July the 5th

July 5, 1997 is a date I consider to be one of the worst in the history of our nation. I believe that we lost our democratic rights beginning from that day forth. Even after the dark decade afterwards, our democratic freedom was so irreparably damaged to the extent that it has not yet recovered. The issues caused by the dictatorial military regime crippled democracy and shackled our freedom. The disintegration of the USSR, and the US becoming the epicentre of power became a serious issue for Pakistan in 2001. Religious extremism and intolerance has become common to see and to face.We did not learn any lesson from history and only lamented over our failures, falling prey to same trap in 1999. It is time to exercise our rights as citizens of this country and stick to the right course of action. Alternatively, we will remain as crippled and helpless as we have been for far too long.Iftikhar MirzaIslamabad

from The News International - Newspost https://ift.tt/2RW0xU5