Prioritizing environmental protection
July 9, 2021
In our obsession with political news, we often forget the more pressing issues that confront the quality of life in Pakistan.
Climate change, air pollution, water scarcity, coal-based power plants, poor sanitation stare at us every day and rob the citizens of this country of their lives and quality of their lives. Yet, there is not much public discourse on this. We are going to refer to Kulsum Ahmed’s chapter on the quality of life in Shahid Javed Burki and others’ 2019 edited book ‘Pakistan at Seventy’ in this article.
Pakistan’s urban population increased from 22 percent in 1960 to 39 percent in 2016. Of course social scientists like Akbar Zaidi and Reza Ali estimate urbanization to be much more widespread than that. Even going by official figures, Pakistan is the most urbanized country in South Asia. Yet, the basic facilities for life like safe drinking water and sanitation are denied to the million in both urban a
Illustration by Abro
In a 2016 thesis, the Turkish political scientist Emrah Konuralp writes, “in a society where ethics of citizenship based on civic solidarity is not well established, domination of religious majority would be the case.” Konuralp was not talking about a particular nation-state, but I find this observation apt when applied to Pakistan.
During a 2006 TV debate, the intellectual Khaled Ahmad asked people in the audience whether they were Muslim first or Pakistani. Ninety percent of the audience answered they were Muslim first. It’s like a Christian in Britain saying he/she is a Christian first. This sounds absurd in an era in which the 18th century idea of the nation-state has become an established norm.
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Zulfikar Ali Bhutto remains an enigmatic figure of Pakistan’s politics long after his passing
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s political legacy is singularly greater than any other politician in Pakistan’s history except that of Muhammad Ali Jinnah the father of the nation.
The 1973’s Constitution of Pakistan is his most remarkable contribution. Despite much disfigurement in the 1980s, it is one of the few factors that have ensured stability and continuity in the state structure.
His fall from power was as meteoric as his rise. Many factors - structural, political, economic, and, not least, personal – combined to cause this and his tragic end.