People pin hopes on change for democracy, development

Need to link future of the country with sincere and educated leadership

LAHORE: People have high hopes with General Elections 2018. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) are seen as the major players in the arena of what many people see as the most anticipated elections of the country.

Ghulam Fareed, who works for a newly established private dental college in Bahawalpur, said youth were taking more interest in politics and wanted to play their role in shaping the future of the country.

“My father used to tell me that we would be living a better life soon. But we are still living the same miserable life. I have seen nothing but tall claims and broken promises,” he said.

“Now the youth of Pakistan is more aware and educated about the political issues of the country. Thanks to the social media, people living even in remote areas of the province. We need more educated people.” He was of the view that only sincere and energetic leadership would be able to bring prosperity and development in the country.



“PTI is the harbinger of real change. It will ultimately change the course of politics in Pakistan. I am quite hopeful that this time something new will emerge in the political scenario of the country,” he said.

Muhammad Aslam, a teacher by trade, said religio-political parties would play an important role in the polls. “I believe religious parties have more vote bank in rural areas. Also, people are made bound not to vote for a candidate of any other caste.

“These people are woven in a caste system. A real change will not come until these people start thinking above this caste and baradari system,” he said.

He said the alliance of religious parties would greatly dent the vote bank of PML-N as the previous government faced a number of controversies and had to come terms with the powerful movements which triggered protests across the country.



Muhammad Rizwan, a salesperson at a cloth store in Faisalabad, admitted that PTI would give a tough time to PML-N in elections. “I am a staunch supporter of PML-N and I will cast my vote for it, however, I can see that that PTI has become very popular in Faisalabad in short span,” he said.

“Business community in the city supports PML-N due to its business-friendly policies while the youth and educated class support PTI. Traders believe that PTI leadership knows little about trade and commerce while PML-N has a very experienced team. Their policies have given a boost to the trade in the country,” he remarked.

Tahir Umar, an IT expert at a public sector university at Sargodha, said political awareness in Pakistan was growing fast which, according to him, was a good omen for the nation. “I believe Pakistan is moving in the right direction and democracy is taking its root in the country,” he said while expressing his optimism in the process of election.

“A complete change in political thought and scenario will take time. It may be server years. Now the educated people should be given a chance to lead the country.”