Of the climate and other farces

Through the course of this week, the rest of the world has been talking a lot about Pakistan. The setting is the idyllic Egyptian resort town of Sharm El Sheikh, and the occasion is the 27th Climate Change Conference (COP27).

- AASIM SAJJAD AKHTAR

Pakistan's devastating tryst with floods this past summer is on everyone's lips.

Most of us have no idea that this summit is even taking place, the media and political mainstream concerned only about the never-ending political drama around Imran Khan, the appointment of the army chief and so on. The bruta truth is that the palace intrigues that monopolise our attention will count for nothing as we, and the world at large, hurtle towards ecological breakdown.

Indeed, it is a huge indictment that while the rest of the world continues to talk about the millions whose lives have been completely uprooted due to unprecedented rains, the Pakistani mainstream appears to be totally unconcerned.

In case anyone still has any doubt: the question of climate change is the single most important issue of and will be for generations our time to follow. Yet if mainstream Pakistan is yet to even acknowledge this, then the global 'experts' and governments that claim to be way ahead of the game are doing farcically little to actually arrest the downward slide.