That’s why it’s called a round table: to at least give a physical and visual perspective that everyone sitting at this table is equal and has an equal say.
Other than that, as Muna Khan wrote in Dawn: there is no neutral position between the oppressor and the oppressed.
Very simple. Clean. Understandable. You can analyze this statement based on historical events or current affairs.
But in Pakistan, you cannot even get this. Today’s oppressors are yesterday’s oppressed. And vice versa. Everyone here has his/her day. And then night.
It’s a vicious cycle where Pakistan is tied perpetually.
Imagine: people here get their higher vote bank / mandate only when they are thrown out of power with mixed charges. That’s it. That’s the sanest Pakistan can be every single time.
But honestly, the debate is simple. The oppressor here is one institution that starts with a G. Spot. It’s very sensitive, yet very insensitive.
And the oppressed is the general public that isn’t in the upper echelons of society.
The rest – a small fraction of the population – are those who keep on changing their position in the doggystyle format for their gains, benefits, and turnaround.
The rest is bickering.
All rise!
