The only fix

This letter refers to the article ‘Strategic exhaustion’ (October 3, 2022) by Javid Husain. The article has correctly diagnosed the primary factors which have brought the country to a state of strategic exhaustion, which include a lack of political maturity and foresight and interference by the establishment in political affairs. However, the article neglects to mention the assassination of Pakistan’s first premier at a critical stage of our development in 1951.

Furthermore, the antidote recommended by the article, the elimination of political engineering and strict adherence to constitutional limits under the supervision of elected governments, is also problematic. If the available pool of aspiring parliamentarians consists solely of the corrupt and inept politicians, what good would a free and fair election do? The real solution lies in reforming the structure of the political parties, stopping the entry of known criminals in the pool of aspiring candidates and consigning these criminals to where they really belong. Half-measures won’t do.

SRH Hashmi

Karachi