ISLAMABAD:
Our politicians, while in power, are quite fond of launching projects that get them popularity and fame. Such projects being more for show tend to get delayed and abandoned by new governments or are completed at a monumental price. Such projects also require a continuous flow of funds and resources to keep them going.
Despite knowing this, our leadership tends to gravitate toward such projects at the expense of other critical projects that need attention. For example, recently the Chief Justice of Pakistan remarked that most of the highways in the country were in dire need of maintenance and upgrade. The court also observed that the Quetta-Karachi highway needed urgent improvement. Similarly, the Chirat-Gilgit road seems to have been completed on paper, but in reality, it does not exist.
I wish our leaders and planners were a little fair and honest in conceiving and implementing projects of national development. Instead of focusing all the money and attention on a few show-off projects, a more judicious approach is urgently needed to improve the infrastructure across the country.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 18th, 2021.
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