IF gold rusts, what then can iron do? This famous line from Geoffery Chaucer aptly mirrored the financially as well as morally corrupt society of his times; the 14th century. The quotation, however, has not lost its relevance in what is today’s Pakistan. The very people who promised to get the country back on track are themselves off the rails (pun unintended).

There is hardly an institution one can pin one’s hopes on to bring salvation and succour to the poor of the land. This is not about spreading gloom, but the nation is unlikely to see good days any time in the near future. In these circumstances, the best remedy is to grin and put up with it.

Irfan ullah Maseed
South Wazirstan

Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2020