PAKISTAN’S victory against India in the recent conflict was a golden chance for the political opposition in the country to patch up with the government and the establishment. In sports, it is customary that the winning team and its captain are congratulated by the opposing team and its captain.

It is surprising that a political party headed by a sportsman of international repute, now incarcerated after being found guilty of corruption, did not consider it fit to follow the sportsman spirit and congratulate the government and team captain of the armed forces Field Marshal Asim Munir, and instead resorted to sarcastic remarks that were not in consonance with the sportsman spirit.

Had he recognised the achievement of the government and its armed forces, and congratulated them, it may have opened the door for reconciliation. A political opposition is not about opposing everything.

In a healthy democratic environment, the political opposition all over the world tends to appreciate the good acts of the government, and is never involved in opposition merely for the very sake of it.

Lt-Col (retd) Syed Iftikhar Ahmed
Karachi

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2025