Meanwhile.

Soon after reaching adulthood, you plan for life. With the idea of standing on your own feet facing the world, at the back of your mind, you estimate the steps towards success and proceed by taking the first step. Some business. Some occupation. Some work to sustain you and the family. Notwithstanding a possible change-in-plan, the struggle to make a name for yourself continues. Childhood completes as per the parents' wishes; adolescence comes to an end awaiting some initial achievements; during prime days, work starts and ends according to the wishes of the boss; and the marriage period begins and ends by fulfilling related responsibilities. Now your children take over their course of life. Soon you find yourself visiting doctors or preparing for an operation or two. Sitting quietly in a corner one day, some realization dawns on you. Where and when did I live my own life? Your life in fact was shelved in that major chunk of time which I call the 'meanwhile period' ...!!! From one point-in-time to another point-in-time, the total sum of your lifetime struggle .... the 'meanwhile period'. Regardless of what happened before and after any development, come to think of it, the most important datum is what is happening in the meantime. Similarly, nation-states go through the same process of aims, struggles, achievements, disappointments, lessons learned, re-learning, so on and so forth. Developments taking place at a given time seem so important, one tends to forget the importance of this 'meanwhile period' which is actually the time a person or a country should cherish and feel satisfied at the progress they have been able to make while making plans for the future. The other side of 'meanwhile' is equally important and perhaps dangerous. You are so focused on one side and immediate gains, you tend to completely ignore the other three sides of the square, resulting in medium-term and long-term losses. Addressing economic woes and terrorism, no one in Pakistan seems concerned about the menacing population growth, deteriorating health and education sectors and general well-being of the people. Political parties are busy striking lucrative deals to rule the country. Meanwhile, the masses are struggling to make both ends meet. The provision of basic amenities to the people is nowhere to be seen except in political speeches. The irony is, that every time they make never-to-be-fulfilled-promises and every time the people vote for them. Meanwhile...