Asad Hussain
THE people of Pakistan represent the long saga of sufferings. They witnessed sporadic waves of acute agonies and excruciation ranging from terrorist attacks, religious extremism, poverty, class differences, unavailability of justice, double digit inflation to political instability. These unbearable circumstances have pushed people to reinvigorate their last hopes by choosing Imran Khan to steer their national ship out of troubled waters to the safe shores and disentangle Pakistan from the snare of numerous dilemmas. However, the Pakistani public and youth have become disappointed from the performance of the incumbent government. One and half year have passed, but not an iota of change is visible. No doubt changes take time but clarity of objectives, policies and vision must be known to hoi polloi.
It is very strange that when your own home is in complete disorder, topsy-turvy and bedlam and you are on your expedition to solve the problem of your neighbours. This is what our dear premier is doing. Imran Khan is showing heroic qualities by mediating between the cross gulf rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran. He offered extensive visits to both the countries and asked them to resolve their guardian knot through peace talks. He further asked them that eruption of war would be a disastrous for not only for both the countries but also for Pakistan and the entire region and world at large. There is no denying the impression that this mediation would surely enhance Pakistan’s stature in the region but at this critical juncture when Pakistan is surrounded with plethora of problems bringing house in order would be the prime focus of Imran Khan and his team.
The reason deter for writing this piece is to remind Imran Khan to turn his face towards grave internal crisis emanating due to his callous behavior. The first and the foremost issue is the political instability when different political parties have planned for temblor in the Islamabad and chalking out their plans to deseat the premier. Maulana Fazlur Rehman, mainstream political parties and leading religious political parties are joining hands together and launched Azadi March. This situation could have dealt with deft political wisdom to ward off any danger to ongoing democratic process.
Moreover and more importantly the soaring prices of daily amenities and double digit inflation have increased societal stress where people are committing suicide to avoid hunger. Imran Khan had raised the slogan of change and promised for raising the standard of livings along with societal development .However; things went even worse in the current era. We do believe on the notion of change which requires time but putting the entire onus on the already fragile and frail public would surely bring resentment and hue and cry. In order to move forward the wheel of government, Imran Khan should take meticulous and painstaking measures to yield relief for the middle and poor classes of Pakistan. The said burden should be put on shoulder of elite class that has indulged in tax evasion for many years.
Moving the needle on another issue which needs serious attention and prompt resolution is the murder of merit in our society which has become a usual phenomenon. The youth bulge are getting degrees in a large number from public and private universities and are burning their midnight oil to clinch a position in any sector for their survival. But their whims, desires and hopes end in fiasco when they witness corruption, jobbery and favoritism in all public and government departments. Not only this, there are many test conducting agencies operational today like Allied Testing Service (ATS), National Testing Service (NTS) Open Testing Service (OTS) and many more and are indulged in Severe Corrupt Practices. Why can’t the PM take a firm stance on upholding the meritocracy by reforming federal public service commission and provincial test conducting agencies under his own aegis? This problem has more intensity and gravity to be resolved before mediating in the golf.
Furthermore, our society has become a home to several social problems only due to dearth of government attention. Doctors have boycotted to their services and are on the strike for a month or so. People are dying from dengue and rabies. Street crimes are in their record high rate in every city of Pakistan. Illegal police torture cells are being discovered and people are dying in the hands of police torture. Hundreds of people have died in train accidents but not even a single safety measure is adopted. Now, could any prudent person would mediate in others affairs when his own house is in complete disorder, shambles and flux? It is therefore, high time for the government in charge to streamline the troubling waves through incorporating numerous change oriented measures (in true sense) to yield certain level of relief to the suffering public. Overhauling dilapidated state of affair in Pakistan would be the choice of incumbent government rather solving other’s issue.
— The writer is a freelance columnist based in Quetta.
