KHUSHAB:
Disasters can be a blessing in disguise as they can unite the entire nation to face calamities together. Ordinary citizens generously contribute, whatever they have, to support their fellow brethren in times of crisis. Despite having minimal support from state machinery, ordinary citizens, including overseas Pakistanis, manage to provide food and shelter to those affected. However, the state always fails miserably to effectively direct a massive potential of selfless devotion of ordinary citizens. According to media reports, expatriates in the US seem reluctant to send donations for flood victims to the government, casting doubts on the transparent disbursement of funds.
Considering that overseas Pakistanis are critical in supporting the fragile economy, this should serve as a wakeup call for the authorities because their eroding credibility is losing us an asset. The country is also faced with an acute crisis of charismatic leadership that can show a way beyond the seemingly dead tunnel. Even a crisis of this scale and intensity could not bring political parties on a single page to carve a way to tackle the problem unitedly. The government and opposition spare no opportunity to malign each other in these testing times. The government’s reluctance to invite the PTI to the All Parties Conference (APC) to brainstorm strategies to mitigate the crisis is worrisome. Similarly, some PTI leaders can be blamed for their irresponsible attitude as they requested overseas Pakistanis to not send donations to the government. Failure of political forces to unite at this critical juncture will further polarise the society and erode citizens’ trust in the political process.
