KARACHI:
It is time that everyone in Pakistan must change including all major stakeholders and political leaders. Where else in the world do national-level politicians, when not in power, live abroad with their families? This was definitely not in the scheme of things and the reason why Quaid waged the constitutional struggle for our independence. There is no ambiguity that Quaid-e-Azam promised the people a modern democratic welfare state with a constitution as the supreme law, on which the edifice of our state was to be built. But we failed Quaid-e-Azam and have suffered.
We must change our practices before it is too late. Otherwise, the anger amongst the masses will result in chaos and irreparable damage. All citizens should exercise their right to vote based on merit and must not be held hostage by their familial or community bondages, ethnicity or sectarian biases and rise to face the challenge that confronts Pakistan. The fate of over 225 million citizens and our future generations are at stake.
PDM stood up to resolve the ongoing financial crisis in the country. But the gravity of these crises requires the collective wisdom of the best economists in the country irrespective of their political affiliations. The choice of Ishaq Dar is likely to be the proverbial Achilles heel for PML-N and they may face backlash in the next elections. PDM inherited the country in a grave economic crisis, on the brink of collapse, and was expected to look beyond their kith and kin. Dar’s arrogance and his experimentation with foreign exchange reserves and the exchange rate were huge blows to the economy. It is not that the expatriates have stopped remittances, but the wide gap between the interbank and open market has forced them to remit via the hawala system.
Malik Tariq Ali
Lahore
Published in The Express Tribune, February 16th, 2023.
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