THIS refers to your editorial ‘Lessons from Scotland’ (Sept 21). The editorial contains a lot of lessons that applies to us Pakistanis and should serve as a beacon on how to conduct themselves while indulging in politics. By casting their ballots, more than 55pc of Scottish voters have given their verdict against independence.

The ballot has made one thing clear — even the most controversial issues can be dealt with in a non-violent manner provided transparent, democratic methods are used. The ballots have shown that Scotland’s more than 300-year-old political union with England is now going to stay.

But, the same ballots have also shown something alarming. They have revealed that 45pc of the voters were against this union too. This is a warning sign for Britain.

To pre-empt any future problem, Britain should carry out an immediate appraisal of its policies concerning Scotland and see to it as to what had gone wrong and why 45pc of the Scottish population wanted separation from their old ally.

The ruling Scottish National Party promised the voters a better welfare state free from Westminster’s influence, which means that some concerns definitely exist.

We, in Pakistan, had a similar problem with our eastern wing that kept simmering for years. Instead of solving the issue politically, we used force which proved to be disastrous.

Now, the PTI and PAT are not ready to accept anything less than the prime minister’s resignation. The tolerant attitude shown in Britain is a fine example of solving thorny issues.

Air-Cdre (r) Azfar A. Khan
Rawalpindi

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2014