National integration
Various obstacles hinder national integration in Pakistan. First, the political leaders are involved to politicise national and local problems of the common man for no reason except for personal political consideration.
Second, they betray common people and exploit their sentiments. Third, they overlook the well-being of their electors and are involved to satisfy their own vested interests.
They are engaged to make laws for protection of their own interests. Fourth, the political leaders and political parties are also engaged in blame-shift game and none of these are ready to shoulder responsibility for the repercussions of its policies.
Fifth, political leaders also rely upon ethnic-based politics to broaden their vote bank. Unfortunately they lack national outlook.
Sixth, they prefer confrontational politics instead of politics of reconciliation and cooperation based upon democratic principles and meritocracy.
Eight, the political leaders are engaged in brainwashing the minds of students in academic institutions especially universities and create hate in their minds against their fellow beings and security agencies of Pakistan for political scoring.
Lastly, the political parties lack a sustainable economic policy which leads them to rely on aid from International Financial Institutions like World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and International Monetary Fund.
The governments in Pakistan pay the loans but fail to pay the interests on those loans. The government for this reason maximise the tax base by levying huge taxes on common people which further exacerbate their miseries and also leads to poverty instead of poverty alleviation.
These issues gravely caused political and instability in Pakistan. It is high time to take serious notice of the historical political blunders and those of current ones to come out of political and economic turmoil and to make Pakistan politically and ultimately economically stable so as to establish a true welfare state wherein the common man enjoys political, social, and economic justice.
The political leaders need to come on table to design a sustainable economic policy to get rid of Global Monetary Institutions’ clutches.
The government needs to stop to issue fund to legislators because their main job is to legislate for the welfare of the people.
Accountability must be ensured across the board. Political victimisation needs to be stopped.
The local people must be made the part of local projects so as to address the grievances of the local people.
The national institutions and organisations like Pakistan Railway, Pakistan International Airline and Pakistan Steel Mill etc must be strengthened and their losses must be addressed through comprehensive policies.
The political leaders must resolve their political issues on the floor of Parliament instead of roads through agitation and confrontation.
The political leaders need to stop politicise the security agencies like Pakistan Army and Inter-Services Intelligence because it pollicisation of these agencies will damage the morale of Jawan deputed on national border to safeguard his people against external aggression and threat.
In the nut shell, it can be said that ‘God does not change the fate of those who do not strive to change by themselves’.
Nothing is impossible but strong resolve and will is needed. We therefore need to think and act as Pakistani; and to vow to live and die in Pakistan.
The writer is Chairman, Department of Political Science, Islamia College University Peshawar (ICP).
