All people retire. Normally sportsmen retire very early in their lives. Soldiers, mine workers and truck drivers follow suit. Then are the white collared professionals, who retire around 60, after a long innings. But there is still a category which never retires at all, these are called politicians. Faces on political scene hardly ever change. Out of all professions, politics affords a career spanning 60 to 70 years of activity, which doesn’t necessarily include any positive contribution to the society.
If politicians agree to the proposition of voluntary retirement, it would benefit them in many ways. First of all, they would be able to speak what is right, not what the party line says. Second, they can sit idle and go through self-analysis, arriving at their mistakes and short-comings while they were professionally active. Third, they can face the ghost of their waning popularity among the people by their cold response to a retired politician. Lastly, they can write their memoirs for the benefit or guidance of future generations. In Pakistan, very few politicians write their life experiences to benefit others or to set the historical record straight. This tradition needs to be broken, and for that retirement is necessary.
It is thus suggested that retirement age for politicians should be fixed at 70 years, without any provision for waiver. This may also clear the mist of disappointment prevailing over the political scene.
Farrukh Shahab
Lahore
