of a young man were not off the mark.

Apropos, this piece is meant to remind people of my generation that despite giving a better life to an affluent minority, the majority of hopeless youth and poor masses is unrelentingly confronted with the plethora of social, political, economic, psychological and security issues, which is frustrating for the bright young lot. So let me share a few words on the subject that each and every thinking person needs to comprehend and indulge in not only as an individual, but also as a whole society, particularly the ruling elite.

The word Introspection is derived from Latin, meaning to "look within". It was used early on as a formal method of psychological research to study internal mental states. It helps resolve personal conflicts, enhances emotional intelligence, and improves relationships. Introspection is the conscious, deliberate examination of one’s own mental and emotional processes, such as feelings, motives, and thoughts. As for personal evaluation, it simply means asking oneself, "Why did I react that way?" after a challenging conversation or stressful situation. More importantly, in our daily lives, it demands reflecting on personal values to decide on a career change, nature of relationship, opinion refinement, personal behaviour or life adjustment. However, if overdone, it can lead to anxiety or negative ruminations, sometimes referred to as "navel-gazing".

While Introspection involves looking inward to analyze your own emotions, thoughts, and motivations; Retrospection involves looking backward at past events, actions, or experiences to review how they unfolded. Introspection focuses on the internal "why," while retrospection focuses on the external "what" happened.While ‘Introspection’ is highly personal and emotional; yet, the ‘retrospection’ can be more objective and analytical (e.g., studying past data).  It goes without saying that most of the people in the helms of affairs in their public and media appearances could benefit a lot personally as well as pave the way for a more harmonious political environment in the country, if they could develop the habit to frequently  indulge in ‘introspection’. Besides, for the government institutions and their spokespersons, regular ‘Retrospection’ is considered unavoidable to keep the context and contents of the policy statements in true perspective.

Although it is hard to curb the tendency to be a skeptic in Pakistan, yet appreciating the half glass full, let's examine how we are perceived by other analysts. As of May 2026, Professor Jiang Xueqin, a Chinese-Canadian historian and geopolitical analyst based in Beijing who runs the "Predictive History" YouTube channel, has identified seven countries he believes are on the verge of collapse. In his analysis, he argues these nations are undergoing synchronized structural instability—economic, political, military, and demographic—due to a "global system fracturing" and the impact of the US-Iran conflict. According to Jiang's recent analysis and related discussions, the seven countries are: Pakistan(cited for deep institutional strain), Ukraine(cited for demographic rupture), Nigeria (cited for oil-dependent fragility, currency crisis, and security fragmentation, Argentina (cited for recurring debt cycles), Japan (cited for demographic paralysis of its political system), Ecuador (cited for organized criminal penetration of its institutions), and Myanmar (cited for de-facto territorial fragmentation). The cited common reasons for the potential collapse of above mentioned States are as follows: One, these countries deviated from the very foundation/philosophies they were created for,-- Two, missed windows of opportunities to capitalize that came their way over the decades,--and Three, vested interests of elites in these countries. (Some of his recent videos have also highlighted Jordan, Lebanon, Iran, Yemen, Sudan, Iraq, and Pakistan as part of a "synchronized instability" in the Middle East region due to the Iran- US/Israel conflict).  

The other macro reasons cited for Pakistan’s poor profiling include Fiscal Mismanagement and structural disorder, Defence Overspending and lack of accountability, Feudalism that continues to impoverish population, Tax evasion by elites and  Political instability (lack of political legitimacy of governments).  The truth known by the Pakistanis is even more bitter and hard to digest with serious flaws and inconsistency in our Foreign, Economic, Political, Education, Justice, Water/ Energy security, Land and Agriculture and Human Development Policies. It is worth mentioning here that China took approximately 750-800 million people out of Poverty and transitioned them into the world's largest Middle Class, in just 44 years; the reverse may be true for 230 Million Pakistanis out of approximately 250 Million  people in 78 years. Let’s hope and pray that the highly paid technocrats serving the incumbent government will do something to affect serious improvement in the reflected areas to put the Pakistani rail back on the tracks.