Much has been said and written about the utter lawlessness that prevails in the Pakistani State, but very little has been seen in terms of addressing the phenomenon in a concrete manner by either the politicians or any other organisation for that matter.
The current media campaign that has been launched against the corrupt practices of the politicians and leaders, despite severe lashing, has proved futile as the only objective it achieves is to heighten the angst that is already shrouding the souls of all Pakistanis who feel bereft of all hope and optimism.
Talks about a revolution, the Egyptian style, is being circulated and denounced simultaneously as a non-plausible option due to the various dissimilarities stated between both nations socio-political landscape, despite the massive appeal and temptation of the proposition.
All those that may benefit out of a chaotic situation in case of a revolution are busy counting the benefits of it while those threatened are calling it a no-no situation. Does anyone think about the collective communal good? Apparently, not!
Governance, or any other field, for that matter has become a political game in Pakistan that allows so much liberty to those at the higher echelons that manipulation and manoeuvring of the political structure according to personal needs and gains throws rationality out of the window to indulge in this addictive power play.
This leaves very little room for the trickle down of power to lower ranks or any sort of power sharing. It has to be complete unchallenged power for the leaders.
Therefore, we can safely assert that ground realities, despite continuous struggle on the part of the population that had stood in unison for General (Retd) Musharrafs ouster in the vain hope that democracy would be the ultimate solution to all their predicaments, provides no hope for a prosperous time ahead.
The absolute subservience of the US by the ex-military dictator was expected to be reversed by the formation of a democratic government that was aimed to propel the nation towards an economic uplift which need not be dependent so heavily upon the US aid money.
LUBNA UMAR
Islamabad