After the discussion was over. Lahore studio of Platform. With Mr.Mushahid Hussain The latest episode of Platform that I hosted from Lahore was special in more ways than one. I had to host it not only out of schedule but also got to sit down with a very learned guest, Mr. Mushahid Hussain. A well known figure in Pakistan and abroad.
We had an extra minute on air before we wrapped up the show. And because we were discussing startegic policy shifts of the west in the Middle East because of the revolt there, I asked Mr. Hussian questions that many wanted answers to, eversince thye uprising in Egypt.
Can we see a similar upsrising in Pakistan?
To this he said that Pakistan has never been through the kind of suffocation and repression. Pakistan has always had this unique way of recovering from different crises. As a society we have a democratic political culture.
But he did acknowledge that there was a distance between the ruler and the ruled, corruption and unemployment in the youth that had the potential for getting people out on the streets.
In Egypt it was the middle class that got out on the streets and made history. Is our middle class without that spark and enthusiasm that is required for revolution?
His reply was interesting. Our middle class is coming of age politically he feels. Pakistan's middle class is very vibrant. Civil society, media and judiciary -all represent that vibrancy. Therefore, Pakistanis donot , literally, have to come out on the streets.
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