KARACHI:
This letter is apropos a recent media report, ‘Challenges to country are daunting, says Planning & Development Minister’. The minister, Mr Ahsan Iqbal, is absolutely right; the challenges are indeed daunting and some of these are home-grown such as political instability and the seemingly out-of-control ‘fertility rate’.
However, we should not forget the famous words of an ancient Chinese general: “The skies are chaotic but in the midst of it there is an opportunity.” This is the exact point; we must catch this opportunity, we must embrace this opportunity, and usher in a printed charter of progress and prosperity. It must be pursued by one and by all relentlessly. The first step should be an elected and competent government and the powers-that-be joining hands to develop this ‘charter’. We had this charter or plan of action with us back in the 1950s and 1960s but we lost it somehow on the way. A new national slogan should also be erected and followed; it should be a gentle mix of secular and religious ideals.
This quarter-century period from 2020 to 2045 is extremely important for us. Our efficiency and performance must be enhanced in every sector of life with whatever help we can muster, be it local or foreign. Doing so would just make us stand proud on 14th August, 2047, our centennial birthday.
Abbas R Siddiqi
Lahore
