KARACHI:
Zohran Mamdani is a 33-year old Indian-origin Muslim and a proclaimed socialist. His parents are highly educated Harvard University alumni. In the recently held Democratic Party ballot, Mamdani secured the largest number of ballots to officially represent the Democratic Party in contesting the coming election as mayor of New York City in November this year.
Let’s come to the main point; there was a “perspective” circulating on WhatsApp recently, according to which if Mr Mamdani becomes New York City’s mayor, he would have an annual budget of $117 billion to manage. Pause. Pakistan’s 2025-26 budget is $62 billion in total; no comparison right. I would love Pakistan to boast a budget of $117 billion or $234 billion (double) or $351 billion (triple). Imagine, the grand scale of development we would be achieving at that time!
Therefore, as a nation, we should put in all-out ‘strategy driven’ effort to expand our economy and enhance our economic development from $400 billion plus at present (approximately) to $1 trillion in the next four to five years. It’s doable, requiring every individual, every institution, every party and every province to play their part.
Abbas R Siddiqi
Lahore
