AS we hear of a wave of change everywhere in the shape of Imran Khan’s PTI, most of us are thinking and want that there must be a positive change in the country and issues like corruption, unemployment, power crisis and law and order should be resolved.

I was also with the PTI for a few months until the dengue spread in Lahore. Test laboratories started fleecing the people for dengue fever test and Shaukat Khanum laboratory was also in the same line, demanding Rs700 to Rs1,400. The Punjab government announced that the charges for dengue virus test is Rs90 to facilitate the people in crisis, which was a need of time.

But a few laboratory owners, including Shaukat Khanum -- purely run by donations and contributions given by people -- offered resistance to the government decision and approached the Lahore High Court.

Now the point is that if the PTI chief, the trustee of Shaukhat Khanum laboratory, could not help the people in a criss, how come he will do that on coming to power.

I am now focusing on the party which has a strong experienced team and fewer corrupt people in it because we, as nation, are not perfect apart from the few who do have some authority.

SAEED IQBAL via email

Cricket hero

SUPPORT for Imran Khan is not because of his great achievements in the political arena but because of him winning the World Cup and building the Shaukat Khanam Memorial Hospital. Indeed they are great accomplishments but in no way do they amount to any political substance. The most common reason for his support is that ‘everyone else has been tested and so now its Imran Khan’s turn.’ As ‘moving’ as that testimony is, it does not hold any political reasoning as it means that the support for Imran is not for his ‘qualification’ but more so based on other political players disqualifications.

Similarly, when Pervez Musharraf is spoken about in the political sphere, the one thing that overshadows all other is his military background. No doubt, it is a major part of his life but it cannot be the dominant aspect of his political portfolio. Even if it was, it still is not a disqualifying feature as supporters of Turkey’s first President Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, American President Dwight Eisenhower, Singaporean former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, and Vietnamese Prime Minister Ho Chi Minh would certainly beg to differ.

Hence, there is a grave need for objectivity in current political discussions so that our people do not use Imran’s novelty aspect as a viable reason to vote for him. Let us analyse our politicians for the true political mettle they are made of and not go with the flow just because their non-political aspects appeal to us.

HAWRA POONAWALA Karachi

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