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I am a optimist and believe that I shall also see good days, but at the moment I am in extreme depression as there is still violence. I do know as who is responsible for this state of affairs, but I am needing a few words of consoling. I am just sharing the editorial of a leading newspaper of Pakistan.The sense of people that we stand on quivering ground continues. Each
day brings with it news that adds to the growing disquiet. We hear of
politicians engaged in all kinds of misdeeds, of attempts to undermine
institutions and of conspiracies worked out in the highest quarters of
State. Occasionally, a wave that is larger than the ripples caused by
such items of news washes over us, leaving us gasping for breath. The
latest bombings in Lahore are an example of this. Other acts of
terrorism of course continue to be reported regularly. Target killings
occur almost daily. Death appears to lurk virtually around every corner.
What does this constant uncertainty mean for citizens? It is true they
have become partially immune to all that happens. It is only when
terrorist attacks are especially deadly in terms of the lives claimed
that they bring reaction. The series of reports about people killing
themselves, of leaders looting money or of Pakistan ranking among the
countries of the world least able to meet the needs of people barely
moves us. But there is little doubt that the constant sense of a
swirling world and of the inability of government to hold things down in
a steady grasp has an impact on many aspects of life. The desperate
search for stability continues over two years after the last general
election. There is no sign that it is likely to be found in the near
future.
As a consequence self-preservation, as the most basic of
human instincts, kicks in constantly. Many who had the means to do so
have left the country and others endeavour to follow them. Their exit
means we have at home fewer people to tackle our own massive problems;
students from our best institutions of learning increasingly choose to
emigrate as soon as they can. Despondency and a lack of trust in State
is one factor in the reluctance to invest or even to pay taxes. Few
believe the money they pay into the exchequer will be used for the right
purposes. And in a vicious cycle this attitude of course means few
resources are available to spend on development or even the upkeep of
civic amenities. Increasingly, people have begun to question if a
solution is even possible. We seem to stand at the foot of a mountain
which adds a few extra feet to its mass with every passing hour, placing
the summit increasingly out of reach. The surreal smiles on the faces
of leaders, their insistence that all is well and a great deal is being
done to tackle problems brings no reassurance. It only persuades people
that the government has little real interest in tackling matters and is
instead eager only to weave a web of lies to entrap people and prevent
on their part any effort to flee the tremors that could signal an
approaching earthquake of enormous magnitude.
