THE current state of affairs in the country makes one wonder what is wrong with us or the nation as a whole. Do we have no idea what history wants to tell us? How much more rot is needed before we start to at least slow down our slide?

We all know well what happened in East Pakistan. I was a medical student in East Pakistan during the war in 1965. I had personally witnessed the unfortunate process of disintegration that had started much earlier, but gathered momentum after 1965 because of a growing feeling among the people that they were being colonised by the establishment in West Pakistan.

As such, the text of Hamood-ur-Rehman Commission report as well as the Siddiq Salik’s Witness to Surrender are full of the sad and dirty political gymnastics that characterised the times during which merit and truth were early casualties. Unfortunately, it is not a secret that the same brand of politics and policies have continued post-1971, with corruption and brain drain being the only logical outcomes.

Now enough is enough, one feels like saying. It is time we focussed on truth, the whole truth and nothing but truth, no matter how harsh or bitter it may be.

Dr Serajuddaula Syed
Karachi

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2024