ISLAMABAD:
It is no secret that the country is in an economic abyss. The people of Pakistan are being crushed by high inflation and rampant unemployment. Both the government and the opposition agree that the problem exists, but they don’t seem to be working to solve the problem. They are more interested in laying the blame on each other.
The incumbent government blames it all on past rulers, and the opposition puts it squarely on the incompetence of the current government. If we look closely, the ruling elite — be it the government or the opposition — are a select group of super wealthy individuals or families who are really not affected by inflation or unemployment. They are all connected through friendship, family or business ties. While the people of Pakistan get poorer and poorer by the day, the ruling elite has amassed wealth beyond our imagination. The Panama Papers, which was released a few years back, and now the Pandora Papers, make it quite evident that those in power have so much wealth that it has become difficult for them to hide it. This is the reason that we hear a lot of lip service but see little to no action being done. Any action taken in the name of accountability is just an eyewash to fool the people. They all belong to the same flock with one aim: to gain personal wealth at the expense of the country.
Maybe that is why all parties keep exchanging barbs but never sit together to come up with a comprehensive and fair accountability system. Little do they realise that there comes a time when people can’t take it anymore and revolt against the entire system. It is time that our ruling elite realise the gravity of the situation and set their course right instead of destroying the entire country for personal greed.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 11th, 2021.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
