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.
Students and suicide
Pakistan is among the countries where students committing suicide is not an uncommon phenomenon. The World Health Organisation (WHO) asserted in a report that every year more than 15,000 suicide cases are recorded in Pakistan.
Around 25pc of the cases involve teenagers. Despite the religious injunctions discouraging such a path, people still opt to take that route owing to the perceived darkness in their lives.
As far as the students are concerned, family and peer pressure often lead the list of reasons behind such darkness. Life is not all about getting good grades and admission to this institution or that. For some strange reason, we put so much pressure on our young ones that when they fail to touch the bar we set for them in our own misplaced enthusiasm, they feel bad on two counts: their failure and disappointment of letting the family down. The impressionable, emotionally-unstable age, in which the students happen to be, trauma becomes too big to handle for them on their own.
It is time parents and society realise the pitfalls of putting unnecessary burden on fragile minds. Not everyone is born to do whatever the parents decide or what society values. Academic excellence and intelligence is not always the same thing even if we have made them synonymous in our minds. Students should gain education on the basis of their interest level, not under the burden of one pressure or the other.
ABID ALI
Karachi
Extremism and lack of respect
Pakistan’s increasing radicalism and disregard for cultural differences has been creating extreme chaos. It is depressing to observe the rise in acts of violence, prejudice and intolerance against people of various racial, religious and ideological backgrounds. Pakistan is a multicultural nation with a deep cultural history. Nevertheless, certain individuals and groups in our society are encouraging hatred and separation rather than appreciating and accepting this diversity. In addition to endangering the unity and stability of our nation, this also violates fundamental human rights.
Extremist organisations frequently use religion as a justification for their activities and as a means of forcing their ideas on others. This not only contradicts the real principles of Islam, but it also pushes minorities out of the mainstream and fosters an atmosphere of distrust and dread. Regardless of someone’s origin, we must foster a culture that values diversity and tolerance. Only education, public awareness campaigns and the provision of forums for interfaith and interethnic discourse will be able to accomplish this.
The government must also take a firm stand against extremist organisations and make sure that they are not permitted to disseminate their hateful and intolerant ideologies. This necessitates the adoption of regulations that uphold the rights of all individuals and sanction discriminatory behaviour.
In conclusion, there is a fundamental problem that needs to be addressed with the emergence of extremism and a disregard for differences. The government must act forcefully to defend the rights of all individuals and society as a whole must seek to foster a culture of tolerance and respect for variety.
ARFA BATOOL
Karachi
Not all good ideas can be executed
A good idea that can’t be executed is a bad idea. These are the shoes that don’t fit and never will. We have amazing ideas for climate change. Is only a good idea needed to change the climate game? No, we need a proper channel and planning for it that will align with our scenario. The execution channel is so underrated in our country. We all do have good ideas which are in action internationally but are inactive in Pakistan.
We need to mend our ways to get the different shiny rays. Marcelo said, “An idea without execution is the same as a hallucination”. We all are aware of hallucination. It’s nothing just an illusion. Do we wait to get things better when we are the leaders? We need to take responsibility. Pakistan is predicted to get heavy rain from the previous year. We need to heed this because we aren’t able to beat the effects of climate change.
This makes our country’s bones hollow which mean no strength at all. Do we have a proper channel for this? Water channels are filled with dump instead of giving channels to water. Are they contributing to alarming situations? Or they can make the bad situation worse. Are our riverine areas clean?
Good ideas fail because expense, expertise, complexity, skilled people and logistic parameters are not well defined. They must be planned and prepared before execution. Pakistan suffered a lot due to climate change and will suffer more according to predictions. The bad decision of leaders places Pakistan on edge.
Making a bad decision on the occasion is inevitable. Compounding a bad decision by following it with an idiotic choice is a lack of discipline. It’s high time to resolve this climate change and join hands together for a better future. The sooner we discard the idea, the more quickly we can turn our attention to ideas with power. We need to change the thought; dynamics will take care of itself.
ARISHA
Karachi
Box letter
Traffic problem
As a student at the UoK, I am personally experiencing the traffic situation on University Road getting worse day by day, partly due to the construction of the Red Line Mass Transit Project swallowing up half the road on both sides. With the predicted rainy season upon us, I’m really worried about the escalating problems and the increased risk of accidents. Heavy rainfall makes the roads more congested, flooded and downright dangerous. As exams are approaching, we, the students, cannot afford to miss our crucial classes. It’s frustrating to see that the university administration has banned online classes, leaving students with no choice but to attend in-person classes despite the hazardous road conditions. What’s more, the university buses (aka points) are already overcrowded making it even harder for students to find safe and reliable transportation. I wish the university administration would really reconsider its stance on online classes and explore remote learning options during this period. This would not only ease the pressure on students navigating dangerous road conditions but also reduce the overcrowding of university buses, promoting a safer environment for everyone.
M SUHEER BAIG
Karachi
