Empowering at grassroots level

OVER time, the country’s socio-economic progress has generated and nurtured pluralism that has unfortunately found expression in political polarisation for want of required efforts to seek unity in diversity that can be forged by widely sharing rights, responsibilities and prosperity. On a positive note, the socio-economic progress has unleashed a (assertive) middle class whose presence can only be ignored by forces of the status quo at their own risk and cost. Looking at the big picture, Pakistan’s current economic model is not working, says World Bank Country Director Naiy Benhassine, adding ‘ significant progress in poverty reduction has now started to reverse, and benefits of growth have accrued to a narrow elite. Enormous challenges facing the country are also creating conditions for a bottom-up approach in areas where the failure of a top-down approach is glaringly visible. There is a growing demand to hold local bodies polls before the general elections to strengthen their political clout.