Nothing is sacred anymore

KARACHI: This is with reference to Naveen Naqvi’s “Nothing is sacred anymore” (July 3). I’d like to ask a question: if a sweeper was paid to sweep autumn leaves off the roads, that is, he had a steady source of income to feed his family, would he have the time or inclination to succumb to the propaganda of militant groups? Probably not; so, it’s evident that the lack of education facilities and unequal opportunities are responsible for our country’s predicament. In all probability, most of us will not be able to see the fruits of any efforts to improve access to education or reduce income disparity, yet, it’s imperative that we focus our energies towards these activities for the sake of our future generations. Why are educated people naïve enough to yearn for the return of a former dictator? He was given eleven years but what was the result? His regime, for all its rhetoric, did nothing concrete for rooting out terrorists.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 6^th, 2010.