mess.
Common people in this country are neither trusted nor taken into confidence by those in power. Deals, constitutionals packages, NROs, what not, we don't know. But it has all happened outside the Parliament and continues the same way. Nobody is different. What stopped the PML-N from moving bills in Parliament about things they stand for? But they tried to cut deals outside of the legislature first, and when they failed, took to the streets. As common citizens of Pakistan, we are reminded each time by some event that we are and will always be betrayed by this ruling class. Be it elite politicians, the civil and military bureaucracy, those who hold big tracts of land and rule the roost in rural parts of the eastern provinces, tribal chieftains largely in the western provinces, the ones who run huge businesses across central Punjab and Karachi and finally the religious and political mafias that have sprung up in urban and semi-urban areas in order to claim their share in the booty. The booty consists of the wealth generated by the blood and toil of the working people of Pakistan and the money brought in from outside through concessional lending facilities and grants-in-aid. Whether it is a bridge in Karachi, a sewage scheme in Lahore, a bypass road in Peshawar or the income-support programme, they are all based on loans of which the PPP, the PML-N, the MQM and the ANP would take credit in their constituencies. What industry has our ruling elite mobilised in the last twenty years and what agricultural development have they brought about? Who says Pakistan doesn't need international support to address its problems. But where do we see the nation's growth, development and sustainability plan? Currently, no one is interested. Pakistan was born to a dream seen in March 1940. The dream of autonomy, prosperity and realisation of fundamental rights. It has to be fulfilled by us, the citizens of Pakistan, through a new political expression.
The writer is an Islamabad-based poet and rights campaigner. Email: harrisspopk.org