Daily Times

The prime minister of Pakistan does not want to leave, happen what may! There is load shedding almost 24 hours a day, with short intervals of surprise availability of electricity. Pressure of gas supply varies from zero to 60 percent. Petroleum prices fluctuate frequently, going up by leaps and bounds and coming down by fractions. From Rs 50 per litre, the price of petrol is now over Rs 100 per litre, and one does not know what the price will be tomorrow. Railways is more like junk.

While I am writing this article, the Awami Express is reported to be 16 hours delayed and with no water to drink and fans to cool off, a 60-year-old man, Yaseen, passed away. One of the largest railway workshops of the subcontinent situated in Lahore is almost closed. Railways’ ‘cash cow’ and profitable cargo ‘goods’ are given to trucking mafias. The maal garri (cargo train) is almost off the tracks.

The Lahore College for Women University has a fear of student suicides, thus is closing its roofs to students. Government functionaries beat a Saudi diplomat at the Islamabad airport and his bloodstained pictures are prominently placed on newspaper pages. The rupee has fallen by 50 percent in four years. Look at the comparison of prices four years ago and now (these are of items of daily use). Diesel from Rs 35 to over Rs 100, CNG Rs 25 to Rs 64, flour Rs 13 to Rs 36, sugar Rs 21 to Rs 55, ghee Rs 80 to Rs 190, milk Rs 32 to 60, meat Rs 280 to 550, chicken Rs 80 to Rs 200, motorcycle Rs 34,000 to Rs 70,000, AC Rs 20,000 to Rs 45,000 and the dollar exchange rate from Rs 60 to Rs 93. Mind you, these are the approximate prices of today; they may be much higher by the time I finish writing this article.

The hardest hit are the lower income groups: the salaried classes, white collar individuals and senior citizens.

As for senior citizens, who cares about them? They have little utility now. After all, they have given their best in bringing up the young, contributing to the economy and workforce, hence for Pakistan, they had better not exist anymore. There has always been a ‘choocha (youth) culture’ of strong bias against ‘seniors’ and for the younger ‘choocha’ in every age bracket. Some countries support seniors because of their experience and use their abilities up to 80 years of age, subject to health and their desire to work; otherwise, the state provides financial support for them. That is not the case in Pakistan; here they are not even the last priority.

The typical Pakistani mentality rejects the past and goes for the new. Whatever that was done in the past was wrong. Government representatives cannot stop saying that the previous government is responsible for all the wrongs and that is why everything is beyond their control now. How long can they sell this theory? Is there any credibility left in such statements?

Then comes the second slogan: ‘our sacrifices’. Party members harp on their sacrifices. Remember, someone who stood for some principles, gave sacrifices. The current leaders are enjoying the windfall. They have no right to keep selling the ‘sacrifice’ of those leaders and reaping every benefit.

Now, a new budget of gloom is almost ready to be passed by the lawmakers. They are ready to sign on the dotted line even if it was a blank paper. They have no value for the public anyway. They may have encashed their value in some other way through some other maneouvre. This is democracy and thank God we have democracy. We have all been told that the worst form of ‘democracy’ is better than dictatorship. Indeed, we have been given the ‘worst form’ but of course it is better than any other form like that of a ‘dictatorship’. What is dictatorship? Simple. A person who has ever worn a uniform is a dictator. If he brings in democracy at all levels and improves the lot of the poor, it does not matter — it is still dictatorship and his democracy is ‘rubber stamp’ democracy. So forget it. Accept the misery and live happily because the ‘worst form’ of democracy is better than dictatorship. Enjoy drones. Bear starvation and smile. Don’t commit suicide, circumstances will relieve you soon. If you want to leave the country, go, please go. Who is stopping you? Haven’t you heard this from the highest quarter? Ha ha, you have nowhere to go. So stay here, and if you find an opportunity to slog in another country, then collect your wages in dollars. Hole yourselves in dungeons as a group. Save dollars and send those to Pakistan because we need to sustain our worst democracy; after all, it is better than dictatorship. We need those dollars because the caravan must keep moving and because we need oil to fill the tanks of our vehicles in our motorcades. Burn your midnight oil and send us money to make our entourages move. We need security, don’t we?

Do I sound cynical? Depressed? Me, the eternal optimist! Why? Is it because of the 46-degree temperature? Is it because I could not take a bath in the morning, as there was no water? Or is it because I had to wait for my breakfast due to low supply of gas? Maybe, but it could not be because of my crinkled suit; I have adopted this style to avoid using an iron to press.

I need to change the scene. Let us switch on the TV. Oh no, there are the same tales of misery. Change the channel. Yes, yes, this is better. There is a caravan of glittering lights on cars — big cars — Mercedes, Pajero, Land Cruiser, double-cabin, hundreds of shining vehicles. Wow, looks good. An aristocratic black vehicle leads it with a VIP in it. Let us all cheer. Long live our PM, CM and all others who have these entourages. Long live democracy.

What is this jarring sound of a siren? An ambulance stuck on the road? Oh forget it.

That is the way to go.

The writer is a culture and media management specialist, a researcher, director and author