THERE is never a dull moment in Pakistani politics. Politicians make a mockery of their own institutions which has made constitutional crises more of a norm these days. Political victimisation has become a tradition, a culture that prevails no matter what the situation of the country is. Acrimonious, toxic tweets, hurling threats at political rivals at press conferences, and venomous, often objectionable, social media trends, all bear testimony to what we have become as a nation.

While politicians and other relevant stakeholders continue with their shenanigans, major cities have been facing flash floods and urban flooding due to severe weather conditions. Politicians, who are the so-called representatives of the people, do not bother to at least issue a statement for their own political gains in the wake of the serious crisis the common man is facing across the land.

Nobody talks about the real problems being faced by the people. Failure to save major cities from flooding, despite repeated early flood warnings, clearly shows signs of leadership crisis in the country. These monsoon rains would have been a blessing for us had we planned and made arrangements for harvesting rainwater to overcome the water crisis.

Pakistan has been predicted to become a water-stressed country by 2025. What sort of leadership do mainstream parties offer when they fail to relate to the real problems of Pakistan?

Why are we, as a nation, so unlucky that we do not have any option but to elect these people as our so-called ‘representatives’ in elections every time?

Things will change only when the nation realises that the problems will continue till we continue to treat these politicians as our ‘representatives’. The fact is that they have nothing to offer except blame game and political demeaning of their rivals.

The people should go through the manifestos of all mainstream political parties before putting their vote into the ballot box when the next general elections come around. Using one’s right to vote rationally and responsibly will be a key step forward for the masses.

If you think there is no one who can solve your problems, muster the courage to be the change factor that you dream of. After all, how much more will we have to wait for someone to come and solve our problems?

Sidra Shahid
Karachi

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2022