The year 2019 is ending. A new decade will begin. People across the world will be preparing their New Year’s Resolution. However, in Pakistan, the echoes of change and the promises of a Naya Pakistan have already faded into oblivion. The resolution for Pakistan that broke barriers in 1940 under the leadership of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah could not transcend through the decades. The leaders who came after the Quaid had other plans. Now that the government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf will complete its first year in power in August 2020, the resolutions Prime Minister Imran Khan made seem to have dissolved in time. Pakistan needs a viable strategy in all sectors as it enters 2020. While the interior parts of the country are still plagued by feudalism and age-old customs, the metropolitan is beleaguered by inflation, a diminishing standard of living and healthcare problems among others. The industrial sector must be fuelled with a new life. This can happen with a policy that coincides with the hopes of the industrialists. Moreover, the economic policy must be devised to provide a balanced growth prospect for Pakistan’s trade and economic endeavors. The PTI government has to fulfill many of its promises and it seems its checklist is now covered with dust. One such promise was to make Pakistan a financially independent country. In July 2019, Pakistan received a US$6 billion loan package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This was against the promises Prime Minister Imran Khan made during his election campaigns. The need to acquire a loan arose because of the economic challenges Pakistan was facing. It was mainly due to large fiscal and financial needs and weak and unbalanced growth. On December 26, 2019, Pakistan received the second tranche of the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) from the IMF. The amount totaling $454 million will be added to Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves which stand at $17.6 billion. With millions of dollars to repay the IMF, Pakistan’s financial strength is not stable nor will it be until all installments are paid. The resolution for Islamabad as it enters 2020 must be to get rid of all factors that lead the government at the IMF’s doorsteps. The revamping of the country’s industrial sector will also enable companies to produce goods that it can export. It will generate a positive balance of payments that is imperative for Pakistan’s growth. We do not need leaders who brag and boast about their past and promise a better future. The nation needs a leader who can provide avenues of growth to the country and the people All this can happen with honesty, loyalty and dedication. Unfortunately, these factors are pretty much absent from the social fabric. It is not because Pakistanis are dishonest by nature, it is because we have accepted deceit as a norm. By nature, we may be civilized, but by our logic and rationale, we approve following immoral means to get things done. Our new year’s resolution as we enter into 2020 must be to be a loyal citizen of the state. While loyalty must be the dominant denominator for everyone working in all sectors, education, health, and justice are the three sectors that desperately need a loyal representation. It must be the collective resolve of Pakistan’s government to hire such learned people to head these sectors and others including trade, economy, power, water, agriculture, environment, etc. so they can add value in their respective sectors and streamline all functions. Let us resolve to live our personal and professional life by adhering to positive values, moral principles, and civic rules and with a sense of loyalty to the state. Pakistan’s history echoes with the promises made by the heads of state to change Pakistan. Every new government vows to serve the country and its people. This seems to be a fanciful statement as politicians soon forget their promises. According to Article 5(1) of the constitution, “Loyalty to the State is the basic duty of every citizen.” This clause is by far the most important rule that obliges leaders and the citizen to perform their duties with honesty. Unfortunately, this is not the case as ‘our’ leaders always find a loophole in the system, get things done ‘their’ way, and dare to justify the means to the end, which they never reach. We do not need leaders who brag and boast about their past and promise a better future. The nation needs a leader who can provide avenues of growth to the country and the people. Looking at the history of Pakistan and its various governments, we see a pattern emerging from Islamabad. Inept may not define the governments, past and present, because had these governments been incompetent then Pakistan might not have become a nuclear power, it would not have agreed to the CPEC deal or undertaken various infrastructural development projects across the country. The resolve of every Pakistani in 2020 must be to be loyal to themselves, their dreams, professions, families, jobs, businesses and to the state itself. The writer is an independent researcher, author and columnist