Elite power grab

Letter May 15, 2024
Elite power grab

KARACHI:

Elite power structure is so deeply entrenched in Pakistan that it does not allow any change or reform to take place. The country’s elites — including politicians, civil and military bureaucrats, landlords, capitalists, etc — remain inimical to any change and always resist reforms fearing that they will erode their power and influence. The ruling elites make constitutional amendments for self-serving reasons. Instead of removing systemic weaknesses, they have turned provincial setups into their kingdoms to rule in decadent Mughals style. Today, we find a tainted picture of our nation — one mutilated, disjointed and plundered by its own rulers.

The culture of giving preferential treatment to the privileged class and considering them above the law is rife in our country. As a nation, we can’t leave ourselves to the vagaries of time or at the mercy of systemic aberrations. Things cannot be allowed to go ahead like this. We, as a nation, will have to make a serious effort to set things right. There is need for a meaningful national dialogue, involving all stakeholders, to carry out political, economic, judicial, educational and administrative reforms.

Shafi Ahmed Khowaja

Hyderabad

Published in The Express Tribune, May 15th, 2024.

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