User:Mahnoor fatima 040/sandbox

civic sense: The case of Pakistan

Introduction

Civic sense refers to the awareness, understanding and consideration of the responsibilities and duties that an individual has towards their community or society and indeed a very significant aspect of societal development of pakistan. Civic sense is a consideration to the norms of society. It includes acts, attitudes, and behaviours that support societal peace and well-being. A strong civic sense encourages responsibilities, understanding, and involvement in community issues.

Examples of civic sense includes all the responsibilities and duties that may be major and minor towards our society by the people of society. Like;

Ø Respecting public property

Ø Following laws, rules and regulations that may be of any kind such as

·      Traffic rules

·      Parking rules Social norm

·      Speed limits

·      Environmental laws

·      Health regulations etc.

Ø Voting responsibilities

Ø Positive societal attitudes

Ø Cleanliness of community

Ø Paying taxes

Ø Environment safety

Ø Energy conservation

Ø Respecting other’s point of view

Ø Respecting the right of honour

Ø Respecting diversity i.e., minorities

Ø Being active about suspicious activities

Ø Civic engagement

These are the responsibilities that are on the society as a whole but there are many others which are due on us as a person or being a member of a society that are so small or minor that we sometime ignore them or pay very little attention. Like,

Ø Queuing in the line

Ø Using seat belts and helmets

Ø Offering seats to elders as most of us use metro buses and many other local transportation

Ø Switching off the lights and fans when not needed

Ø Volunteering for community services

Ø Using side walks as we see that many bikers are passing from the footpaths and that cause trouble for the pedestrian and sometimes people park their cars on the pedestrian paths.

There are many such examples on which as a nation many times we don’t pay any attention but for the effective working of a civilized and aware community these are very much crucial.

Case of Pakistan

9th may, 2023 riots

These were a series of clashes between the Pak army and civilians. There was damage done to the government and military facilities. Imran Khan was arrested on May 9th in connection with a corruption case as he was appearing in court in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. Supporters of Khan carried out large-scale rallies in response to this development, claiming that the military was behind the arrest.

Aside from all the data and facts in the current case, individuals act with such violence and damage, but when we see things through the lens of responsibilities as citizens, we can see that they were wrong. Whether one agrees with them or not, members of civilised and well-informed societies are supposed to follows the laws and norms of that society. Civic sense involves respecting the law and following the rules and regulation regardless of your political affiliation and support to the political party. In this instance, there was also damage to public property and one of the responsibilities of a common man is not to damage the public property. People must follow the rules and regulations.

Electricity theft

Pakistan's constant electrical shortages have an effect on people's everyday lives as well as the country's overall economic stability. The public becomes upset and impatient when there are frequent power outages. Negative actions like protests, electricity theft, and bill nonpayment are examples of how this could turn out.

But we can’t justify all these actions because, whatever the circumstances, we are not allowed to break the law or show any violence. Electricity is a sort of public property, as everyone pays to have it. If we look at the economic conditions of our country, we will learn that our power sector is struggling and our economy is creeping. Not everyone is getting all the things instead of showing any positive attitude towards the difficulties people go through with electricity theft without considering. how it is affecting the economy as well as the common man. An estimated 60% of our population lives below the poverty line. Theft of electricity entails breaking into power lines without authorization in order to avoid paying for electricity. When an individual steal electricity he/she breaks the trust of community and society. This stealing leads to higher production cost of electricity and then higher cost on the consumers and this effect the overall peace of society and leads to societal frustration. When people have to pay a large part of their income in electricity bills, they will be left with little amount to fulfill other needs of life. For example, if there are 6 members in the family and only one to earn for them and their income is just 50k PKR and 10 to 15k goes for bill then how will they be paying or bearing other expenditures. The man will not be able to send his children to collage and university (school education is free in Pakistan). This will lead to higher illiteracy rate which will leads to unemployment and then poverty and economy of country. In start it doesn’t seems as much big problem but in long run it has so drastic effects. Now if we link it with civic sense then civic sense demands from people to be responsible for their actions and their responsibilities towards society as it can be a sort of corruption. Also, if we see from Islamic point of view, Islam views stealing as a serious sin and strongly discourages it. Islam's teachings place a strong emphasis on morality, honesty, and the value of respecting other people's property. Islamic law imposes harsh penalties on people who commit theft, which damages a community's unity and trust. In this way we can see that civic sense is not only on a person from society but being a Muslim Islam also order us to do so. People who follow Islamic teachings make a positive impact on society by fostering a feeling of group responsibility and easing the social problems brought on by power outages and financial difficulties.