Strikes, the Cynical Style

Reacting to a call by religio-political alliance, the MMA, a partial strike was observed in diverse vicinities of Pakistan -” at the weekend -” to, what is pretended as ‘a protest against the detention of some scientists in connection with the nuclear proliferation issue’.

Business and commercial activities were affected in major cities including the country’s financial capital. Irrespective of the justification and success of the strike or otherwise, the fact is that it has not only inflicted enormous pecuniary loss on the nation but has -” simultaneously -” caused severe hardship to the people.

As is estimated that the nation suffers a loss of almost 4 billion rupees -” a day -” as and when such a course is opted by a set of vested interests -” overtly to magnify their ‘zest n’ allure’ of polity -” in a peculiar style.

Every pragmatist, resolutely believes in the veracity that the avowal by MMA to go on strike had lost its authenticity in the objective conditions after President Pervez Musharraf had announced a pardon for Pakistan’s apex nuclear scientist, Dr AQ Khan in the wake of a meticulous probe into the issue of nukes’ proliferation.

With this bona fide perception, the egalitarians are ought to be aware of the fact that Pakistan can -” in no way -” manage to pay for the lavishness of strikes in view of its economic situation, now taking impetus via a phased sketch.

Amid the sumptuousness, let loose by the gone-bye regimes, the nation has barely come out of its fiscal jumble. Though, there are perceptibly positive pointers of financial revival, but the process of the country’s economic take-off can plunge into jeopardy with such gratuitous pursuits by a few sets of political parties -” opposed to the government, with one ruse or the other.

It’s -” in fact -” fraught with sliding the country’s assets n’ resources, eventually -” back to stagnation, which every patriot wouldn’t like, in any way.

Instead, its’ time to pursue the call of the Father of the Nation, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah [RA] -” wherein he had beamed his illustrious vision -” work, work and work to strengthen the national economy.

Pakistan’s economic expansion n’ affluence has lagged mostly because of such frolicsome quests -” by n’ large due to its political stalwarts, the bulk of whom has fantastic glamour n’ fancy for self-projection -” even at the cost of loved national interests.

We feel that not only the MMA -” but even others -” should go far realism -” vis-à-vis their national obligations as vital components of the political entity in Parliament rather than resorting to atypical short-sighted loom to exploit a complex scenario -” faced by the country.

Probe into the nuclear proliferation was not an average issue. It had the potential of having negative bearing on the country’s nuclear programme. It was time to rise above party politics and face the situation with wisdom, expediency and political acumen instead of opting for strikes and agitation.

Factually, it is a crucial topic and needed to be viewed with political maturity in the supreme national interests. There was -” therefore -” no raison d’être or logic for protest since the President had placed all the facts pertaining to the inquiry into the nuclear proliferation before the people.

We hope with a solid ray of optimism that in view of the country’s politico-economic situation, the strike culture shall come to an end at-once. This is what the electorate expects from their representatives -” sent to the fabulous Houses of the Parliament -” to mitigate their hereditary dilemmas via requisite legislations -” instead of posing perils to them in multiple arenas -” with dexterity.

Such a course -” if persists and is not eschewed -” the history shall set in motion, in the same awful fashion -” as is indexed in its’ preamble about the gaffe of the evaporated democratic epochs -” of the past, times of yore.