Party over principle

Most of our politicians tend to support incorrect policy initiatives taken by their party leaders and seldom question their impact on preserving our national interest. It appears that party loyalties tend to trump all other considerations. As a result, corruption and the misappropriation of public money have become the order of the day and few among our political leaders have raised concerns about them.

The situation is fundamentally different in other countries. The Republican Party’s approach to Obamacare in the US is a case in point. Soon after the 2016 US presidential elections, the Republican Party sought to repeal the Obamacare health plan and proposed a revised healthcare programme. However, the bill was rejected by the US Senate in 2017 by a narrow margin. It is believed that John McCain’s vote against repealing Obamacare tilted the balance in favour of the Democrats. Although McCain followed his party’s stance in other policy matter, he stood by his own principles with regard to the healthcare package. Our politicians should also focus on upholding their principles rather than succumbing to groupthink.

Dr Najeeb A Khan

Islamabad