Are we on the
Road to Progress?

As the elections draw near, one cannot help but contemplate on the recent developments in the political arena and the tumultuous year that it has been. The Jamia Hafsah and Burqavaganza incidents brought to light the fact that the slogans of ‘enlightened moderation’ were mere fancy words used by the government to make one dream that Pakistan would soon be a place inhabited by people of broader mind-sets. Next our head of state, in a bid to again rule the country in the years to come, dared to poke a finger in the eye of the judiciary, a plan that backfired and led to many deaths and an uprising that even he wasn’t prepared for. And when he realized that the freedom that he bestowed the media with (to prove himself being a democratic), was getting out of hand and revealing the truths that should have been kept under wraps, he altered PEMRA rules to discipline the media community. An act that created quite a few ripples, much to the dismay of those concerned. Then came the budget that does not give any respite to the poor. Though some sectors will prosper and development seems to be evident in the near future, the rich-poor gap will definitely widen.
What disturbs me most is the fact that it has been 60 years since independence and we haven’t made any progress as far as infrastructure development of the country is concerned. We certainly are not ready for any disaster, the point in case being the recent deaths due to heavy rainfall. Karachi being a city generating a major chunk of the revenue, was completely devastated due to a meagre dose of heavy rainfall. The fact that more than 200 people died just because of this reason, is a bit hard to digest. KESC is unproductive, the huge hoardings that were posted were not in conformity with the rules and regulations of the state, the drainage system is a disaster, traffic is a mess, hospitals are understaffed and certainly not equipped to handle any emergency situation – all these reflect a very gloomy state of affairs and instigate a deep feeling that we need another 50 or so years to actually claim that we are on the road to being a developing nation. That is, if we first instil moral values within ourselves and get rid of the rampant corruption that has seeped into our very blood.!

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