By: Filzah Mahar
This horrendous and pleasing year passed, and as always will be written as famous in the upcoming history. Starting with many more things to overcome, we got to see and face Russia and Ukraine’s disastrous war from the start of the year. The biggest setback to the west was Chornobyl under the control of the Russian Federation. But in Pakistan, things were different. Suddenly, what no one imagined happened. PDM won against the ruling party in the Vote of No confidence, and Imran Khan was sent back from the Prime minister’s house at midnight. The supporters came through the roads. The long march came and passed by. We faced a lot of things. Starting from the attack at Confucius Institute to the blast in Saddar, Karachi. Even though much more happened as well. Legendary Cricketer Shayne Warne also died in March of this ending year. Moreover, Yoon Suk Yeol became the president of South Korea, being a prosecutor by profession.
In the Philippines, Marcos Bong, son of Ferdinand Marcos, who was a dictator in the Philippines and ruled for over 20 years, became the 17th President of the Philippines. It was an amazing sight to see the son of a kleptocrat becoming the president of the nation through democracy by following the Constitution of 1987, and will serve for only one time.
By the start of July, the beloved, famous and former Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe was assassinated in Nara, Japan. This caused havoc all around the world, over the fact that Japan already had strict gun laws. The back to back shooting incidents in institutes of the United States also caused much sorrow and chaos all over the world. Even Canada decided to strict their gun laws even more than before.
In August, Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan put the Chinese under a big dull situation. The controversy happened even after much more resistance by the Chinese government. By September, we saw the end of an enormous era. The second-longest monarch in history has ended, Queen Elizabeth II died.
Later on, Cricket Asia Cup 2022 started, and the way Pakistan lost, broke the hearts of millions, but it was the utmost happiness for Sri Lankans. The bankruptcy of Sri Lanka and the revolution by Sri Lankans to end the Elite politics ruling the Island. The new start of democracy started in Colombo.
In the Middle East, the killing of Mahsa Amini shocked the world. The emergence of a new ray of hope and freedom appeared in the eyes of many Persian women. This caused many western countries to go against Iran. So, it was also hard for Iran to handle that kind of situation inside the country and outside the country.
If we look at the European side, Mario Draghi resigned from his Italian Prime minister office. And, a lady Prime Minister took oath as the leader of the nation, Giorgia Meloni, the first woman to hold that authority. On the other hand, murder of Arshad Sharif brought shock around not only the journalist community, but to all Pakistanis. The nursery Massacre in Thailand was also heartbreaking and the worst news to hear. Where 36 people were killed in a few hours. One of the worst massacres in the history of the Kingdom.
In Britain, the Prime Ministers were changed in the same year thrice. Liz Truss was little than the lettuce. Boris Johnson resigned himself, and Liz truss was assigned the position. But, Rishi Sunak became the new Prime minister of the United Kingdom with a new history of course.
With many wishes and prayers, finally Pakistan was headed towards being champions of T20 Cricket Men’s World cup 2022, but failed to do so again by losing against the Fighter English Team. FIFA 2022 showed the beautiful culture of the asians. Qatar removed the bad image of the Middle Eastern, and mostly the Arabs and the Muslims. The culture from all around the world holds hands together, from Latinos to Australians, from USA to Iran. And, in Pakistan General Asim Munir Ahmed became the Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan. Anwer Ibrahim got selected as the new Malay Prime Minister.
By the end of 2022, Pele, a legend, died. Aung Suu Kyi is further jailed for an extra 7 years in prison. Afghanistan is reported to ban women ‘s education in the country. While Pakistanis are fleeing from their country and the country is on the verge of the highest inflation.
Indeed, this year was a complete rollercoaster ride for all nations. The legends died, the wars started as well, the achievements were achieved, and many other success stories we heard. This year will be written in the upcoming histories, from the Ural mountains to Sri Lanka, from Morocco’s heartful victory to the succession of Charles iii.
The writer is a freelance columnist. She can be reached at filzamahar@gmail.com
