Articles and letters may be edited for the purposes of clarity and space. They are published in good faith with a view to enlightening all the stakeholders. However, the contents of these writings may not necessarily match the views of the newspaper.
In the line
of fire
As the country appears well on its way to becoming another Sri Lanka, the political chaos is only pushing us further along this path. The ruling of Deputy Speaker Punjab Assembly Dost Muhammad Mazari has aggravated political tension to an all-time high.
High taxes, a rupee at record lows, skyrocketing inflation and other alarming developments are going to push the majority of the country’s population below the poverty line, if not dealt with immediately. A country cannot attain stability and prosperity if its top political institutions continue to function like a turntable; the only consistency is inconsistency.
State institutions must mend their myopic policies and political leaders must work together for long-term political stability. A country in the line of fire cannot be developed and prosper unless the speakers stop turning the table at the last minute. Care about the Constitution. The nation also needs to come together to never let democracy subvert.
One of the reasons Pakistan is behind in all aspects is that Pakistani society runs through bribes, no work gets done sans money; it is not hearsay, but rather reality since the entire nation witnessed the nasty game of horse-trading. What is happening these days in the country, would just aggravate the injuries, fuel the economic meltdown and hinder the socio-economic fronts. Pakistan should learn from its own past as well as from the prevailing crisis in Sri Lanka.
INSAF ALI BANGWAR
Kandhkot
Pawn more powerful than king!
Chess is a game which teaches many lessons. Look beyond the obvious, looks can be deceptive total squares in chess board are 204 and not the obvious 64. Evaluate a problem with a 360 degree approach whether impending economic crisis or health problem at a smaller level.
Sometimes you have to take steps backward to gain advantage to move forward, but to win you have to make a move and once we make a move we don’t have control over the opponent’s move, he too has his winning strategy.
Life is unpredictable, new problems come at every stage. A batsman comes to the crease to hit100 but Plan-A could fail; anticipate, adapt and adopt Plan-B. If we are too rigid, remember straight trees are cut.
Well-placed pawn is more powerful than a king. Networking with people at all levels has won elections. If strategy is correct, in a well-calculated move – Queen is Sacrificed Game is won! (Bobby Fischer)
T S KARTHIK
Kilpauk Chennai
Aligning media and education
“We speak and write, what we see and hear.” If this notion, considered to be somewhat true than no wonder, we will remain a third world country even the doomsday befalls. The point I want to raise here is the pathetic and problematic content we, Pakistani, have been watching and listening, for years. Speaking specifically about the content on television as it is still the largest source of entertainment for middle and lower income classes of Pakistan. Mainly, we have three categories of the television channels here in Pakistan: national news, entertainment and Islamic channels.
The national news channels, loaded with the continuous unwanted political – dare I say- ranting round the clock, surely do serve a purpose of manipulating narratives. Next comes the flag-bearers of entertainment from which most of the channels bombard the audience with pity kitchen politics or a maniac macho hero who functioned as antagonist till the last episode. However, Islamic channels doing their job of educating the masses about Quran and Shariah fair enough. It is a high time to revitalize the viewers of Pakistan with a breath of fresh air.
Media could be used as a tool to educate the masses if proper attention given to the opportunities it bore. As the pursuit of education has nothing to do with age likewise it is not confined to the classroom learning. There are several issues which can be addressed by the medium through documentaries and programs such as need of women education and financial independence, necessity of family planning and how to take care of mental health.
Our news channels have potential to address these matters with the industries specialist so that a layman could understand it comprehensively. In the same vein, introduction of agriculture programs focused on educating the farmers that in what ways they can increase the yield per area and comparative analysis of traditional and latest methods of farming would be a win-win step forward.
ZARQUM GUL
Via email
Say no to plastic
Plastic pollution is one of the most threatening issues the world is facing today. It has become one of the most utilizing substances. It is seen everywhere from supermarkets to common households.
Why is that? Why is the use of plastic on the rise instead of decreasing? The cardinal motive is that plastic is very economical. Its worth is lesser than other alternatives like paper and clothes. We see that plastic is non-biodegradable material; it does not leave the face of earth. The more use of plastic means uprise of plastic pollution at an alarming rate.
Plastic pollution is affecting the whole earth; including mankind, wildlife and aquatic life. We must have to envision the harmful impact of it on our life so as to avert it as soon as possible. Every year tonnes of plastic are dumped into the ocean, it remains in the water thereby hampering its purity. This means we won’t be left with clean water in the coming years. It also ruins the fertility of soil, causing deadly illnesses.
The plastic litter in the water is mistaken for food by aquatic animals. They eat it and die eventually. For instance, a dolphin died of starvation due to the plastic ring stuck in its mouth. We must take major steps to prevent it. Switching to using eco-friendly products would be a good start.
It is not something that can be ended in a day, but it would be possible to make our planet safer if we could join hands and inspire everyone to take one step forward and ‘Say No to plastic’.
It is pertinent to mention here that the government had banned the use of shoppers in the capital territory of Islamabad, initially it worked well but slowly the ban is not practised and the shopkeepers have thrown it (ban) in the dustbin.
MARYAM NAVEED
Chakwal
