Unrest and corruption plague the streets of Pakistan. The nation, once thriving with smiles and pride for its motherland, now regrets ever establishing a livelihood in the state. Since the partition in 1947, Pakistan has been in an active struggle to find stability on its shaky legs. The land of the pure has been marred and bruised by its politics, more specifically, military coups, idiotic governance, imbalance within state powers, immature politics, treachery, corruption, and kitty-fighting among political party leaders. This long history of abuse has been persevering for 77 years and needs to be rectified before serious consequences occur, and it all ends with a political antidote.

In an act to overthrow the governor-general, Iskander Mirza, military officer Ayub Khan, upon earning the status of chief of military staff after the first martial law (and not the last) was inducted, exiled the governor-general and appointed himself as President in 1958. He assumed that military rule could be the saving grace for a Pakistan declining because of the rapid shuffling of governor generals. Although he contributed to immense economic growth, which in the end only led to the establishment of the 20 elite families and handing them the reins over the nation’s expansive resources, he abolished democracy and introduced a sinister version of it: basic democracy, in which only councils could vote, not Pakistani citizens. In essence, Pakistanis redeemed their right to vote in 1970.

He deemed Pakistanis illiterate and devoid of sense to select a leader. Unfortunately, this was not the last martial law, as there were two........

© The Spine Times