The poor will have to bear the burden of unresolved problems of 2016
ISLAMABAD: The Year 2016 has passed along with its best, if any, leaving behind the fogged agonies of the poor and the hustle and bustles of the prosperous community that enjoys patronage by ruling parties. The poor will have to bear the burden of unresolved problems of 2016, such as shortage of drinking water, unadulterated amenities of life and fake medicines. The continued dry spell will complicate matters further. The kharif crop did not yield good results due to drought. The Rabi crop is in danger for want of moisture. Its sowing season is passing rapidly and if the dry spell persists, it will generate famine-like condition, such as in Thar.
Our business-friendly government, oblivious to the difficulties of small landowners, tenants and peasants, gives preference to the social uplift of urban big business entrepreneurs. Likewise, government ministers and other parliamentarians with 146 per cent increase in their pays monotonously repeat the statement of the finance minister that our stock exchange was one of the best in the world and foreign investors are looking forward to investing in Pakistan in 2017.
The recent certificate by Bloomberg, an American rating agency, regarding our stock exchange is being drummed and touted. One being a layman regarding economic complexities does not know whether the stock exchange is actually a touchstone to gauge the economy and if its rise and fall will have any impact on the economy.
Raja Shafaatullah
Published in The Express Tribune, January 4th, 2017.
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