PTI must be congratulated for sweeping most of the seats in the by-elections held in 20 seats vacated due to disqualifications of the PTI defectors. People actively participated and overall, the process went well.

Moreover, in the history of elections in Pakistan, yesterday was the first time when the losing party conceded defeat even before the announcement of the results by the Election Commission of Pakistan. This welcome new gesture is commendable and augers well for the next general elections. The practice of alleging rigging and fraud by the losing party is counterproductive and needed to end.

Hopefully, it has, though I hesitate to be too hopeful. Now another thing that our politicians must learn is patience. Once a party is elected, the opposition must wait until the next elections instead of harbouring conspiracies to topple the government at any cost. They must realize that elections cost billions and every time a government changes, the economy takes a huge hit. Without trying to fix the blame, they must agree on some ground rules, or it would be impossible to get out of the economic quagmire we are in.

Every time a government is forced out, the now party struggles to grapple with an ailing economy - rupee slides, stock market crashes, and inflation gets out of hand. Therefore, it is about time that our politicians not only accept defeat with grace but also vow to show patience and let the winning party complete its term.

This will keep non-political forces at bay and help build the economy and democracy in the country. I am hoping that if the miracle of accepting defeat can happen, who knows our politicians can finally learn a thing or two more.

RAJA SHAFAATULLAH,

Islamabad.