Mr Imran Khan, the last real defender of national honour, said while talking of the latest visit by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that since Pakistanis are beggars asking the US for money, therefore they cannot be treated with respect by the US. Now this seems pretty upfront and obvious but is it really? Mr Khan’s statement reminded me of a time almost 20 years ago. The place was the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City and Mr Khan was having his first major fundraiser in the US for the hospital he was building in Lahore. He was asking us, the Pakistani-Americans, for money. Was he begging us American types and did he therefore lose all his self-respect? Of course not! What Khan sahib does not realise or perhaps deliberately ignores in spite of his Oxbridge education and his understanding of the nuances of the English language is that there is a tremendous difference between begging and asking for help for a good cause. Even now, once a year — if not more often — Khan sahib puts away his ‘kurta-shalwar’ and his anti-American rhetoric, puts on his very ‘modish’ western attire and turns up in the US ‘begging’ for more money from Pakistani-Americans. By his own estimation he should therefore by now have lost any vestige of self-respect he might have had when it comes to his ‘American’ donors. But his American donors still respect him because he is ‘begging’ for a good cause. When it comes to ‘self-sufficiency’, Mr Khan should also realise that he could raise enough money from his Pakistani sources by hobnobbing with bearded sorts that he supposedly loves but would rather not mingle with. However, he obviously prefers to hit up on ‘rich’ Pakistani-Americans who, it seems, are ‘stupid’ enough to get carried away by his charm and willingly open their pockets and purses for him. So why should the Pakistani government not try to do the same? I do realise that neither President Zardari nor Prime Minister Gilani are as ‘charismatic’ as he is but then that should not be held against them. Six years ago when we started a free open-heart surgery programme in Mayo Hospital in Lahore, I literally had to go begging for money. A friend asked me whether I was willing to accept financial support from people even if I did not like them or agree with their motives for providing help. My response was that even if the devil offered me some money so that I could help a poor patient, I would willingly accept that money. However, in time we were able to sustain the programme through official budgets even though I would still look for donations to improve the infrastructure and buy new equipment. The point then is that during a time of need it is absolutely fine to seek help but the aim should be to eventually become as self-sufficient as possible. That in my opinion is the problem with all those who are vehemently opposed to US help at this time. They conflate ‘begging’ with seeking much needed help and the fact is that Pakistan desperately needs help in the form of foreign aid at this time. However, I agree with Imran Khan as well as Mian Nawaz Sharif that somewhere along the line we must as a nation develop the capability to sustain ourselves with indigenous resources and ask for help from abroad only for very specific purposes. Another thing we must also remember is that most international aid comes with conditions. The US gives us aid because it needs our help in Afghanistan and it needs us to stay afloat as a country that can control or, at least, suppress terrorism that we ‘unintentionally’ export to other countries. As far as China is concerned their support for Pakistan over the years has depended on their own geo-political interests. The idea that the Chinese will help because they ‘love’ Pakistan is based on wishful thinking. The important question then is: what can be done to put Pakistan back on its feet and get rid of the need for foreign aid? The answer to that question is known to everybody in this country as well as to all our donors. If once we put aside conspiracy theories and concentrate on our problems as a country, the list of things that need to be done by us as Pakistanis become pretty obvious. First, we need to control widespread corruption; here corruption is not just about money but also about jobs sold to the highest bidder without regard for competence, or else awarded on the basis of connections. Second, we need to control the law and order situation and particularly terrorism. Only then can we have an environment where both internal and external investment can take place to build up our economy, enlarge the tax base and provide employment to our youth. Third, we need to improve tax collection. Presently, other than the salaried workers paying tax at the source, virtually everybody else either evades taxes completely or greatly underpays them. Fourth, we need to get rid of the tremendous burden on our economy due to inefficiently run state-owned enterprises that drain billions from our exchequer. Fifth, we need to invest in alternate and renewable forms of energy. Our continued dependence on imported oil and gas is a conspiracy if ever there was one for it provides a source of ‘enrichment’ year after year for people in the official hierarchy and their friends in the private sector. And most importantly, we need to cut down on our nation’s expenditure on the armed forces. I might have missed a few things, but these are some of the things that come to mind at this time. Indeed I would love to have some political party put down a detailed plan on how they will accomplish these goals if elected to form a government. The writer has practised and taught medicine in the US. He can be reached at smhmbbs70@yahoo.com