Pakistan was grief stricken by the loss of a legend. Media was flooded with thousands of images of Abdul Sattar Edhi, each individual paying his/her tribute to the unparalleled services of a layman towards his country. Edhi saheb was a prominent Pakistani humanitarian and philanthropist, he was the father to the thousands placed in the empty cradles located outside his foundations, he was the shelter for the disowned and abandoned, saviour of the wounded, and guardian of the dead. Neither did he live in a palace, nor did his persona reek of abundant wealth. His remarkable selfless actions bestowed him with riches no man can acquire in a monetary transaction. Amidst the catalogue exhibiting Edhi saheb’s praiseworthy accomplishments, our attention was arrested by one particular moment that was captured by TV cameras during the burial of Edhi saheb that made every Pakistani’s heart sink to the pit of their stomachs. We understand that some people never miss an opportunity to generate a laugh, its part of their personality. However, when we see careless insensitivity and absence of basic manners it compels us to think that there is something terribly wrong with our front-row politicians. The display of our leadership’s infantile behaviour was insulting, to say the least, A burial ceremony regardless of the identity of the deceased is emotionally taxing, as each attendee is struck with the horrifying realisation that inevitably we are all destined to be six feet under where we shall be all alone, no one to share our hysterical jokes with, no one to come to our rescue, and where no amount of worldly riches would enable us to buy a luxurious hereafter. Such behavior is unacceptable, to say the least, but these strong emotions are overridden by one of sheer disbelief. The man being lowered to his grave was an ordinary yet extraordinary human being, the ensemble of the powerful entourage at his send-off is an affirmation of this. The funeral coverage also generated an epic contrast that commanded national television screens, breaking news vigourously flashed with governmental directions to send a special PIA 777 plane to London for the return of the prime minister (PM), his family and 20 camp office staff, total of 30 people in the aircraft that has the capacity to carry 350 people. Reaction to this extravagant decision began to pour on mainstream as well as on social media, highlighting the millions of rupees that were being relentlessly spent in order to uphold the royal mannerisms of our elected leadership. The stark contrast between the lifestyles of the two men sharing screen space was food for thought. Although Media plays a dedicated role of a watchdog but the governments, federal or provincial, aren’t fearful enough to derail from their governing techniques. Some of their statements are entertaining; they spin more unpredictably than the most skilful googly. It was rich for the PM’s media cell to release a statement that the PM would be bearing all costs of his surgical procedure. Channels were advised to especially highlight the tweet saying the same, but a few days later it was followed by an extraordinary travel itinerary burdening the exchequer. The mindset of PM’s media cell can only be deduced as either one of the following: the Pakistani public is too naive to comprehend the eccentric information provided, or that they simply do not care what the public thinks at all. The ruling elite has a flair for spinning stories, even vast media coverage of the barbaric behaviour in broad daylight in Model Town Lahore did not deter them from twisting facts. The blame of heinous acts was amusingly placed on the victims, and the Punjab government unbelievably wiggled its way out of assault, grievous bodily harm and murder, knocking accountability and human rights out of the park. The recent episode of Rangers with the close relatives of the incumbent home minister of Sindh and with his alleged front man protecting criminals and facilitating them explains how safe one could be in the present regime, and the kind of people ruling the country and given the authority to protect our lives. It would not be wrong to say that insensitivity in the ruling elite has been taken to a whole new level by making it a trademark of their every move, word and intent. This takes us back to the darkest day witnessed by this generation — the Army Public School terror attack. The entire country was jolted by the incomprehensible brutality of the event, yet a day after the incident at an all-party conference in Peshawar, the political leadership did not abstain from floating a joke at its opposition. Families of the martyred children and the millions sharing their pain were most certainly disgusted at the timing of the comic relief. Politics has become a bazaar of contradictions; the impact of weak governance is dragging our country in to state of bewilderment and uncertainty. The long absence of our PM has put the public at a dangerously vulnerable political situation in which the head of the government is missing in action. Why were sensitive domestic affairs being dealt by immature people, or by the people who had no constituency or public representation? We were still groping in the dark for some answers when the news of the PM’s return was announced, and a spark of hope flickered to life, prematurely so, and hope was extinguished and replaced with paranoia. The PM decided to stay in Lahore, a few hundred of kilometres away from the office he was elected to sit in. A country cannot be steered in the right direction without a captain at the wheel, uncertainty and confusion has gripped the country. The sudden appearance of banners streaming though the cities of Pakistan pleading General Raheel Sharif to take control and navigate this country in the right direction is either a sheer act of desperation or an attempt to further deteriorate the civil-military relationship. The writ of the government is up in smoke, uncertainty has crippled the political infrastructure, and the common man is wandering like a headless chicken. The leadership must fathom the poignancy of the current situation, take firm hold of the reins, and challenging decisions must be made. A personal predicament must not eclipse good governance. Edhi saheb’s life is a perfect specimen from which our ruling elite should gather inspiration; his achievements go to show that nothing is impossible when the purity of heart and the power of honest mind are synced. This compels us to wonder whether the death of a great humanitarian resulted in the death of humanity in our nation altogether. The current government must negate this notion by circumventing its connection to a lineage of predatory politicians, the creators of a dimorphic democracy where powerful influence is used to climb up the political ladder for personal gain. It is not at all alarming that our ruling elite are drunk on power, and in their inebriated state vile acts are repeatedly committed against the common man; accountability is a distant concept for an infrastructure in a drunken stupor. So does this mean we are being forced to depart from our hopes of achieving a Pakistan envisioned by Mohammad Ali Jinnah because of our ballot choices? Have we reached an impasse? Would it be completely foolish to entrust the individuals who have been elected or given the authority on the premise that he/she would empower, respect and serve the common man? We can only hope that all hope is not lost, this nation has the ability to raise from the ashes, having weathered many storms, ranging from natural catastrophes to multiple terror attacks. We all bleed in a deep shade of green. Optimism may just be the key to success so long as it is backed by sincere and sensible leadership. The writer is a media professional, and can be reached at ybmirza@gmail.com