Of lives and limbs

PAU, FRANCE: The current democratic set-up has completed its tenure and the nation is going into fresh elections to be held on May 11. This is a time for taking stock of the government’s overall performance. The print and electronic media is pointing out many serious shortcomings of the federal and provincial governments: the power crisis, the natural gas and CNG rationing, the never-ending price hikes, the stagnant economy, corruption, mismanagement, misplaced priorities, health disasters, etc. However, the first and foremost responsibility of the state is to ensure the life and property of its citizens and that is the basic criterion for judging a government’s performance.

The record in this regard, I am afraid, is a complete failure. Terrorism, sectarian violence, gang warfare and homicides in these five years have taken more lives than ever before. While our leaders have been busy politicking and emptying state coffers, Pakistan has been bleeding evermore. Never was so much blood spilled in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa at the hands of terrorists. Never were our Shia and Christian fellow citizens harassed and brutalised all over the country to the extent that we have witnessed in these years. Whether it was due to general cluelessness, inability and indifference of the government in the centre, or the connivance and tacit acquiescence with sectarian and terrorist groups by the Punjab and Sindh governments, the outgoing governments have failed in performing their primary duty and deserve a big “F” in this regard.

Dr Mazhar Mughal

Published in The Express Tribune, March 22^nd, 2013.