Source : http://thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=35851&Cat=8
We see strange sights every now and again in our country. The notion of political gamesmanship of every kind, of leaders who rob their own people without restraint and of a constant state of chaos that refuses to die down is with us constantly. But lately things seem to have taken a turn for the worse. The calling of a strike by the government and the outbreak of violence before and during it are unusual – to put it mildly. Leaderships do not usually attempt to subvert peace in their own cities or put at risk the lives of their own people.
The fact that this is happening indicates a state of affairs that does not add to our confidence as to the abilities of the ruling set-up. Who knows what may unfold next or what the future may bring. There is more to this political mess. We have a distancing by all the major allies which once formed a part of the ruling set-up from the PPP. The PML-N has parted ways completely and opted to carve out its’ own path; the MQM is showing signs it could opt to do the same. Even the ANP has made it clear it does not support the Karachi strike action, while the JUI-F too maintains its distance. The PPP continues its efforts to woo a PML-Q that is itself deeply insecure, given the carving out of new blocks from within it and the fact that Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain no longer retains control over the party he played a key role in founding on the instructions of a dictator. His talk of not doing anything to create ‘instability’, following talks with the president, is obviously a move intended to keep some relevance within the existing scenario and make sure the PML-Q does not become an entirely redundant entity.
On top of all this, we witness continued militancy, new acts of terrorism every few days and a worsening law and order situation everywhere. The question of the blasphemy laws lingers on; nothing has been solved; nothing has changed. The PPP appears not to know what to do, with the interior minister now talking of building consensus. This should have happened many weeks ago. We have also a complete social and economic mess, with education, the economy, healthcare and all else in a terrible state. There seems to be no way out of this quicksand – which pulls the nation into deeper and deeper trouble – and places us in a situation which gets worse and worse by the day.
We see strange sights every now and again in our country. The notion of political gamesmanship of every kind, of leaders who rob their own people without restraint and of a constant state of chaos that refuses to die down is with us constantly. But lately things seem to have taken a turn for the worse. The calling of a strike by the government and the outbreak of violence before and during it are unusual – to put it mildly. Leaderships do not usually attempt to subvert peace in their own cities or put at risk the lives of their own people.
The fact that this is happening indicates a state of affairs that does not add to our confidence as to the abilities of the ruling set-up. Who knows what may unfold next or what the future may bring. There is more to this political mess. We have a distancing by all the major allies which once formed a part of the ruling set-up from the PPP. The PML-N has parted ways completely and opted to carve out its’ own path; the MQM is showing signs it could opt to do the same. Even the ANP has made it clear it does not support the Karachi strike action, while the JUI-F too maintains its distance. The PPP continues its efforts to woo a PML-Q that is itself deeply insecure, given the carving out of new blocks from within it and the fact that Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain no longer retains control over the party he played a key role in founding on the instructions of a dictator. His talk of not doing anything to create ‘instability’, following talks with the president, is obviously a move intended to keep some relevance within the existing scenario and make sure the PML-Q does not become an entirely redundant entity.
On top of all this, we witness continued militancy, new acts of terrorism every few days and a worsening law and order situation everywhere. The question of the blasphemy laws lingers on; nothing has been solved; nothing has changed. The PPP appears not to know what to do, with the interior minister now talking of building consensus. This should have happened many weeks ago. We have also a complete social and economic mess, with education, the economy, healthcare and all else in a terrible state. There seems to be no way out of this quicksand – which pulls the nation into deeper and deeper trouble – and places us in a situation which gets worse and worse by the day.
No comments:
Post a Comment