Daily Times

So much has been said and done on as well as by political leaders that the present times call for something beyond repetition and monotony.

The political leadership is commonly understood as the ability of the government and opposition to guide and support the vote bank to cherished results. The reality tells a different story, which calls for something beyond leadership. Beyond leadership lies statesmanship. A nation looks for statesmen with the acumen to address local, national and international issues beyond set, standard and stereotypical leadership; through innovative ideas, insights and initiatives and with a better emotional maturity, seriousness of purpose and penetrative thinking.

Must our leaders/statesmen and public believe there is something so indispensable, so concealed and at the bottom line of our nagging woes that it should not be sidelined in the best personal, public and national interest. A humble little but ground-breaking and problem-solving tip for our leadership and statesmanship would be to rise over and above die-hard ego, vanity, (ana), self and party interests. They should stand and work together with gifted vim, vigour and vitality to seek a national consensus on core issues about our hypersensitivities in national and international security as well as financial, social and economic issues.

The leadership needs to rise over and above its ego to prioritise result-oriented development plans and projects that basically enable masses to learn and live with self-confidence and self- reliance through job and trade-related skills for a decent and respectable livelihood. It is the public who needs to be familiarised and acclimatized with the habit and spirit of self-reliance through both leadership and by an enlightened and responsible media. Here, envisioned is an enlightened and harmonious blend of leadership and mass media.

Must our leaders/statesmen and public believe there is something so indispensable, so concealed and at the bottom line of our nagging woes that it should not be sidelined in the best personal, public and national interest

Leaders, we love you because you are our leaders. We respect you because you are our trend-setters. We cherish you because you are our role models. We relish you because you are our ray of hope. But our dear leaders, trend-setters, role models and the ray of hope, we bleed our hearts out when we see you fight so viciously, wildly and horribly. We are shell-shocked and deadly stunned to see you locked in a round-the-clock match of hurling abusing and bouts of leg-pulling and mud-slinging at the very cost of national grace, dignity and honour!

True, we all are very concerned about our problems-turned-woes of inflation, unemployment, education, health, environment, public utilities, roads, traffic and transportation looming precariously large over the national horizon. Indeed, incomprehensibly horrendous are our hidden and exposed teething troubles of internal and external security as well as international status. We do have full trust and confidence in the custodians of Pakistan who always rise to our internal and external security challenges with an exemplary vision and valour second to none.

Our dear leaders, we, the teeming millions of Pakistan–our envisioned land of purity, promise and potential–beg you to please rise over and above self; banish die-hard ego; stand together; sink your lethal differences and address the core national issues by coexisting with conflicting views and interests. Let fortune smile on Pakistan. Let’s hope that our economic leaders practically work on Gross National Happiness rather than merely lamenting the falling Gross National Product. Easy said than done but where there is a will there is a way!

The writer is the HoD and Senior Faculty of Public Affairs, at IoBM, Karachi