LIVING NIGHTMARE: The roads in Karachi’s Orangi Town area were terribly damaged during the rains last year, but have not been repaired yet. The same is true of the sewerage system in the area. Potholes and flowing sewage characterise the situation of the roads and travelling on them is nothing short of a living nightmare. Water and gas pipelines also stand contaminated by the sewage. Somebody somewhere needs to wake up.

Afia Shakeel
Karachi

WIDENING GAP: The gap between the haves and the have-nots has grown so wide that it looks hard, if not impossible, to bridge it. With rampant inflation and the chaotic political situation, the poor seem to be the ultimate victims of all the wrongs committed and being committed by the elite. It is a fact that inequality is interwoven with a range of issues, such as access to health and other fundamental necessities. Pakistan needs a sane leadership rather urgently since the current quicksand of economic and socio-political chaos is getting deeper.

Khadija Ali
Lahore

CHAOS AND POLITICS: The country appears to have been swinging between two extremes. On the one hand, the main opposition party keeps giving one call after another to bring the country to a standstill, leading to chaos and destruction. On the other hand, the government appears determined to go to any length to deal with the opposition and its supporters. Sandwiched between the two is the common man who is struggling to sustain his life and feed his family.

Maham Mansoor
Karachi

CRIMINAL TENDENCY: The recent case of a local teacher who was arrested and released in a case involving paedophiliac charges shows how petty gains and relationships surpass all limits. Regardless of the nature of the crime, if it is committed by someone close to the authorities, anything can be forgiven and forgotten. What a pity.

Ali Afzal Wassan
Khairpur Mirs

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2023