What a country we inhabit! A land with immense natural wealth, and boundless human potential, yet, strangled daily by those who pretend to be its guardians. We live in a place where so-called experts, self-proclaimed intellectuals, opportunistic politicians, retired officers who traded conscience for perks, and Hawkish power brokers, whose outward bluster masks inner cowardice, dictate the national discourse.

Instead of discussing the Constitutional rule of law, the fundamental rights of citizens, or the grinding poverty that shackles millions, they indulge in petty quarrels, shallow narratives, and divisive agendas.

Their voices thunder on television screens, in drawing rooms, and in press conferences — but never on the true agonies of the people. Not once do they pause to speak of the miseries of the unemployed youth, the despair of underpaid workers, or the humiliation of those forced to beg for basic necessities.

They remain silent on the plight of families without access to clean drinking water, the millions living without electricity or internet, the mothers who bury children due to malnutrition, and the citizens suffocating in a polluted environment stripped of dignity.

Is this the role of leadership? Is this the responsibility of those who claim to speak for Pakistan?

The betrayal of the people

The tragedy of Pakistan is not a lack of resources or opportunities. The tragedy is betrayal — a betrayal by its elites, who prefer to trade away conscience and dignity for their personal comfort. These men and women, who strut about as experts, intellectuals, and patriots, have no qualms about mortgaging the nation’s future.

They deliberately thrive on manufactured narratives that distract the people from real crises: chronic bad governance, the absence of genuine accountability, rampant inefficiency, and corruption that has seeped into every institution.

Public resources, earned through the sacrifices of ordinary citizens, are squandered on elite privileges and vanity projects while unemployment, crushing inflation, and collapsing institutions suffocate the people.

Justice is delayed, healthcare denied, education neglected, and public service reduced to personal gain — yet the national discourse........

© Business Recorder