For an anxiety-driven Pakistani bewildered by the ruinous direction towards which the country is being driven, what with the instances of massive corruption and ineptitude in running the affairs of the state and what with wrangling among political parties, the sight of almost the entire opposition sitting together and thinking of a way out was an occasion of great relief. If only they could seriously set aside their narrow party and personal interests and put themselves in a purely national frame of mind, they would find no crisis so daunting that it could not be surmounted. The country of 175 million odd people has a lot of valuable human resource, which can put to use the unexploited wealth in the form of natural resources, water, gas, minerals and even oil. All that is needed is an incorruptible leadership The myth of reliance upon the United States and hence the servitude to which our puerile-minded leadership has committed the nation, would vanish into thin air and we would be able to wrest back the freedom of action that we have lost for the sake of the misplaced notion of survival. Instead of bringing the country any benefit the so-called war on terror has brought terror at our doorstep making our very lives a pawn to an endless scare of insecurity. Drones that we have failed to stop, or in a way invited through a willingly granted permission, have fanned the fire of militancy. Our listlessness in the face of colossal collateral damage plainly speaking innocent human lives is a criminal instance of the surrender of sovereignty. The US favour has come in the shape of Raymond Davis who shoots to death our compatriots at will and his government, so used to our pusillanimous acceptance of Pakistanis murders at the hands of its agents, demands his repatriation, on the pain of the souring of relations, and cut in financial help, whether direct or indirect through international lending agencies. If the joint opposition that assembled at the residence of JUI-F leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Friday cannot make the present political set-up see things in their correct perspective, get out of the war on terror and what goes with it, put a stop to its corruption spree, shed the evil of nepotism and favouritism, it should chart a course of action of its own. Together, these parties command an invincible majority that can make sure that its will will be honoured. On internal matters political, social and economic they should do serious thinking. The peoples problems marked by the endless, backbreaking price hike, mortal insecurity, poor educational and health facilities, prolonged loadshedding of electricity and gas, inexcusable waste of river water falling into the sea while crops and humans go thirsty all these and many others should head the list of priorities. They can and must be solved on the basis of consensus, rational analysis and expert view.