This is with reference to the article “Pakistan’s volatile political scene” (Oct. 30) by Salahuddin Haider. It is very sad that despite the passage of over 60 years, we are still fighting along ethnic, linguistic or sectarian lines. We are yet to become one nation. If we study the demographics of Pakistan, we would be surprised that we are not that different from one another. I blame the politicians, who for their own interests, continuously try to stoke ethnic or sectarian tensions among the masses.
We still think as Punjabis, Sindhis, Balochis and Pukhtuns. Had Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah survived for a little longer, the situation would have been very different. Unfortunately, after his demise Pakistan did not produce one genuine leader. Yes, we have seen great orators but when it comes to leadership, this land appears to be infertile. Most of the so-called leaders, at one stage or the other, have used ethnic card to ensure their electoral victory. Even last year, our Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif raised the Punjabi slogan during his election campaign. The other major party, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) claims to be representing the federation but truth is that since its inception it has always used the Sindh card to its advantage. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) led by cricketer-turned-political Imran Khan had emerged as a ray of hope but Khan’s tactics are very immature. His party should have focused on the uplift of the province, where it is in power, so as to present it as a model of its vision for the rest of the country in the next elections. Unfortunately, instead of doing that, he has resorted to the decades-old rotten technique of protests and sit-ins. — Khalil Khan, Dammam
In search of a leader
