Various reports on electronic and social media have highlighted the economic hardships faced by Pakistan. While some intellectuals attribute Pakistan’s problems to corruption, others attempt to find a Jewish conspiracy behind the situation.Some point the finger of blame towards India, while others believe that capitalism and lack of religious values are the main causes for this problem. Since the time Pakistan came into existence, the fundamental reason why Pakistan’s development has remained in check is the failure of the people to receive equal opportunities to prosper.Mafias or groups have always had an active role to play in Pakistan. These elements are so powerful that it may not even be possible to name some of them but almost every intellectual or sensible person in Pakistan knows about them. The key strength of these elements is that they are second to none in the domain of propaganda. If we were to talk about relatively smaller groups that have gained economic benefit from Pakistan, then this would include businessmen as well. They have, over the decades, managed to flourish their businesses through corrupt dealings with the ruling elite, be it military or civilian, and by forging friendly relationships with them to protect their own vested interests.Some of these businessmenhave also gottenintopolitics and have even emerged as better politicians than businessmen. TheSharif family is an example of such a family. There is another debate, though, as to how correct their decision was. What if they had remained in the business sector? Like many other large business families in Pakistan, while remaining in the background, they could have strengthened their connections with politicians and the ruling elite toaccumulate much more wealth.Then they would not have been forced to experience the hardships of imprisonment. There is no doubt that there are many families who, while remaining out of the limelight, have made much more progressin comparison with the business families engaged in politics. The main reasonwhy we are witnessing economic hardship today is the depletion of the resources that are essential for the economic development of any country While this is the situation of businessmen, many governmentdepartments operate like mafias too.You can witness it for yourself. If you protest against the abuse by an officialin a government sector, the entire department will come together to defend that person, without even checking who was at fault.See for yourself: during the last forty or fifty years, how many key government officials have really been given an exemplary punishment? Recently, a family near Lahore was shot dead in broad daylight. What exactly was the result of that case? It is of no use to even talk about the other much stronger and powerful departments in Pakistan. Talking about the development in this country is useless whenthese powerfulentities can operate in Pakistan with impunity. Apart from these mafias in Pakistan, if we analyse the prevailing laws, they are too outdated to be considered anywhere near effectual. A person indulges in corruption and stealingof rupees from the poor andgets away withit by simply paying back a portion of the stolen money. What kind of justice is that? It is very surprising that such laws still exist in a democratic country, even in the 21stcentury. Lastly, in addition to all these factors resulting in the economic crises in Pakistan,we ourselves as nationare to be blamed, for leavingno stone unturned in our efforts to plunder thecountry’s reserves.The main reasonwhywe are witnessing economic hardship today is the depletion of the resources that are essential for the economic development of any country. We have highly misused these resources. Just a few decades back, the governmentclaimed that they had everything under control when they were offering compressed natural gas (CNG) as an alternative to gasoline.As a result of this strategy, the foreign exchange did not take a hit while the gas was taken out of the ground and burned in vehicles. Similarly, the water reserves have been greatly beneficial to landlords who have managed to receive tax exemptions of all kinds and have continued to use various subsidies. As a result, a serious situation now prevails. The water reserves in Pakistan have been reduced dramatically, and there is a possibility that that it may result in a drought in the country.It would have been a better strategy to use the money that we collected from our gas reserves on education and on the introduction of new technology, but that did not happen. Even today, the budget for education is negligible. Another important thing that could have been done was to promote trade in Pakistan, considering the country’s geographical importance. Pakistan is an important country for Central Asia, Russia, India, and China. Instead, in the past, the overall policy has remained inclined towards supporting religious extremist groups. Who would want to invest in such a country? Now, we have inculcated a toxic narrative in the minds of nation, the young generation in particular, that every other country has negative intentions for Pakistan, thus making it difficult to trade with our neighbouring countries. There can still be two ways for Pakistan to prosper. One is through promoting tourism and the other is through trade. The prerequisite for both is to improve our relations with our neighbours. For this, we must change our way of thinking. We have to prioritise Pakistan’s economy over all other ideologies, otherwise, God forbid, we will reach a level of economic decline from which it may not be possible for us to recover. The writer is a freelancer