A nation-in-waiting

This is truly a nation-in-waiting, in both senses of the phrase. It is in thrall to the whims of an unelected person to whom fate has handed over a major political party and who has dedicated himself to toying with nation and party, confining both to a state of suspended animation.

Then, the nation is waiting for much to happen or transpire, but not patiently. Thinking and aware society â€" as opposed to the civil type â€" are voicing much anger, mixed with disgust and anxiety over the state of affairs both internal and external. The awam, suffering and tired, waits apathetically

What we all may finally have learnt is that the ballot box is no cure. An election does not per se denote democracy, it is merely a route towards democracy and if that route is flawed then obviously the end result is flawed. What the nation was offered in the election, an election fraught with a sympathy vote, was a choice between a selection of relics of the highly flawed 1990s. It was both illogical and foolish to expect that any good could come out of such an exercise. That it has taken the nation over four months to realise this speaks volumes for its perspicacity.

The nation is waiting for the non-elected co-chairman of the PPP-Z to stop smiling, as he has already been advised there is nothing to smile about, yet. The nation is waiting for him to decide whether his party and its ministers, voicing inanities by default, will remain in their present paralytic state.