There is a famous saying: “…..merit wins the soul”. But unfortunately, Pakistan is country where patronage of corruption, nepotism and recommendation culture has become order of the day and there is no room for meritocracy. However, Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif rightly boasts of merit and transparency in the province as he has rejected an advice of relaxing the rules to get his grandson admitted to Aitchison College. Following his grandson’s failure, the CM has rejected an idea to use his authority and by doing so he has set another precedent of merit. Moreover, the CM also made a phone call to Aitchison College principal Michael Thomson and commended him for maintaining merit. It should be kept in mind that two years ago, the CM did the same to promote the culture of merit when the grandson of his brother Mian Muhammad Abbas Sharif failed to get admission to Aitchison College. The sufficiency of merit is to know that my merit is not sufficient and the CM has acknowledged this fact for his grandson. The decision by the CM not to alter the rules is a welcome step as we all should try to succeed by merit and not by favor. It should be kept in mind that there is merit without elevation but there is no elevation without some merit. The others should also follow the suit of CM Punjab because if our rulers win our souls on the score of merit then we will be on the way to progress and prosperity.
Syed Ali Qasim
Lahore
