The art of deception

This refers to the news report, ‘No rift between civil, military leaderships: Nisar’ (November 21). This sensational bravado raises multiple questions. Has the meaning of ‘rift’ changed from cleavage to harmony? It seems that words have lost their meanings. Being on the proverbial same page and being in conflict have become synonymous.
In our country the glaring distinction between corruption and good governance has disappeared. The difference between rule of law and the rule of thugs is nowhere to be seen by the naked eye. Peace and anarchy have indistinguishably merged into each other. The difference between extremism and terrorism has been submerged into self-serving expediencies. Non issues have taken over national discourse. If words are deprived of their meaning the business of the state becomes an art of grand deception. In such a situation, everybody is talking but nobody is listening.
B A Malik
Islamabad