Charity-run state

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Charitable organisations in Pakistan have become pillars of support for millions, stepping in where government initiatives have fallen short. While the Edhi Foundation's ambulance network is arguably the best example of a charity filling a massive gap left by the government, many other charities and NGOs have also stepped in to provide services that would normally be the government's responsibility. With a staggering 50 million Pakistanis contributing Rs619 billion in Zakat in 2024, the charity landscape has shown a remarkable capacity to mobilise resources for social good.

But people should not need to rely on the goodwill of other people to help them survive. Instead, the government needs to ensure that people's fundamental rights — education, security, and, by some measures, access to healthcare — are guaranteed. Unfortunately, the federal and provincial governments have all stupendously failed to provide citizens with almost most of their rights, whether constitutional or God-given.

The reliance on charity for essential services raises concerns about the government's accountability and responsibility. While charitable contributions offer much-needed relief to the underprivileged, they cannot replace the systematic frameworks that governments are obligated to provide.

The Benazir Income Support Programme, for instance, has been unable to keep pace with the scale of community-driven financial assistance, highlighting a mismatch between the levels of need and state intervention.

A recent report even noted that charitable contributions have outstripped federal excise revenues, meaning that the national 'charity budget' is bigger than the actual federal budget. This is why many people now choose charities as their default social service providers rather than as backups.

If we are ever to get to the point where charities complement the government, rather than replace it, the government needs to get out of the business of promoting - and collecting - charity and focus on fulfilling its actual responsibilities.