Pre-election stunts

A trend resurfaces every five years prior to the election season in Pakistan, when politicians shamelessly boast of providing basic necessities -- a task they conveniently forget upon assuming office and thereafter. In the run-up to elections, they scurry around cities implementing some pre-existing law or the other (Section 144 in Karachi, for example) – which, again, was their responsibility to enforce. The competition between political parties becomes fierce and the players lose character. There is vast hypocrisy where they speak highly of their morals and ethics, yet their actions vehemently question the same.

Whereas politicians are least bothered about the tragedies that affect citizens in their tenure, their rehearsed melodrama is for all the world to see. An example of this came following Karachi’s Hawkesbay drowning tragedy, in which 12 members of one extended family lost their lives when a fierce tide engulfed them. While Edhi ambulance and its other philanthropic services were employed as reported in media, video footage at the funeral prayer showed the number of ambulances exceeded the figure of 11 for whom the prayers were offered, with the prominence of a second ambulance service suddenly appearing and parking its vehicles in front of the congregation. The latter ambulance company is allegedly affiliated with a major political party in Karachi. Secondly, some have claimed that the same company replaced Edhi shrouds with their own sheets over the deceased in a cheap attempt at publicity, along with allegations that they attempted to transport some of the bodies in their own ambulances, which is akin to theft. Unfortunately, political organisations interpret tragedies as opportunities for point-scoring. Although when a tragedy strikes, interviewed family members of victims can see through the theatrics of politicians, it is hoped that their publicity stunts do not fool the majority again.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 18^th, 2017.

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