CHITRAL: According to recent reports, a former Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, relatively young in age is driving an Uber taxi in the United States ‘to make ends meet’ by his own admission. The gentleman hailing from Baluchistan is a leader of the PTI and a close comrade of former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The courage of this gentleman can be personally attested to by this scribe, who was present during the 2014 Dharna at Islamabad’s D-Chowk. When shelling and tear gas had driven away all the other leaders and most of the workers, he was seen standing firmly beside his leader on the container along with few workers beside the container, including this scribe.

Subsequently, the gentleman rose to become Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly—a highly coveted and responsible constitutional position. Despite this record of bravery and service, the stark reality today is that, after fleeing the country due to fear of persecution by the sitting regime, he is earning a living in the United States by driving a taxi.

This is where the irony of the system becomes evident. A person who could not secure employment beyond taxi driving in the United States, where merit largely determines opportunity, once held the position of the fifth most powerful officeholder in the Pakistani government. What does this indicate? It reveals that in Pakistan, merit and capability often matter far less than personal loyalty to the rulers of the time.

Here lies the irony in the system. A person who could not find a better job than a taxi driver in the United states, where merit rules, he was the fifth most powerful person in Pakistani government.  What does this show. It shows that in Pakistan merit of capabilities is unimportant compared to personal loyalty to the rulers of the time. This is not specific to this instance, nor is it a new phenomenon. It is happening all around since 1947.

In an era where societies are more advanced and intelligence increasingly demanding logical explanations, how long can we continue to ignore merit and Meritocracy  .. CN report, 05 Feb 2026