KARACHI:
One cannot help but feel a certain sense of irony after the recent arrest of Shahbaz Sharif. The incident came right after the unfolding of a number of incidents including the recent alliance of the opposition parties under the banner of the Pakistan Democratic Movement.
Keeping all political differences aside, it is rather unfortunate that over the years politicians have been unable to come together in order to ameliorate the woes of the people; after all, that is their foremost duty. Instead, one witnesses an increased division within the political paradigm of Pakistan, further fueled by external forces. The situation has escalated to such an extent that it has not only bled into the very fabric of society by dividing citizens on multiple different fronts, but the breeding of intolerance as a result of this has taken on a rather violent form.
This preposition no longer remains theoretical, rather it has become a fact, a reality that we all are living in. The truth is that violence surrounds us, yet we remain alienated from it. And It is the banality of evil brought about by this alienation that leads to such horrendous social and political crimes.
Rehan Shakir
Islamabad
Published in The Express Tribune, October 1st, 2020.
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