New year, old challenges

Letter January 02, 2022
New year, old challenges

AWARAN:

The unfavourable year 2021 has finally ended but not after leaving an indelible scar on humanity in the form of the Covid-19 pandemic and rise of multiple new variants. The pandemic has posed many challenges to the world including wide-scale employment, learning deficit and economic instability. Therefore, this New Year, people are desperately wishing for a virus-free world so that things go back to the way they were.

However, with the passage of time, hopes for a ‘Naya Pakistan’ have also dwindled. High inflation has adversely affected the population to a point where a common man is finding it difficult to afford two square meals a day. Since the PTI government has come to power, Pakistan has had to suffer crisis after crisis — first it was the balance of payments crisis, then the inflation rate jumped to 8.60%, and now there is a severe shortage of gas in the winters.

“The poor won’t sleep with an empty stomach” was one of the slogans of Imran Khan. Unfortunately, he has failed to uphold his words and his values as even middle-income households cannot afford basic amenities. The government seems to be powerless when it comes to these crises.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 03, 2022.

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