OF all the ugliness abroad, violation of traffic rules is the ugliest. Every day violators injure, maim and even take innumerable, innocent lives on the roads. Thank God, I am still alive to put forth these words, in spite of being knocked down and injured by reckless drivers thrice during the last one year.

Of the violation of traffic rules, I narrow down to the high beam during the night. This makes appearance of a man like me on the road in the night very difficult. The readers will vouch how agonising is the penetrating high beam of an oncoming vehicle for the pedestrians.

In a desperate effort to beseech drivers to lower the beam, I gesticulate impishly by shading my eyes with my arm, moving my hand up and down or even joining my hands. This mantra I am performing for so many years but with no result.

I know this is a feeble effort of an ant to smash a hill and may result in my frail body being crushed if not in the sunlight, then in the darkness of the night.

Some one told me that there is a law against the high beam in the populated areas during night. You may call me a naïve if I appeal to the law-enforcement agency through these columns to find time to lessen the torment on this account. Or wouldn’t you?

M. ASLAM Lahore

Opinion

Editorial

Sustainable path?
13 Jun, 2026

Sustainable path?

THE FY27 budget is the first clear signal that the government is ready to transition from stabilisation to growth ...
Prioritising education
13 Jun, 2026

Prioritising education

THOUGH the improvement in the country’s literacy rate may be slight, as highlighted by the Economic Survey, it ...
Poverty’s rise
13 Jun, 2026

Poverty’s rise

AS attention turns to the government’s plans for the coming fiscal year, one set of figures deserves particular...
A difficult story
Updated 12 Jun, 2026

A difficult story

Unless productivity becomes the dominant target of economic policy, Pakistan will continue to oscillate between crises and fragile recovery.
Rough waters
12 Jun, 2026

Rough waters

AMONGST the key potential triggers for fresh conflict in South Asia is water. The Indian state is behaving in an...
Politicised football
12 Jun, 2026

Politicised football

ALMOST three-and-half years since Lionel Messi led Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory, the latest edition of...