Daily Times

Sir: As the election mania goes on in different cities of Pakistan, it is amazing to see the slogans and banners of parties hanging in all public areas without any accountability to the development authorities. Do the authorities give permission for placing banners on public property? Should they not provide areas where such political activities can be managed? For that, we need to have vision and commitment, which is lacking in our system. I have witnessed the ‘tug of war’ among parties in the federal capital for NA 48 and 49. The very popular and busy area, known as Rawal Dam Chawk, shows the fierce competition among parties. The wastage of paper and banners is huge. Every day, one party hangs its flag on the street lights but the next morning one sees a bigger flag, belonging to another party, hung by a crane to prove its strength. This is what we have as ‘educated’ and ‘disciplined’ party nominees who would like to change the destiny and future of our coming generations by spending millions of dollars just to prove that they rule the country. Instead, the true rulers are the people of Pakistan who, at every stage, have been hijacked by the above-mentioned mindset; they were first given hope and afterwards were delivered misery and a never-ending struggle to survive.

My questions go out to all Pakistanis: are we ready to vote for those who ruled and cannot deliver due to power, hunger and unconditional support to their baraderis? Can we keep on ignoring the real needs of the people? Can Pakistan afford such boastful campaigns when we do not have enough money to pay our country’s debt, which has been borrowed from the western taxpayers who are helping us to develop economically so as to provide basic developmental structure for our required needs? It is time to change and be a party of change. There are parties that have nominated people with humble backgrounds who do not have money to show their strength. However, they are true patriots; they would like to bring change to the system and give respect to every Pakistani without any discrimination. Our motherland needs change for a better future. I, as a Pakistani, urge every person who is eligible to vote to take part in the election process to prove that our love for our country is beyond doubt.

MISHAL KHAN

Via e-mail