Shiffa Yousafzai |
Everyone in our country wants to be a leader and wants to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan. More than half of them (political lot) want to become the PM because of the perks and privileges available to the supreme leader, that beautiful and mesmerizing Prime Minister’s secretariat located on the picturesque constitution avenue of Islamabad (where every Prime minister resides like Queen Elizabeth in Buckingham Palace); while very few of them really feel the pain of the ‘depreciating land’ and want to do some good. But the question is that do we even have anyone with the traits of a supreme leader?
There are 446 members of parliament. Can we all have a consensus about any one of them having all those qualities needed to be a ‘supreme leader’?
Apparently, three traits that are missing in our political candidates running for premier-ship are: loyalty, honesty and statesmanship.
Lets not look toward the ones already tried and tested. Lets not try looking for a true leader in the parliament. Instead we should look around ourselves because you never know another Jinnah might be emerging out of the lost crowds.
Pakistan being a country of millions, after 70 years of its existence, is still confused about multiple things, including for example its identity. Our clerics brag about its status of being the only ‘Islamic’ nuclear power whereas our liberals and politicians brag about Pakistan that gives space to people from every religion and race to live peacefully making it look secular. Leaving the nation wondering, what exactly is the status of Pakistan?
Our politicians run for the supreme position in the political system of our country but lack a clear understanding of the divide between religion and politics. Donald Trump is ruthlessly criticized but he has demonstrated a clear understanding of what he really wanted to do with America, explaining it all in just four words ‘Make America Great Again’. The man was a newbie in terms of politics but still has far more clarity on what he wants to do than our politicians who have grown old practicing politics but still don’t know what path they want to take and what their destiny is. Maybe because they don’t have any destiny to reach to at all…
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What are the traits of a good leader?
- Integrity – He/she must have a sound moral character.
- Compassion
- Honesty
- Loyalty
- Statesmanship
- Rationality and many more…
A political leader should be someone who is able to resist the lures of the political amphitheatre. He/she should be able to make difficult decisions for the greater good even if his/her political career has to suffer as a consequence of that. We sadly have a habit of calling every other politician a ‘leader’ but a leader in the true essence of leadership was only one I believe – Muhammad Ali Jinnah. No other politician has ever touched the level of his loyalty, compassion, honesty and statesmanship.
If Jinnah can stand alone in front of two gigantic states and governing systems, you can too, given that you incorporate his leadership traits and adopt his ways of doing things in your life.
The nucleus of a leader has a very complex nuclear DNA, hence the qualities and leadership traits of great world leaders are unlimited making them a full package.
– Julius Caeser was famous for the respect he brought upon Rome from other nations of the world.
– Alexander The Great had the largest empire from Greece to Egypt to India. He was undefeated and his best quality was his bravery and military capabilities.
– Winston Churchill was a great motivator for the British people so that they could defend themselves fighting the Nazis. His determination was what kept the British going and that’s how he won both the war and hearts of his people.
– Nelson Mandela’s grit and hopefulness helped him overthrow the pro-apartheid government in South Africa and live through a 27 year long prison sentence. His peaceful and forgiving nature could be observed through one of his famous quotes, “As I walked out the door towards the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison”.
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In Pakistan, for some Imran Khan is a true leader today while some see Maryam Safdar as their future Prime Minister and for a small faction its Zardari or Bilawal Zardari as well. But all of them are busy in their own politics working towards their own political gains.
We have been allowing them to lie to us by believing them every time while voting for them. If you want to change your future, you have to come forward. Join a political party, or make one of your own, start the struggle and change the future.
When it comes to Nawaz Sharif, for the last five years he was mainly busy with his law suits for corruption and for being untruthful. Similarly Maryam Safdar was busy saving her father. While Imran Khan paid too much attention towards getting his biggest opponent disqualified, then he got busy with his own trial and meanwhile felt that he should get married because he has been deprived of personal happiness. That too, when the country’s more than a decade long, war against terror, was being mocked on Twitter and on other international forums by Trump and his followers. But what was interesting was that, the ‘shubh muhrat’, spiritual Khan thought of, proposing to a woman was precisely when the US cut military aid to Pakistan.
We can survive without the aid but the proposing exercise could wait. No?
Alright, you have been living on a hilltop alone. Sure you can get married for no one deserves to be living alone in the 65th year of life but you could certainly wait for things to get smoother if you call yourself a leader who loves Pakistan sincerely. You have sacrificed your children and a happily married life to the filth of this country’s politics, no doubt about that but was this really the time to propose to a woman? And on top of that you kept the whole media, analysts, strategists focusing on your personal life for three days instead of coming out in public and telling the whole truth right on the first day when the news came out.
They lie, they deceive, and they cheat. Dr. Joseph Goebbels, a German Nazi politician has been attributed with saying something along the lines ‘If you tell the same lie enough times, people will believe it’.
Getting married to find companionship and stability is no crime and I am pretty certain that in the upcoming weeks or months Khan will announce that he and Bushra Manika have decided to get married – (if they aren’t already married).
But having said that, this is the second uninterrupted democratic term of Pakistan and its about to be completed. And all have found stability making Pakistan unstable.
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We have been ruled by feudals, their sons and their daughters, and their grand sons and their grand daughters, because we, ordinary people of the country never tried coming forward and never participated in the country’s politics. Why shall we let the sons and daughters of Nawaz Sharif or Asif Ali Zardari rule us for the next 70 years or so? They’ll make more millions, and our children will starve with hunger.
When it comes to Nawaz Sharif, for the last five years he was mainly busy with his law suits for corruption and for being untruthful. Similarly Maryam Safdar was busy saving her father.
Ordinary people don’t come forward and the opportunists grab the opportunity with both hands every single time – that trend has to change now. They lie, they deceive, and they cheat. Dr. Joseph Goebbels, a German Nazi politician has been attributed with saying something along the lines ‘If you tell the same lie enough times, people will believe it’.
We have been allowing them to lie to us by believing them every time while voting for them. If you want to change your future, you have to come forward. Join a political party, or make one of your own, start the struggle and change the future. If Jinnah can stand alone in front of two gigantic states and governing systems, you can too, given that you incorporate his leadership traits and adopt his ways of doing things in your life.
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Lets not look toward the ones already tried and tested. Lets not try looking for a true leader in the parliament. Instead we should look around ourselves because you never know another Jinnah might be emerging out of the lost crowds.
Shiffa Yousafzai is a freelance writer; She is an International Alumni Ambassador for Manchester Metropolitan University, UK, where she studied Multimedia Journalism. Earlier, she graduated with business and marketing at Air University, Islamabad. She had been vice-president Air University Cultural Society; She is a singer and has performed in cultural events. Shiffa could be followed on twitter @Shiffa_ZY and on facebook @Shiffa Z. Yousafzai. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Global Village Space’s editorial policy.