While addressing industrialists the other day, the governor Punjab told them that if staging sit-ins was a solution for power crisis, he too would join them. They are also in the nature of protests though unlike the traditional ones in which rallies are taken out. Staged for a good cause on a big scale, they can be of much utility.
When the governments go wayward such protests act as a wake up call for the rulers and their cronies to shake up their slumberous souls and make them realise the mess they have pushed the country into. The main purpose of this activism is to highlight the enormous crises ravaging the country, including corruption which is the mother of all evils.
Eventually, those wielding power, many a time, succumb to the pressures of the opposition and public wrath. But, adept as they are in the art of manoeuvring, they now resort to beneficial governance but that also mainly for preserving their power and ill-gotten wealth. Nevertheless, the country benefits too and it begins to see some light at the end of the tunnel because of changed strategy. So, Mr Governor, these sit-ins have the potential, among others, to ease the power problem. In the circumstances, will you not be their ardent supporter, the next time they are staged?
FAROOQ ZAMAN
Lahore
