چل نِکل ۔ ایڈا توں دانشور۔ جا کے سٹاربکس کی کافی پی اور فیس بُک سٹیٹس اپڈیٹ کر۔
Kiyon,Aaap ko kiya takleef hoi in sawalat sey.
10 Questions from Bilawal Bhutto Zardari by Ali Moeen Nawazish |
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari took to the stage. It was a defining moment for Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). The whole future of the party in one way or another hangs in the balance. If Bilawal clicks, then the PPP can look forward to a successful election year. Bilawals speech and thus entry into politics has been met with mixed reviews. Some hail him while others abhor him. Yet, funnily the only thing most analysts can agree on is that he has improved his Urdu language. Still, there are 10 questions that come to mind after Bilawal was anointed torch-bearer, as a newspaper put it. It was indeed his first speech, and it was a chance to show that some form of change would come. It was an opportunity to show that he understood the challenges and the problems and was ready to tackle them head on. After all, such expectations are only natural from an educated man who has studied at one of the best institutions of the world. Question 1 Mr. Bilawal, your speech revolved around the emotional context of Benazir Bhuttos and Zulfiqar Ali Bhuttos deaths. While their sacrifices deserve to be recognised, shouldnt a man of your academic standing be more inclined to a different and more issue-based narrative? Question 2 How do you justify being chairperson of a political party working for democracy through inheritance and dynasty? The British press has already noted that UK press sees your entry as an exploitation of a dynastic connection. Question 3 How do sacrifices in the past which were very meaningful in their own way have anything to do with a brighter future for Pakistan? Only the existence of such sacrifices cant do much without a tangible plan to build upon them further. Question 4 In your entire speech except for stating that inflation had been reduced from 25 to 9 percent, you did not point to or discuss the essential economic problems of the country. What do you plan to do about those? Question 5 How do you plan tackling the security situation in the country, especially in Karachi? Question 6 You are one of the lucky few from the Pakistani youth to have received a world class education. Yet except for saying that your party will look into launching education programs, education was not highlighted in your speech. Isnt it the fact that the 18th Amendment, prepared by your party has, according to many experts, created grave problems for education by devolving the curriculum to provincial level, which should be a national subject. Question 7 You quietly swept aside that record level corruption has underscored your partys term in office for the past five years. What is your take on this? What will be done to minimise it? Question 8 There was also an expectation that you would come up with some clear policy guidelines, a roadmap that your party would take. There was also an expectation that you would go beyond just the jiyala narrative and would try to appeal to a broader audience. You didnt. Do you want to only limit yourself to loyalist supporters? Question 9 How do you expect to connect with an ordinary Pakistani. Having lived abroad most of your life, traveling in motorcades and in a protected bubble away from ordinary Pakistani, will you be able to determine the needs and expectations of people in the country? How do you expect to do that? Question 10 Lastly and perhaps more importantly, how do you expect to deal with the urban educated and perhaps more aware population? In particular, young people for whom just the slogan of roti, kapra and makan is not enough. A population which wants change from the typical old political landscape. How will you prove to them that you are an independent thinker and change-maker and not just an extension of the status quo? The writer is Youth Ambassador of Geo and Jang Group. Email: [email protected] |