A teacher asked his students: "Can you tell what is the gravest problem of Pakistan?" Some students said it was extreme poverty of the masses. Some said it was national corruption. Some said it was illiteracy. Some said it was terrorism. Some said it was the White House, so on and on. All the answers depressed the teacher. His eyes were wet with tears. The students realised that they had given wrong answers. They were themselves depressed. They requested the teacher: "Sir, tell us what is Pakistan's gravest problem." The teacher revealed: "Pakistan's gravest problem is that Pakistan has never had a great leadership." The teacher was right. God's greatest gift to a nation is great leadership. Every great country is a creation of great leadership. For example, America is a creation of great leadership. Russia is a creation of great leadership. China is a creation of great leadership. Britain is a creation of great leadership. Germany is a creation of great leadership. France is a creation of great leadership, etc, etc. Since great leadership is a very rare phenomenon, there have been only a few great countries. But since devilish leadership has been abundant in history, there has been an abundance of miserable countries in the world. Unfortunately, great leadership cannot be artificially created. It is a nature's gift and nature has been very stingy in this regard. But it has been very generous in creating devilish leaderships. A great leader is a leader who detests politics. He loves to serve. He hates to rule. With his devotion to the masses, he lifts the country to the seventh heaven. On the contrary, a devilish leader loves to rule ruthlessly. He hates to serve. He has no blood of his own in his veins. He lives on the blood of the masses. If the masses of a country are comfortable, it is a gift to them from their great leadership. But if the masses of a country are miserable, their misery is a gift to them from their devilish leadership. In human history, only few countries have been blessed with great leadership. Most of the countries have been miserable because of their devilish leadership. Why this gigantic contrast? It is a cosmic mystery. Pakistan is inhabited by two nations: The masses and the rulers. The rulers have always been begging America for dollars. The masses have always been begging God for a great leadership. American dollars are oxygen for the rulers and carbon dioxide for the masses. The misery of the Pakistani masses is as old as Pakistan itself. Only a great leadership can emancipate them from their misery. They have been begging God for a great leadership. If so far their supplications have been unfruitful, they must not be depressed. They should keep on begging: Any moment could be a moment of salvation. Any moment God can gift them a great leadership. The great leadership would be the death-knell of Pakistan's decades-old political devilry. If the masses of a country are miserable because the country is in the clutches of a devilish leadership, there is a way out for the masses. They should beg God: "O God If we don't deserve a great leadership, it doesn't matter. Only rid us of our devilish leadership. We can look after ourselves, if there is no devilish leadership to crush. A jungle free from lions must be comfortable plea for the weaker animals. For us, our country is a jungle. The rulers are political lions. We are weaker human animals." A devilish leadership firmly believes that its only obligation is to look after its own interests. And since it cannot look after its own interests without crushing the masses, the masses must be crushed. No wonder, there is universal crushing of the masses in all the countries where the devilish leadership is in power. According to an American magazine report, Pakistan ranks 12th amongst the most failed states. This position is a gift to Pakistan from its various past governments. If political devilry continues in Pakistan, the country should be able to win the first position very soon. n The writer is an academic.