National spirit

We regularly hear how poorly we compare with the US or the UK or other advanced countries of the world in almost all fields. But the news that US Republican leader John Boehner is using his authority as House Speaker to invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress, can provide us some comfort in that the speaker of a leading democracy is trying to embarrass the elected head of state and showing greater loyalty to a foreign prime minister than the president of his own country.
If we compare this with the consensus reached amongst all political parties and the civil and military authorities on the National Action Plan, there is an occasion for us to be satisfied with our national spirit. Even Imran Khan and religious parties have supported the plan. There are people who would discover a darker side for us even in this case but one would say to them: have a heart. We pray that while implementing the NAP our civil and military authorities can concentrate on winning hearts and minds and do not treat terrorism as an issue to be dealt with force alone.
Ross Masud
Lahore