PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION: Things being what they are, turnout of voters in Pakistan elections has often struggled to go beyond the 50 per cent mark. The party that secures, say, 25pc of this vote is declared the so-called ‘majority party’ and forms the government on the basis of ‘minority votes’ as far as national representation is concerned. Keeping this in view, there should be a system of proportional representation in the country where at least a party securing 51pc of the total vote is declared genuine representative of people.

Ali Ashraf Khan
Karachi

THANK YOU, JUDICIARY: Democracy without free will and expression is hollowed and gets moulded into autocracy. Over time, rulers in the country have tried to curb dissent and to contain the voices that pose a threat to unchecked excesses. The Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Ordinance, 2022, was such a tool in the hand of the government. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) did a commendable job by striking down the amendment. Judiciary is the last hope of the public, and it keeps doing us proud.

Dr Amir Khan
Swat

ORANGE LINE: The metro service stations in Lahore have serious hygiene-related issues as the washrooms are dirty most of the time. Basic utilities, such as water, soap, etc., are not available. Besides, the escalators do not work properly. The management should resolve such issues.

Ume Farwa
Lahore

GOOGLE DETOX: Banning Dr Israr Ahmad’s YouTube channel is a step in the wrong direction. It is critical for Pakistan to develop its own search engine, its own online video sharing and social media platform. Countries, especially Pakistan, should practise Google detox. The company has interfered with elections and white-washes crimes committed by its patrons. Besides, the data collected is shared with big corporations without the knowledge of the users which is a violation of the right to privacy. It is time to have our own platforms.

Angabeen Ahmad
Karachi

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2022