KARACHI:
Pakistan is faced with a shortage of many resources such as water, energy, food items, etc. However, the one resource that we seem to have an abundance of is time, which is reflected in the way our population never considers it as a resource and wastes it as if it stands still for us. This is reflected in our poor work ethic, low productivity and progress.
Unfortunately, disregard for time is present across all classes and occupations of the country. I have never been to a doctor where appointment times were followed. Patients usually wait for long hours before they see the doctor. Even when people hire labourers for tasks, the labour usually spends much of their time on trivial tasks and fails to finish work in the given time. Most contractors provide fixed deadlines for completed projects but fail to adhere to these deadlines. One would expect a better situation at government offices. However, the lacklustre procedures and poor attitude of the staff make it impossible to get even the smallest of jobs done without spending the entire day at the office. For social events, particularly weddings, provincial governments or municipal authorities have set fixed timings in some cities, yet people fail to follow them.
Regrettably, even government officials/political figures are regularly witnessed disregarding time as they show up late for important announcements or state meetings. Perhaps, the blatant disregard for time is what distinguishes a developing country from a developed one. Valuing time improves discipline, productivity and efficiency amongst the people. Without respecting time, we should not expect any form of progress or positive change.
Raja Shafaatullah
Islamabad
Published in The Express Tribune, April 10th, 2022.
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