Political Imbroglio

The people surrounded by lot of difficulties and troubles seem to have gone conscious politically thereby expecting reasonably good performance from the politicians in connection with bringing an end to their problems.

Progress of a nation hinges on the dedicated political leadership who amid the heavy odds clothes the dreams of its disgruntled people with the flesh and blood of realty. It is the leadership who yanks the people out of the dark valley of backwardness to the highway of progress and prosperity by setting its priorities right and becoming highly responsive to the requirements of the circumstances. Sadly, Pakistan has been devoid of such leadership since its very inception. Resultantly 60-plus years down the road, we are still standing at the cross-roads knowing nothing as to what exactly is the path to tread on.

With the advent of free media in Pakistan, the first decade of 21st century has witnessed a marked change in the thinking of the people towards the issues affecting their lives. It was expected that the chequered political history and the changed attitude of the people would ultimately force the politicians to mend their ways. Contrarily, the recent political developments have proved this to be otherwise.

At present the people and the politicians are moving in opposite directions. The people surrounded by lot of difficulties and troubles seem to have gone conscious politically thereby expecting reasonably good performance from the politicians in connection with bringing an end to their problems. This increased awareness among the people would determine the future course of actions in Pakistan. The politicians, on the other hand, seem to be oblivious of the fact that the people can no longer be pacified by mere rhetoric.

The recent political wheeling and dealing and bad mouthing of politicians against each other is indicative of the perception that perhaps they have not learnt any lesson from the past. The issues troubling the nation are same on the whole as they were when the present political dispensation took over the charge of the affairs. The criminal silence of all the leading political parties and their habitual tendency of making the hay while the sun shines has further aggravated the situation.

Now the elections approaching nearer, the political parties are engaged in point scoring leaving decency and national interests apart. The prevailing circumstances demand maturity and statesmanship on the part of our political elite but it seems to be nothing but a pipe dream. They have not budged even an inch from their self centered policies. The things have come to such a pass that no responsible person can remain indifferent to the issues our nation is faced with.

There is no denying the fact that we as a nation are in habit of putting our responsibilities on others’ shoulders and blaming others for the wrongs happened to us. The politicians are responsible for the mess we are in but to what extent? Are not the people equally responsible? Have we ever raised ourselves above our parochial interests while casting our vote? Do all of us go to the polling stations to get our vote counted?  Have we ever taken it our national duty to motivate the people to be part of political process by electing the right kind of people? The answer is big no.

It would be criminal not to do something substantial for the development and the progress of our country at this critical juncture of time. Sitting idle would be suicidal. We all should come forward to join hands with each other so that we may put our country on the way of progress and prosperity. Majority of our population is composed of the youth and they can be instrumental in bringing about peaceful revolution in the country. It is also pertinent to remark here that those who have been the victims of the wrath of the ruthless system marked by corruption and exploitation must come out of inertia by getting their voice heard through ballot. Amid the prevailing circumstances, the role of the educated youth has become much more important.

Using the educated youth as the front-line soldiers, the political parties who stand for change and transparency should launch a mass contact campaign. Since there is unrest and disappointment among the general public with the present political dispensation, the opportunities is ripe for the political parties to convey their message. This frustration and unrest can be channelized into positive direction by educating them as to how important it is for them to be political active. Political awareness would ultimately enable them to make right use of their votes.

Sadly, our political parties are not organized and paradoxically undemocratic. Barring the few ones, all the political parties are dynastical in nature. Personalization of our politics has rendered the whole political process unproductive. Non-democratic tendencies within the political parties have resulted into the yawning gap between the people and the political elite. Given the circumstances, the political parties need to rise to the occasion. Unfortunately, no political party has so far been able to be in constant touch with the people and thus to be their true representative by raising voice on their behalf.

Keeping in view the difficulties our country is faced with, all the sections of society need to play effective role in putting the country on the path of progress and prosperity. However, the role of the politicians and the political parties is of crucial importance. Future, to a greater extent, will be shaped according to the way they respond to the challenges because it is the leaders who lead the people to happiness or misery.