"Unheeded Lessons of Democracy"

Two quotes from this article I just saw at sacw. The Dawn link doesn't seem to work.

Humourist Imran Aslam took a potshot at the way Pakistanis view core values when he pointed out in a recent play that we are a country where Ideas is a departmental store, Liberty is the name of a market and Freedom and Trust are personal hygiene products. Maybe it’s time to ask if Pakistan was ever a democracy, or have we rapidly slipped from being a colony to an oligarchy constituted by a powerful, dishonest and self-serving elite that connives at monopolising politics, land, the military and industry. The conspiracy to keep the majority disenfranchised is clear to anyone who has lived through or studied the country’s short history.

For any tangible success the real battle has to be fought within each Pakistani as he/she struggles to re-learn the spirit of democracy. The blueprint to victory lies in the understanding and practice of the constitution which has been forsaken by citizens and leaders alike. The first step in this direction would be to dismantle the system of economic apartheid which resides both in attitudes and in the crumbling brick-and-mortar facilities for the masses.

All talk, and no f'kin walk! That is us.

From SACW