HOCKEY IN PERSPECTIVE: Kudos to the Punjab government for ripping off the Astroturf at the National Hockey Stadium in Lahore. This actually put the fate of the national game into its true perspective. Devoid of state patronage, the game has gone down the drains already. Now, with the official machinery actually going out of its way to destroy the playing fields, nobody will be able to play hockey in the days ahead. In Pakistan, the fun never really stops, does it?

Prof Wasif M. Khan
Lahore

PEACE TALKS: The Operation Zarb-i-Azb had resulted in the ouster of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from Swat and other districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). However, for the last year or so, TTP has started making its presence felt in those very areas, and that is perhaps one reason the government finds itself forced to sit across the table for peace talks. The fact is that peace talks with militants on their terms only weaken the writ of the state.

Farid Ahmed
Quetta

SPONSORSHIPS NEEDED: The victories that came at the recent Commonwealth Games are worth celebrating, but there is another side to the happenings that needs our attention too. Arshad Nadeem managed to clinch gold for Pakistan with an injured elbow and without any sponsorship. Those who clinched the other two positions on the victory stand clearly had global brands as their sponsors. Our sportsmen need facilities and sponsorship to move ahead in their respective fields.

Syeda Batool Zehra
Karachi

CELEBRATING SOVEREIGNTY: As the country celebrated its Independence Day recently, I was shocked to come across people who openly questioned our own sovereign status. The simple rule defining a country’s sovereignty is an independent foreign policy. Pakistan definitely has one. In fact, Pakistan has had an independent foreign policy since its birth. Why do we always take a pessimistic view of things?

Taimour Khan
Peshawar

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2022