Aun Mohammad Zaidi

We as citizens have forgotten what it means to be people. In a democracy, contrary to popular belief, it is not parliament that is supreme but rather the people who elect them

On Friday, Lahore or rather Pakistan got a reminder like none before. The Taliban in all their force showed this country that they can and will strike at will wherever they want and there is nothing the citizens of this country can do about it.

The twin suicide blasts in RA Bazaar followed by six smaller explosions in different parts of Lahore, brought the city to a standstill. As these lines are being written the death toll — presently at 53 — from the RA Bazaar blasts sadly still seems to be creeping up. This is really unfortunate for a city that prides itself on always welcoming the world, now seems to be cautious and closing its doors. When terror had gripped this city and no place was safe enough, the Lahore police was being stretched to its limit trying to cope with the terror attacks. But apparently the people of this city are not important enough, as the policemen still lined the streets on VIP routes. We as citizens have forgotten what it means to be people. In a democracy, contrary to popular belief, it is not parliament that is supreme but rather the people who elect them because these very people have the power to not elect anyone who does not do justice to the people or the country.

This city has been the target of numerous attacks by the Taliban based in Pakistan and their close allies in the south of Punjab. But the unwillingness of the Punjab government to take any sort of action against these splinter groups has come back to haunt the civilian population of Lahore. In fact, the provincial law minister has even been out campaigning with the leader of a banned militant organisation, without any legal consequences. If any one of us in their right mind was to campaign with the leader of the most notorious banned militant organisation in Punjab, we would be whisked away, never to be heard from again. This is not a personal attack on the law minister but rather the basis for my point that the law of the land only seems to be applicable to the ordinary citizens of this country. Had this been an ordinary citizen, our honourable chief justice would have swiftly taken suo motu action and delivered a decision in the middle of the night. But alas it is not.

Coming back to the high and mighty political elite, where were they when this city was bleeding? I would like to see them take one for the country. It is very convenient to be unavailable to the people of this city in their time of need. But if truth be told, we as individuals are more, if not solely, to blame for the predicament we find ourselves in today as a nation. We choose to turn a blind eye to blatant corruption, whether it is greasing the palm of a police officer at 3:30 am or paying a few hundred bucks to jump the line at a NADRA office. We have sadly made corruption a part and parcel of our society.

Our second greatest mistake is to follow blindly. We follow our politicians, the media or even Pirs. And we do this because it is the easy way out and literally requires no effort or work on our part. The problem with such an approach is, first, there is no substitute for hard work and second, nothing good in life or even in the hereafter is easy.

The greatest problem for us as a democratic country is that we do not or cannot be bothered to vote. Voting is the fundamental principle on which a democratic system is based. A lack of practicing this fundamental human right leads to having parliaments and assemblies filled with individuals who oppress and inflict the greatest misery on the very people who they are meant to serve.

Now the ball is firmly in our court. Do we wish to continue letting the world pass us by and turn the dreams and aspirations of all those people who struggled and gave their lives to create this nation go to waste? Or will we take back what is rightfully ours? Because we can carry on with our slumber and let a bunch of petty criminals drape themselves in a cloak of religion that could not be further away from killing innocent civilians. We can choose to be held up in traffic for hours while a ‘civil servant’ goes on his merry way. Or continue to hear the same rhetoric coming from these very public servants, holed up in their well-guarded fortresses.

Let us for once not take the easy way and fight for a better tomorrow not just for ourselves but also the future generations of this great country. The struggle will not be easy and it will not be over quickly, but the sweet taste of victory will bring us a step closer to nirvana.

The writer is an Assistant Editor at Daily Times. He can be reached at aunzaidi83@gmail.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mohammed-Abbasi/127828101213