Political confusion

In our country, political confusion is at its helm. The PML-N has been cornered in every manner. PML-N leaders’ resignation is being sought by various religious leaders of the newly formed religious parties. This is a dangerous trend and may lead to a serious situation as religion can be easily exploited to any extent by aspiring politicians for their political gains. During his visit to Quetta, the COAS rightly pointed out that our madressahs need reforms so that students studying there can learn modern education and become responsible citizens of Pakistan. He also emphasised that democracy is the essence of any prospering state and he would not destabilise the system. Unfortunately, major damage was done to democracy during Zia’s era. Religious extremism nourished to the level that we are still bearing its brunt. In order to prolong his tenure, Musharraf also encouraged these parties.

Today, we see leaders visiting madressahs, who produced the Taliban, paying them huge budgets to ensure a smooth sailing during the next elections so that no terrorist organisation disturbs their political gatherings. So the question is: what is being done today to avert a similar situation in 2018? The way the political parties are behaving is most irresponsible. It will only make our future darker. We cannot afford to corner any single party. Let’s not repeat our political mistakes as we cannot afford any more. Every now and then a scholar is invited from Canada to wreak havoc in the country for certain political gains. The authorities concerned should seriously defuse this situation through discussions and intelligent debates. They should come up with a plan to end this state of affair otherwise this situation would linger on.

Zahid Ali Khan

Rawalpindi