IS it not ironic that both the literate and illiterate sections of Pakistani population almost equally ignore the words uttered by most politicians? And is this attitude not a verdict on the incompetence of the politicians?

No political party seems ready to lead the country amid issues like currency devaluation, soaring inflation, rampant corruption, unemployment, political instability, weak foreign policy, and poor literacy rate.

Each of them remains desperate to be in the driving seat without having any idea of the direction one wants to drive in.

Watching politics in Pakistan is like watching Samuel Beckett’s absurdist play Waiting for Godot in which there is always a pregnant wait for something to happen, but nothing does.

Will the forthcoming elections change anything? Let us keep waiting. There are multiple issues to tackle at the moment, but the main problem is lack of quality education, and till we address the issue, we have precious little reason to hope for having a sound democracy marked by smooth governance.

Illiteracy not only leads to poverty, but also to a severly imbalanced society. The illiterate and economically impoverished people remain firmly trapped in their own problems. They are only concerned about the next meal, and have no chance of understanding the true essence of democracy.

It is this very class that is manipula-ted by the politicians. If a nation’s rudimentary pillar — education — is weak, there is little scope for redemption and progress. None of the mainstream parties has done anything worthwhile to calm the nation’s nerves on this count.

Muhammad Luqman Kakar
Loralai

Published in Dawn, February 2nd, 2024