LAST couple of years have witnessed an unprec edented political polarisation in the country, as People becoming oblivious of their genuine demands and instead getting entangled in political feuds with their own kith and kin. Having or showing political affiliationis a form of a is a healthy sign in a democratic dispensation but it becomes an ignominy when it incorporates an element of jingoism. The jingoist adherence refers to the feeling when a member of a political party considers his affiliation to be an ultimate reality free from evils all others are secondary and often fallacious . This sort of attitude has become a norm in this complex Pakistani society which has marred the essence of democratic dispensation. This phenomena has shrinked the space for the difference of opinion to exist. The constant polarization on the political stage in Pakistan has grown to the extent that the country’s top political leadership have brought the politics to a lowest of ebb. It appears that the politics in Pakistan has become sort of personal enmity rather than a stage where the politicians could stir up the political debates, visions and manifestos to serve interests of the people in a best possible way. Since the entire state apparatus is solely concerned with the current political mess, the more pressing issues in the country remain dormant, unaddressed and at the same time even unnoticed to the discourse of media. Amongst them the one which requires the immediate attention is soaring prices of commodities which have been at free flow since last several months. Not to speak of the lower class, the economic melt down of the country has propelled even to the salaried and middle class into a more challenging circumstances where they can hardly manage to fulfill their daily needs. Economic situation in the country has depreciated to a level that it has become almost impossible for the daily wage workers to bring the square meal at the table to fulfill their stomachs let alone the other household necessities required for them and their children. It is the economic stagnancy of the country that forced the unfortunate Pakistanis to leave the country for a better future in Europe; for, they lost their precious lives when the ship capsized near Greece recently.
Not to mention the economy of Pakistan, the climate change in the country has posed a severe threat to the future of our coming generations. Knowing the drastic impacts of the climate catastrophe, the authorities are still unable to mend their ways. The policy formulation in Pakistan seems totally unconcerned to the growing demands of climatic changes which is evident from the fact that there has been set no any mechanism to adjust the climate policy to grassroots level which is the only way to curtain its impacts to a considerable level. The political parties, with their petty interests, are more focused on settling their political scores rather than raising the common man issues such as climate, poverty, unemployment and the establishment of just society. Ironically, the media – considered the fourth pillar of the state- throughout the years has been playing more at the hands of political forces rather than raising the genuine public issues that our society is confronting with.
Several times after the turn of millennium, Pakistan has confronted with the natural calamities raising havoc at a massive level. For example floods, earthquakes, and droughts at unprecedented frequency must be sufficient to awake the political governments from the slumber. Lets take floods in the country which killed hundreds and thousands of people, displaced them at a mass level.These events have killed, displaced millions of people and bred several other social and economic issues for the country. As the elitist political class in the country is not directly impacted from these events thus they do not realize any urgency to take necessary step. Floods in 2022 serve as the latest in the series of floods in Pakistan. The one third of the country was under water resulting a huge economic and human loss. Even after such an eye-opener, the climate ,being the existential threat, does not yield that much urgency. Pakistan, like many other countries, has experienced a significant increase in population growth since its inception due to insufficient and inefficient policies of the successive governments. Currently we stand as the fifth most populous country in the world. This massive increase in population has brought about various social and economic challenges, particularly in relation to food shortage and the provision of basic facilities. Population growth has made Pakistan vulnerable to the natural as well as man-made crisis which has resulted the economic stagnancy, political chaos, social immobility and ecological dilemmas. Bad governance accompanied with rapid growth in population has exerted increased pressure on already meager natural resources which have proved insufficient to acclimatize the influx of huge number of people each year. Eventually, the youth which formulates more than 65 percent of the total population is facing the dearth of employment opportunities and also they are exposed to many social evils if they are not properly integrated into the system.Our political leadership must set out some rules of the game that these important issues central to our survival are not affected by their political scuffles and instability. The long-term policies addressing these existential threats must be executed and be integrated to grass-root levels. Our authorities need to realize this phenomenon as quickly as possible otherwise the future seems truly discouraging.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Islamabad
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