Therefore, the ruling class should stop hiding behind democracy to cover up their shortcomings
ISLAMABAD: Not a single day passes without mindboggling and nerve-rattling events related to our ruling elite’s past and present misdeeds. Every time an issue surfaces, we witness a farcical war of words between those in power and the opposition, which is nothing but a way to fool the general public. Such an exchange of tirades, however, does contribute to polluting the political and social environment.
Ordinary citizens have seen this coming full circle where the main parties at the centre and in the provinces had their turns and none fared better than the other. The people of Pakistan, however, have always been torn between ambition and compulsion and the rulers keep making tall claims with the opposition objecting to them.
The followers of the parties are stuck in the delusion that their leaders are honest and beacons of piety. In reality, the political elite of this country only knows its own interests and ordinary citizens are caught in the perpetual and vicious cycle of poverty and crumbling civic amenities. While the leaders exchanges tirades on corruption worth billions, poor citizens of the nation struggle to make ends meet.
The current scenario that has emerged in the wake of the Panama leaks seems to be repeating the same episode again. There is a heated exchange of words with allegations and counter-allegations between the two main parties that have been taking turns in ruling the country.
It seems clear that the farce will lead to nothing, as both parties have their skeletons in the cupboard and there seems an implicit agreement between them to keep the exchange at a level whereby the general public can be fooled. It is about time that our political elite realised that this can’t go on perpetually.
The two main parties and the third one, to some extent, should realise that the current path will lead, I am afraid, to complete destruction of the country. Therefore, the ruling class should stop hiding behind democracy to cover up their shortcomings. They should use democracy to seriously strengthen the economy and raise the standard of living of the common people.
Raja Shafaatullah
Published in The Express Tribune, April 13th, 2016.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
