By: Syed Shahzaib Haider
Hearing the word politics, the first thing that comes to a person’s mind is usually the government or some politician for most of it. The objective behind this association is that every country needs a centrally administered institution to keep the country in check and maintain uniformity. This whole process of acquiring that government organization is where the politics come in.
The reason why we keep denoting politics as dirty and negative is because of the character of some politicians. The reason why politics is indistinguishably connected itself to a permanent negative connotation is the indistinguishable power given to the political leaders, or the people who can abuse their powers. The idea of dirty politics does not only revolve around corruption but also includes nepotism, favoritism, bias, seeking personal vendetta because of the power in one’s hands, etc.
Corruption has established its roots so deeply in Pakistan that it would take many years to pull it out of its roots before it can be called a non-corrupt country. Corruption in Pakistan is one of the main issues that a democracy needs to tackle if it wants to stop the negative side effects of corruption projected on the economy and the development of the state, central and local government in various ways.
Government servants have very high discretionary powers that give them opportunities to extort undue payments from companies or any ordinary citizens. Scandals involving high posted politicians have compensated the overall efficiency of the government and its established ethics.
Same is the case of the current government, the corruption extended its roots and the government is completely is in a state of denial to accept this fact. We can see in the talk shows every evening the representatives of this so called modern revolutionary regime of PTI denying all the bad that they are doing to this country and not willing to listen to any critic in constructive manners.
They never talk about the economy that has suffered the most in the last few years. Using Covid-19 as a scapegoat for the economic meltdown. “It’s the economy, stupid” is the phrase coined by James Carville in 1992 during Bill Clinton’s election. Carville was an adviser in Clinton’s election campaign. Clinton himself used this phrase to reassure his electorates how concerned he was about their economic well-being. The slogan clicked to the voters and Clinton moved into the White House.
Presently, the class disparity stands out distinctly. The rich that constitutes the upper layer of the society don’t feel the squeeze by the high cost of living as much as do the lower strata of the society. Educated but unemployed youngsters belonging to the unprivileged section of the society see no future for themselves in the country. When most of us read daily statements of the politicians, it appears as if they live in a different world and have no idea how the poor scavenge to sustain themselves. Public aversion to them for being insensitive to their basic needs is more palpable now than ever before. And there’s no one among the ruling elites to empathize with them, as the economy doesn’t look shattered through the windows of bullet-proof limousines.
Since his container days, the PM till his last day in the prime minister’s office has persistently followed a single-point agenda of hauling up the looters, plunderers and dacoits of public money. Even some of his speeches when visiting abroad on official trips had a punch of accusing his opponents of corruption. With time, people think he only has one arrow in his quiver to aim at his political opponents. People of this poor would have been satisfied had his government succeeded in alleviating their difficulties as promised.
Since PTI is no more in power in Pakistan, it going to be a care taker setup apparently impartial to conduct a free and fair elections this time. We are in suspense to be not fooled again by the falsehoods of such politicians fingers are crossed for virtuous future of Pakistan so that the poor people of this country can have at least a bit of courage to live until he dies naturally.
The writer is the Director of the editorial board at the ‘The Dayspring’. He can be reached at [email protected]
