KARACHI:
Elections in Pakistan are celebrated as a national event. In every nook and corner of the country, people looked forward to the day with excitement. This year the spirit continued. Before the D-day, the campaigns were in full swing and the excitement was evident from the use of loudspeakers playing party anthems, rallies, corner meetings, etc. The day arrived and has gone. The government has sworn in. Now what?
Now is the time to think and act for the country. It is time to wake up from the deep slumber of apathy and stop mass migration and brain drain from Pakistan. Nobody wants to live a life of deprivation, not especially the youth. The future is bleak for us; neither the education nor employment opportunities are promising enough to assure us of a sophisticated life in Pakistan. Corruption has plagued both the domains and we can neither fight nor flight.
When compared with other South Asian countries in the region, we realise how well the countries as old as ours are doing. Not only that the economic and political stability has enabled those countries to support their youth nationally, but also do they have dedicated youth support systems to fund them abroad. The people of Pakistan should not bear the brunt of political victimisation and vengeance. We cannot bring up our children to abuse and revenge that has become a norm. The focus should be on performance appraisal rather than belittling the predecessors.
It is an urgent plea to address the root causes of the problems of Pakistan instead of waiting for the storm to pass by and then working for rehabilitation. The media should also play its role in mainstreaming the debilitating problems of Pakistan. Prime-time talk shows which are out of intellectual content, should invite incumbent leaders to debate on possible plans and strategies to pull Pakistan from the abysmal socio-economic condition.
Just as the phoenix rises from the ashes, it’s time for national leadership to bury the hatchet and start afresh.
Sidra Shahid
Karachi
Published in The Express Tribune, April 3rd, 2024.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
