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.
Threat to democracy
It is the responsibility of the government to assess the security concerns in the aftermath of the attack on Imran Khan’s long march. The question is not that the establishment, government or any other secret hands are behind the scene. Even Imran Khan’s own people can also be the masterminds. But the real question is that it is an imminent attack on democracy in the country. No doubt, it happened to Imran but tomorrow it can happen to Shahbaz as well.
Today a very peaceful and disciplined public march of Imran Khan was sabotaged by the anti-democrat outfits. In the same way, Shehbaz, Zardari and others can face the same worst situations in future as well. I think all these mishaps can cause a great loss to the internal and external security of Pakistan. In the backdrop of the same situation, national and international stakeholders have expressed great concern over the law and order situation in Pakistan which, no doubt, points to the instability of our country. For instance, the English cricket team has expressed concern over the prevailing situation in Pakistan. They are worried over the attack on the cricketer-turned-politician ahead of tour in December this year.
Let us suppose, in a country where an ex-PM’s life is not secure to carry out a peaceful procession, then how can a common man raise his head to press for his demands. At any cost, the federal government of Pakistan cannot seek a plea to get exemption from the ongoing unrest in the country. This is certainly a big blow and question mark for the leadership of the country.
These kinds of incidents can further weaken and destabilize the democratic institutions of Pakistan. Irrespective of political affiliation, we don’t give honour and respect to our leaders and legends of our country. Those social, political and religious leaders who brought a good name at all forums of the world indeed get nothing in return but tasted humiliation and disgrace at the end.
SHAUKAT HAYAT BUNERI
Chinglai Buner
No freedom of speech
It is painful and infuriating that the space for freedom of speech is shrinking and increasingly criminalized by the clueless, careless and corrupt ZANU-PF government and her reckless President Emmerson Mnangagwa who was instrumental in forcing out Zimbabwe’s autocratic former President Robert Mugabe in November 2017. Zimbabweans initially welcomed the change of no longer living under Mugabe’s 37-year rule. Under Mnangagwa’s leadership, dozens of people, opposition supporters, political activists, journalists, church leaders, trade union members and student leaders have been arrested and brought to court on charges that legal experts say amount to harassment and are reminiscent of the Mugabe days.
It is said “in Zimbabwe there is freedom of speech, but no freedom after the speech”. Journalists are really afraid that they might be killed for doing their job. Itai Dzamara disappeared in thin air after the Zimbabwean government pounced on him because of his aggressive, accurate, true reporting of the rogue Zimbabwean government. Hopewell Rugoho-Chin’ono, another Zimbabwean journalist, has been arrested several times for doing his job with excellence, distinction and success.
Award winning Zimbabwean author Tsitsi Dangarembga has been found guilty of staging a protest with the intent of inciting public violence. Dangarembga, a fierce critic of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government, was arrested in 2020 for marching while holding a placard demanding reforms. She was charged with her friend and colleague Julie Barnes who joined her in the protest. The world should not remain silent about bad things happening in Zimbabwe but should voice its concerns and expose the mismanagement of Zimbabwe by President Mnangagwa and his government.
CHARITY MAHUNI
London
Load-shedding
Load-shedding causes an unnecessary amount of stress and frustration for Pakistan. It’s time for us to work together to create solutions! Because of the high electricity demand, blackouts often occur. When our energy system cannot meet the growing demand in peak hours, we experience power cuts. People can’t work due to lack of electricity because they must leave work when their workplaces close because of this problem. We need a solution to this problem now.
One of Pakistan’s biggest challenges in energy is security of supply. Rural areas are the most severely affected. The situation is terrible in both rural and urban areas where the people are forced to suffer 4 to 10 hours load-shedding. But the officials continue to make tall claims of uninterrupted electricity supply.
The load-shedding has become permanent in Pakistan, which almost takes every sector of the population to suffer. In conclusion, load-shedding is a severe matter for the economy. Therefore, the government should try to find the correct formula to fix the problem without affecting ordinary citizens permanently.
RATIHA ILYAS
Karachi
