I KNOW that it will not go down well with most readers and many of my acquaintances, but this needs to be said; the current political mess in the country is of our own making. It is we, the people, who elect politicians and send them to the corridors of power again and again to decide our fate. We later call them thugs and thieves, only to vote for them at the next elections.

Do we not know how most of these people live lavishly in large mansions at our cost, and we pay for their children`s studies abroad so that they could rule on us later? By no means, they are one of us. They consider themselves a different breed.

It works for them. But it does not work for us, the people. So why do we support them? Why do we take out rallies to support them? Why do we vote for them? Sooner or later, they are kicked out of their positions by someone else, but, sooner or later, they join hands with that `someone else` because they all have skeletonsintheirratherdecorated cupboards, and because they cannot live out of power for long as it is their lifeline.

We all know this for sure, and we have all watched it happen time and time again.

And, yet, we fall for them. Why? The voters are mere pawns on the chessboard, meant to keep the king alive for nothing in return. And what represents the `king` in this scenario? The system, of course.

Malik ul Quddoos Karachi