By Sardar Khan Niazi
The majority of the people are edgy for change, which is a positive development but is disheartened. They think the next elections will not deliver any healthier government if political leadership does not accept diversity and broad-mindedness for the other view and permits this to take root.
Persistent attack on senior political leadership truly weakens the country’s image, dampens foreign and local investments, and ruins people’s faith in democracy.
Academics and anxious citizens expressing their concerns in small groups, occasionally speaking or writing can barely have any effect. The political stories have to alter, which pursue solutions not exacerbate problems since the most horrible sufferer of this stalemate is underprivileged.
The biased treatment of some media persons and personalities who censure the government is a sign of the lack of confidence of the people in power and the deep conflicts that split our society.
How long will we keep going downhill or take a negative approach by according high priority to lower bigotry and bitterness? For diversity in political and economic approaches, we should set standards while looking for workable solutions that move the country forward.
The political leaders never bother to think why the fight for power has descended on the streets. Everyone knows well that in politics, there is always competition for power but the limits both legal and traditional should guide politicians in their conduct.
Following these limits can strengthen democracy, raise the image of the politicians in the eyes of their supporters, and create an environment that contributes to growth and development.
Political leaders must not brand their opponents as evil, criminal, wicked, corrupt, and unscrupulous. They should understand that it is for the courts to decide who is who. On the other hand, the media is generally engrossed in its coverage to address unimportant issues. This is not the ideal state of affairs and it should not exist.
Ever since its birth, our dear homeland Pakistan has been facing different kinds of problems and some strange circumstances that required national leaders to rise to the challenge. Apart from the short-term period when the Founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah ruled the country, many leaders have not been up to the mark and remained indecisive about the future course of the country.
After seventy-five years of existence, our politics remains extremely quarrelsome, and the country’s economy is heavily dependent on foreign assistance and faces serious strategic dilemmas.
Despite scheming, backstabbing, and letting each other down, the political leaders can still find a way to get along. The common perception is that greed for power is strong enough to tear their bond apart. All the political parties including Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) should prefer the welfare of the people and not power, the centerpiece of the political struggle these days.
Of course, no single political party can bring the country out of economic despair; it has to be a collective act. The only path left for all political parties is to join hands and build actual democracy in the country in all three tiers of governance, national, provincial, and local.
Under these circumstances, we require politics that can heal the wounds of the past and present; and brings calm and sanity in order to address the issues of poverty, unemployment, education, health, law and order, and other problems.
In this regard, the government and opposition have a major role to play and so have the private sector and institutions that influence the thinking of the people and provide direction. The political parties must shun acrimony, rancor, hostility, and ill will and develop unity among themselves. This is only possible when politicians make the well-being of the people their common goal.
