It is indeed a sad state of affairs that even after nearly seventy years, we still consider ourselves first Punjabis, Sindhis, Pathans etc. and then as Pakistanis. Many times, when people ask me about my ethnicity, I tell them I am Pakistani to which they reply, ‘Yes we know that, but are you Sindhi, Balochi, Mohajir etc?’ While local identities are certainly important, it’s time we start thinking of ourselves as Pakistanis and stop dividing ourselves on the basis of provincial identities and sects. Because at the risk of sounding cliched, ‘United we stand, Divided we fall’.
UROOJ IMRAN,
Karachi, March 28