The people of America have voted for the status quo.
And by virtue of its remote connection to Pakistan, the enthusiastic Pakistani
supports of Mr. Obama should also expect this country to suffer through the
same state of affairs for the next four years.
This means that Pakistan will keep passing through a
delicate time: Drone attacks will continue, power shortfalls will stay, young
doctors and their employers will remain at loggerheads, polio eradication
campaigns will go on, crime graph will keep rising, war on terror will
continue, floods will hit again, IDPs will be rehabilitated, petroleum prices
will be ‘regulated’, fares will fare well, do more will be done, democracy will
continue to teeth, horses will be traded, corruption will have its heyday, flights
will be frequently cancelled, mediocrity will rule the roost, TV channels’
rating will improve, dengue will keep biting, sectarian killings will remain a
norm, poverty alleviation will continue, missing persons will not be missed, international
cricket will not return to Pakistan, our hysterical media will flourish, queer
inventions will come and go, teachers will do polio vaccination, financial
bailouts will keep coming, telecom industry will boom, bakery scams will break,
China will remain our best friend, FIRs will be registered, trains will arrive
late, scholars will be killed, culprits will be punished, more stalwarts will
join the justice league, Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline will stay on course, school
girls will be assailed, causes will be hijacked, rule of law will remain
elusive, institutions will be strengthened, people will keep getting their
rights, civil society will condemn, Karachi will continue to burn, everyone
will respect the courts, some will court arrest, security will be tightened, Pakistan
and the US will keep working together, bombs will be defused, domestic violence
will increase, justice will be done, monopolies will be controlled, cartels
will still exist, bridges will keep collapsing, legal reforms will be
celebrated, the faithful will spread the message through facebook, turf wars
will go on, new beginnings will be marked, extortion economy will boom, brain
drain will continue, lives will be saved, masses will be made to attend
rallies, property tycoons will grow in confidence, Malala will be doubted, politics
of reconciliation will prevail, schools will be destroyed, ties with India will
improve, NRO letter will be well-received, mistrust will increase, brilliant
students will get laptops, taxman will issue notices, Dr. Salam will not be
owned, acid attacks will be more frequent, mosques will keep mushrooming, pillion
riding will be banned, minorities will willfully embrace Islam, blasphemers
will be hounded by believers, no Salman Taseer will dare, ban on youtube will
linger on, moon will not be sighted, Islam will be served, two-nation theory
will remain intact, nation’s morale will remain upbeat, our flag will fly high,
Independence Days will be enthusiastically celebrated, and vision of our
founding fathers realized.
