That day was a strange day, by all comparisons. The sun rose, ushering the plethora of cars to slowly regulate around the arteries and veins of Lahore, much like a living organism. While imperfections lie everywhere, new arteries have been erected, the existing ones have been widened, and the organism inhales and exhales everyday. It is a resilient creature, militantly combating any unfavorable events and ensuring that it never stops breathing. Until it’s choked.
While the current government has a proven history of heat for having misplaced priorities, the line beyond misplaced priorities and amassing political capital has blurred beyond recognition. There is an identifiably distinguished qualitative difference between building bridges and underpasses over hospitals versus using emergency vehicles to hang party posters during Nawaz Sharif’s march to Lahore.
Some would say that there is no difference as the hopeful outcome for both pursuits is the same: votes. While that may be true, we currently have a government hell-bent on building as much political capital in one of most decisive national voter base. While the party has maintained it’s united front, the cracks may be foreshadowing a deeper fracture. This renders an environment where decisions stand on a foundation of flawed reason, of cloudy judgment, and of furthering party interests instead of national interests.
Bridges, underpasses, metro busses, orange lines, cricket matches, while piggybacking on CPEC win elections. It is a simple equation, which PML-N has a masterful command over. Bringing the Zimbabwe series, the PSL final, and now the World XI paint the country in a favorable light which is useful but often we overlook or even justify the cost.
Why was yesterday a strange day? Because I saw people die on the roads. Because I saw old men being pushed around like cattle. Because I saw a glimpse of how much a human beings’ life costs. And it was a strange day because at the end of it, I reached home to find international cricket on the television, live from Lahore.
I do not mean to slander or attack the cricket played but I question the means to the end. While it is a touching moment to see the ‘Cricket Comes Home’ banners and sentiments, is this really something crippling a metropolitan city of twelve million people?
This isn’t a rant about the traffic, or the loss to the private sector. This is about the mentality and the vigor with which the current government is attempting to maximize their talking points for the coming elections. The purpose of putting these thoughts onto paper is to raise the question: Is it more important to have cosmetic signs of development and prosperity, at the cost of real damage?
The nation is reeling from the verdict issued by the Supreme Court. For better or for worse, at a time when national institutional promises are being operationalized, is this really something that we the people, members of this democracy, need?
Juvenal’s quote seems to be very relevant here: “Give them bread and circuses and they will never revolt.”
The next match-day will be another strange day. We will sit by idly and witness the helpless wails of ambulances stuck in traffic. We will watch the mighty Punjab government emulate a developed country, pulling a curtain over the impoverished masses that will wait because a cricket match is far more important than lives, or civil justice, or anything really.
Let’s just hope that all the transformers behave themselves this time, shall we?*
While the current government has a proven history of heat for having misplaced priorities, the line beyond misplaced priorities and amassing political capital has blurred beyond recognition. There is an identifiably distinguished qualitative difference between building bridges and underpasses over hospitals versus using emergency vehicles to hang party posters during Nawaz Sharif’s march to Lahore.
Some would say that there is no difference as the hopeful outcome for both pursuits is the same: votes. While that may be true, we currently have a government hell-bent on building as much political capital in one of most decisive national voter base. While the party has maintained it’s united front, the cracks may be foreshadowing a deeper fracture. This renders an environment where decisions stand on a foundation of flawed reason, of cloudy judgment, and of furthering party interests instead of national interests.
Bridges, underpasses, metro busses, orange lines, cricket matches, while piggybacking on CPEC win elections. It is a simple equation, which PML-N has a masterful command over. Bringing the Zimbabwe series, the PSL final, and now the World XI paint the country in a favorable light which is useful but often we overlook or even justify the cost.
Why was yesterday a strange day? Because I saw people die on the roads. Because I saw old men being pushed around like cattle. Because I saw a glimpse of how much a human beings’ life costs. And it was a strange day because at the end of it, I reached home to find international cricket on the television, live from Lahore.
I do not mean to slander or attack the cricket played but I question the means to the end. While it is a touching moment to see the ‘Cricket Comes Home’ banners and sentiments, is this really something crippling a metropolitan city of twelve million people?
This isn’t a rant about the traffic, or the loss to the private sector. This is about the mentality and the vigor with which the current government is attempting to maximize their talking points for the coming elections. The purpose of putting these thoughts onto paper is to raise the question: Is it more important to have cosmetic signs of development and prosperity, at the cost of real damage?
The nation is reeling from the verdict issued by the Supreme Court. For better or for worse, at a time when national institutional promises are being operationalized, is this really something that we the people, members of this democracy, need?
Juvenal’s quote seems to be very relevant here: “Give them bread and circuses and they will never revolt.”
The next match-day will be another strange day. We will sit by idly and witness the helpless wails of ambulances stuck in traffic. We will watch the mighty Punjab government emulate a developed country, pulling a curtain over the impoverished masses that will wait because a cricket match is far more important than lives, or civil justice, or anything really.
Let’s just hope that all the transformers behave themselves this time, shall we?*
Some would say that there is no difference as the hopeful outcome for both pursuits is the same: votes. While that may be true, we currently have a government hell-bent on building as much political capital in one of most decisive national voter base. While the party has maintained it’s united front, the cracks may be foreshadowing a deeper fracture. This renders an environment where decisions stand on a foundation of flawed reason, of cloudy judgment, and of furthering party interests instead of national interests.
Bridges, underpasses, metro busses, orange lines, cricket matches, while piggybacking on CPEC win elections. It is a simple equation, which PML-N has a masterful command over. Bringing the Zimbabwe series, the PSL final, and now the World XI paint the country in a favorable light which is useful but often we overlook or even justify the cost.
Why was yesterday a strange day? Because I saw people die on the roads. Because I saw old men being pushed around like cattle. Because I saw a glimpse of how much a human beings’ life costs. And it was a strange day because at the end of it, I reached home to find international cricket on the television, live from Lahore.
I do not mean to slander or attack the cricket played but I question the means to the end. While it is a touching moment to see the ‘Cricket Comes Home’ banners and sentiments, is this really something crippling a metropolitan city of twelve million people?
This isn’t a rant about the traffic, or the loss to the private sector. This is about the mentality and the vigor with which the current government is attempting to maximize their talking points for the coming elections. The purpose of putting these thoughts onto paper is to raise the question: Is it more important to have cosmetic signs of development and prosperity, at the cost of real damage?
The nation is reeling from the verdict issued by the Supreme Court. For better or for worse, at a time when national institutional promises are being operationalized, is this really something that we the people, members of this democracy, need?
Juvenal’s quote seems to be very relevant here: “Give them bread and circuses and they will never revolt.”
The next match-day will be another strange day. We will sit by idly and witness the helpless wails of ambulances stuck in traffic. We will watch the mighty Punjab government emulate a developed country, pulling a curtain over the impoverished masses that will wait because a cricket match is far more important than lives, or civil justice, or anything really.
Let’s just hope that all the transformers behave themselves this time, shall we?*
Bridges, underpasses, metro busses, orange lines, cricket matches, while piggybacking on CPEC win elections. It is a simple equation, which PML-N has a masterful command over. Bringing the Zimbabwe series, the PSL final, and now the World XI paint the country in a favorable light which is useful but often we overlook or even justify the cost.
Why was yesterday a strange day? Because I saw people die on the roads. Because I saw old men being pushed around like cattle. Because I saw a glimpse of how much a human beings’ life costs. And it was a strange day because at the end of it, I reached home to find international cricket on the television, live from Lahore.
I do not mean to slander or attack the cricket played but I question the means to the end. While it is a touching moment to see the ‘Cricket Comes Home’ banners and sentiments, is this really something crippling a metropolitan city of twelve million people?
This isn’t a rant about the traffic, or the loss to the private sector. This is about the mentality and the vigor with which the current government is attempting to maximize their talking points for the coming elections. The purpose of putting these thoughts onto paper is to raise the question: Is it more important to have cosmetic signs of development and prosperity, at the cost of real damage?
The nation is reeling from the verdict issued by the Supreme Court. For better or for worse, at a time when national institutional promises are being operationalized, is this really something that we the people, members of this democracy, need?
Juvenal’s quote seems to be very relevant here: “Give them bread and circuses and they will never revolt.”
The next match-day will be another strange day. We will sit by idly and witness the helpless wails of ambulances stuck in traffic. We will watch the mighty Punjab government emulate a developed country, pulling a curtain over the impoverished masses that will wait because a cricket match is far more important than lives, or civil justice, or anything really.
Let’s just hope that all the transformers behave themselves this time, shall we?*
Why was yesterday a strange day? Because I saw people die on the roads. Because I saw old men being pushed around like cattle. Because I saw a glimpse of how much a human beings’ life costs. And it was a strange day because at the end of it, I reached home to find international cricket on the television, live from Lahore.
I do not mean to slander or attack the cricket played but I question the means to the end. While it is a touching moment to see the ‘Cricket Comes Home’ banners and sentiments, is this really something crippling a metropolitan city of twelve million people?
This isn’t a rant about the traffic, or the loss to the private sector. This is about the mentality and the vigor with which the current government is attempting to maximize their talking points for the coming elections. The purpose of putting these thoughts onto paper is to raise the question: Is it more important to have cosmetic signs of development and prosperity, at the cost of real damage?
The nation is reeling from the verdict issued by the Supreme Court. For better or for worse, at a time when national institutional promises are being operationalized, is this really something that we the people, members of this democracy, need?
Juvenal’s quote seems to be very relevant here: “Give them bread and circuses and they will never revolt.”
The next match-day will be another strange day. We will sit by idly and witness the helpless wails of ambulances stuck in traffic. We will watch the mighty Punjab government emulate a developed country, pulling a curtain over the impoverished masses that will wait because a cricket match is far more important than lives, or civil justice, or anything really.
Let’s just hope that all the transformers behave themselves this time, shall we?*
I do not mean to slander or attack the cricket played but I question the means to the end. While it is a touching moment to see the ‘Cricket Comes Home’ banners and sentiments, is this really something crippling a metropolitan city of twelve million people?
This isn’t a rant about the traffic, or the loss to the private sector. This is about the mentality and the vigor with which the current government is attempting to maximize their talking points for the coming elections. The purpose of putting these thoughts onto paper is to raise the question: Is it more important to have cosmetic signs of development and prosperity, at the cost of real damage?
The nation is reeling from the verdict issued by the Supreme Court. For better or for worse, at a time when national institutional promises are being operationalized, is this really something that we the people, members of this democracy, need?
Juvenal’s quote seems to be very relevant here: “Give them bread and circuses and they will never revolt.”
The next match-day will be another strange day. We will sit by idly and witness the helpless wails of ambulances stuck in traffic. We will watch the mighty Punjab government emulate a developed country, pulling a curtain over the impoverished masses that will wait because a cricket match is far more important than lives, or civil justice, or anything really.
Let’s just hope that all the transformers behave themselves this time, shall we?*
This isn’t a rant about the traffic, or the loss to the private sector. This is about the mentality and the vigor with which the current government is attempting to maximize their talking points for the coming elections. The purpose of putting these thoughts onto paper is to raise the question: Is it more important to have cosmetic signs of development and prosperity, at the cost of real damage?
The nation is reeling from the verdict issued by the Supreme Court. For better or for worse, at a time when national institutional promises are being operationalized, is this really something that we the people, members of this democracy, need?
Juvenal’s quote seems to be very relevant here: “Give them bread and circuses and they will never revolt.”
The next match-day will be another strange day. We will sit by idly and witness the helpless wails of ambulances stuck in traffic. We will watch the mighty Punjab government emulate a developed country, pulling a curtain over the impoverished masses that will wait because a cricket match is far more important than lives, or civil justice, or anything really.
Let’s just hope that all the transformers behave themselves this time, shall we?*
The nation is reeling from the verdict issued by the Supreme Court. For better or for worse, at a time when national institutional promises are being operationalized, is this really something that we the people, members of this democracy, need?
Juvenal’s quote seems to be very relevant here: “Give them bread and circuses and they will never revolt.”
The next match-day will be another strange day. We will sit by idly and witness the helpless wails of ambulances stuck in traffic. We will watch the mighty Punjab government emulate a developed country, pulling a curtain over the impoverished masses that will wait because a cricket match is far more important than lives, or civil justice, or anything really.
Let’s just hope that all the transformers behave themselves this time, shall we?*
Juvenal’s quote seems to be very relevant here: “Give them bread and circuses and they will never revolt.”
The next match-day will be another strange day. We will sit by idly and witness the helpless wails of ambulances stuck in traffic. We will watch the mighty Punjab government emulate a developed country, pulling a curtain over the impoverished masses that will wait because a cricket match is far more important than lives, or civil justice, or anything really.
Let’s just hope that all the transformers behave themselves this time, shall we?*
The next match-day will be another strange day. We will sit by idly and witness the helpless wails of ambulances stuck in traffic. We will watch the mighty Punjab government emulate a developed country, pulling a curtain over the impoverished masses that will wait because a cricket match is far more important than lives, or civil justice, or anything really.
Let’s just hope that all the transformers behave themselves this time, shall we?*
Let’s just hope that all the transformers behave themselves this time, shall we?*
