Our rulers, whenever noose is tightened around their necks on charges of corruption, they use their valid card 50/50.
HUB: This is in response to the article “Living through history” by Shamshad Ahmad (August 30).
If we compare our grotesque, cunning and demagogue leaders with Socrates and his impeccable arguments for removal of corrupt rulers, we must be making a big mistake.
History shows that most of our rulers have not been true to the common people. In a true democracy, personal interest is sacrificed for the national interest, but here matters lie beyond this. We see that our rulers are self-serving and selfish. Socrates, knowing about his imminent execution on the basis of false charges of corruption preferred to die for the sake of the state and supreme truth.
Either our present political impasse crave for a true Socrates, or Qadri and Imran have a firm determination, as Socrates had, to bring a downtrodden nation out of troubles that are mainly the making of our demagogues.
The answer to this query is quite bitter. Socrates is known as ‘a man who died for truth’. He sacrificed himself to uphold truth, but what we are seeing in our ongoing war against injustice and corruption that innocent people are being misled while our so-called modern-day Socrates operate out of bullet-proof containers and make their supporters dance and sing.
Socrates was charged with corrupting the youth and for not acquiescing to corrupt notorious gods. In the case of our rulers, whenever the noose is tightened around their necks on charges of corruption, they utilise their valid card 50/50 (dual nationality) and flee the scene.
Ayaz Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, September 6th, 2014.
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