Charity begins at home

Our most loved Pakistani, social worker Abdus Sattar Edhi, who was diagnosed with kidney failure, is reported to have declined an offer from former president Asif Ali Zardari to be flown abroad for medical treatment. The media reported that Edhi turned down the offer which was made to him through Senator Rehman Malik.

In contrast, our prime minister has been receiving medical treatment at one of the most expensive clinics in the UK for his heart ailment. He is not the only one. Many have no faith in what the country has to offer.

Most Pakistani politicians and government functionaries go abroad for medical treatment, usually at state expense. This, despite the fact that we have reasonably good private medical care here. It is the state-run medical system that is in a shambles. But if our leaders use it, the services would inevitably get better. By abandoning it, the system will collapse.

Public services need to be used by our leaders too. I remember when PMs and CMs used to travel by train. That was the time when Pakistan Railways was at its peak. Trains were clean and would run on time.

Then we had the VVIPs travelling on scheduled flights of PIA. Because of this, PIA too would offer comparatively good service. But the railways fell apart. Now most of our leaders travel by private planes. They have no connection left with the state-run enterprises. The irony is that the private planes are managed at state expense.

If we take a look at our education system, it is the same story. Most of our leaders, even heads of religious parties, have sent their children abroad for studies, usually to the US. Rarely do we see the sons and daughters pursuing education at our public sector colleges and universities. Possibly this helps explains the state of public education here.

Coming back to Maulana Edhi, there are few like him who make it a point to set an example for others. Edhi told Rehman Malik that he would not go abroad for treatment and would prefer to be admitted at a government hospital.

Other people who have played their setting an example include Dr Adeebul Hasan Rizvi, who has been the driving force behind the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT). The institute, which is part of a government hospital, is a centre of excellence in this country and is where Edhi is receiving his treatment. It offers advanced care at minimal cost. Thousands of people have benefitted from it.

There are many examples before us. Another person who set an example is Dr Ishrat Husain, the outgoing dean and director the Institute of Business Administration (IBA). Despite the fact that Dr Ishrat was repeatedly asked to stay on as the head of what is arguably the best business school in the country, he declined, insisting if he did not retire, how would he expect others to follow the rules.

Over the past years, Dr Ishrat has transformed IBA with the help of public and private donations. The infrastructure and faculty this is now in place at IBA is world class. This has only been possible because someone believed in building institutions in the country instead of investing overseas.

It is ironic that while Pakistanis living overseas are interested in investing in property here, those who live here have sunk billions in property overseas, particularly in Dubai where they seem to have outdone the Indians. It is not because the Indians do not have money – more that Indians living at home have largely invested at home. We have been outdone only by the Afghans, who too have invested heavily out of their country.

For us to progress, our leaders and decision makers need to believe in their country. Whether it is medical treatment, education, business or property. So far we have seen our leaders doing the opposite.

Investment doesn’t just mean money. It also means investing your time and effort - building institutions like Maulana Edhi, Dr Adeebul Hasan Rizvi and Dr Ishrat Husain, to name three examples have done. There is no prime minister that comes to mind who has put up such an institution in the country. We have the examples before us. The only challenge is to force our leaders to also work like them.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 13^th, 2016.

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