Daily Times

Sir: The politics of agitation has done no good to this nation before and will not do it in the future. Traditionally, the opposition have always tried to influence the people of this country through their firebrand speeches lambasting the government in power. In the process they forget the damage they inflict on the country.

There has been no change in the political culture of this country. Neither the wine has changed nor the bottle. We are using the same old tactics with the aim to derail democracy. The people of Pakistan are partly to be blamed for playing into the hands of their leaders who are exploiting them for their personal benefit.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) tops the list of the agitating parties. Pakistan Awami Tehreek chief Tahirul Qadri, the Chaudhries of Gujrat, and Sheikh Rashid of the Awami Muslim League have also joined the bandwagon run by Imran.

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is the only political party that has shown some sanity and has decided not to join the agitation. PPP has repeatedly stated that it would not join any movement potentially harmful for democracy. PPP’s stance couldn’t have been more appropriate, particularly when seen in the backdrop of the critical situation that Pakistan is in today.

The Pakistani nation makes a fervent appeal to the agitating political parties, particularly the PTI, to stop creating chaos in the country. They might at the end succeed in attaining their personal objectives, but the country will not recover from the loss to democracy. Pakistan is passing through critical times of its history. It is time to put aside prejudices and self-interest in the larger national interest, and to make sincere and concerted efforts to strengthen Pakistan economically, socially and democratically.

M FAZAL ELAHI

Islamabad