There is a belief among some of us that a tendency to look for unproven shortcuts is a virtue or a hallmark of ingenuity rather than a symptom of systemic failure. We are constantly looking for shortcuts to become prosperous. The incumbent government has shown a marked weakness for the approach – looking for shortcuts rather than doing the hard work. To solve our immediate financial difficulties, we started by looking for “those $200 billion” that are lying somewhere there. Once we got our hands on the money, we’d be all set for a great start. Next, it was “those Pakistanis around the world” – all they needed was to donate for the motherland. Had they obliged we’d be out of the woods in a jiffy. We could then start working in earnest to build a new Pakistan. Then it was “that well in the Arabian Sea” – prosperity was around the corner. If we could borrow from some other party, there would be no need to knock at the the IMF we will become a wealthy nation. Are we then surprised when a hoax like “water car” finds support at the highest levels in this country where ministers and journalists all act like cheerleaders because this fits very well in our search for quick fixes. Then when the shortcut is exposed, we look for conspiracy theories. I am waiting for some of them to crop up about the failure to find huge deposits of gas. We readily blame the world for our ills but would never think that maybe it is our own system that repels honest and hardworking minds. If we want to prosper as a nation – we need to look for a bit more from our leaders. We should not be surprised by the ignorance of those whose career was made in dharna politics If someone wants to serve this country, we first want to check their religious credentials before professional ones. If a person holds a different religious point of view then they are deemed conspirators. The whole environment is extremely toxic and genuine ideas cannot take root here. Leaders like Imran Khan suites us quite well – blind leading the blind. Such sad is our situation that many gladly accept that he is incompetent but at least he is honest! How much can such an honest but clueless leader deliver? A clueless leader very quickly loses the high ground and becomes a puppet for those around him – and that is exactly what is happening with our great leader. Which other nation could still have ignorant people like Fawad Chaudhry and Sheikh Rasheed at the highest positions – only where their boss is as clueless as Mr Imran Khan. If we want to prosper as a nation – we need to look for a bit more from the leaders. We should not be surprised by the complete ignorance of those whose indulged in dharna politics. Even now some people suggest that “if only we could have presidential system” – so we are still unwilling to accept the abject failure of the leaders. Mr Khan should act like a leader and first thing he should do take a visibly different course. He needs to get the best minds at the helm and not look for shortcuts. He needs to stop looking at people’s religious credentials and start looking at their professional skills. Unless the team around him looks markedly different from what it is today – do not expect any miracles from Arabian Sea! The writer lives in Oshkosh WI USA. He is a former community columnist with “Oshkosh Northwestern” and is a member of “Muslim Writers Guild of North America” The writer is a freelancer