In today’s noisy world, everyone wants to speak, but very few want to listen. Our conversations have turned into competitions — each person trying to win rather than understand. Whether in politics, homes, classrooms or social media, real listening has become rare.
Listening is not silence; it is respect. It means giving space to another voice, even when we disagree. When we listen, we learn. When we stop listening, we assume; and assumptions destroy relationships, decisions, and even nations.
Pakistan today suffers from this silence of understanding. Politicians shout over each other, citizens argue online, and students are told what to think instead of being asked what they feel. We have replaced dialogue with division. The result is mistrust.
True progress begins with empathy. A teacher who listens can save a student from despair. A leader who listens can prevent unrest. A parent who listens can heal a child’s fear. Listening costs nothing, yet it can rebuild the bridges that pride and anger have broken.
Our country does not need louder voices; it needs wiser ears. If we begin to listen — to the poor, to the young, to the unheard — we may finally discover the unity we keep talking about but rarely practise.
Silence is powerful only when it is filled with understanding. The change we need will not come from speeches but from moments of honest listening.
Dua Mahmood
Sukkur
