General Raheel Sharif has done a commendable job establishing peace in Pakistan but what will happen once he retires?
KARACHI: Pakistan has gone through long periods of military rule in its nearly 70-year history. Whenever we’ve had periods of democratic rule, we saw the same old politicians being elected repeatedly, thereby undermining the country’s progress towards change and development. If we look back into history, we’ll see that Pakistan has experienced economic stability mostly under military rule. On the other hand, so-called democratic rule has always brought with it political turmoil. Several political parties point fingers at ex-president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf for creating many of the issues that now blight the country, leaving it in its current, miserable state. Yet, if we analyse the situation on a broader spectrum, it is evident that the country prospered under his rule. During his regime, there was an influx of foreign investment and the crime rate was low.
In contrast, when the PPP took over, we saw things going from bad to worse. Is this the kind of democracy we want? I believe that the responsibility of any government is to provide people with basic necessities and the chance to lead dignified lives. This is not happening at the moment. I, at times, wonder what direction are we heading towards, and will we ever be able to get out of this turmoil?
In my opinion, the current Army Chief, General Raheel Sharif, has done a commendable job in establishing peace in many parts of Pakistan, but what will happen once he retires? Countless issues are still to be addressed and many, in fact, require urgent attention. We cannot continue relying on the military to solve all our problems despite the weaknesses of civilian rule. I have observed many young people who have the potential to lead this country towards prosperity. But how will they ever manage to do so if they are not affiliated with a political party? What we need is a democracy that enables candidates from all social and income strata to stand for elections so that they have the opportunity to serve their country honestly.
Samar Ansari
Published in The Express Tribune, September 18th, 2015.
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