For decades, two competing narratives have been drummed into our people's senses – the country is undergoing a critical juncture; and the country has taken an uraan (flight) and will soon become an Asian Tiger. The former, perhaps, to justify the space for policies and practices aimed at the survival of the powerful elite; and the latter, to ignite artificial hope among the increasingly hapless subjects. However, the promised flight never met the ordinary people. And the critical juncture never touched the ruling elite.

The two narratives carry considerable weight. The flight and critical junctures are lived realities. Not for all, however. Anyone living in Pakistan gets introduced to two overlapping lives: one of the rulers and the other of the ruled. One is experiencing uraan and the other remains stuck in the critical juncture.

The two lives are poles apart and irreconcilable in reality. But to reconcile the two lives and gain public trust, the rulers, instead of reforming and ruling justly, have tended to........

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