During the last few years, including the period of PTI rule, our country has been moving from one crisis to another. By looking at the situation from a distance as a spectator, there are two options. First, read the newspaper’s sobering headlines or listen to TV media news of a similar nature and sit back to feel helpless. Second, when you think about those who suffer because of the misgovernance, especially those living from hand to mouth, you feel heart-wrenching pain. The upper layer of the society remains unconcerned about the suffering of the poor.
It appears as if the top layer of our society, including judges, lawyers and politicians are playing games to test each other’s nerves. When some of the honourable judges are busy proving themselves on the right against their opponents, 2.26 million cases remain pending before various courts as reported by the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan.
Initially, it was one letter that six judges jointly wrote and it created turmoil in the legal community. Soon to follow was a string of letters to honourable judges of the Supreme Court and Islamabad High Court. Ostensibly, some letters were coated with anthrax and some had traces of arsenic. A new Pandora box opened up. The police and forensic department immediately went into action to analyse the nature of the powder that besmeared the letters and who could have dispatched them. The mystery remains unresolved even though the prime minister has promised to arrest the culprits.
While the high-profile legal and political activities continue, the World Bank warned that 10 million more Pakistanis would likely go below the poverty line.
Since the day the PTI government was brought into power, the crisis of economy and mismanagement began. And we haven’t had any respite so far despite the change of governments. Imran Khan proved to be an ineffective prime minister but turned out to be a potent opposition leader when he was incarcerated on court orders due to some serious cases against him. His incarceration proved to be a blessing for him, as he regained his lost popularity. During his premiership, there’s only one project to his credit – the BRT Peshawar. Whether or not it’s running successfully its contractors, a joint venture between a Pakistani and a Chinese company, plan to lodge a case in the International Court of Arbitration for their outstanding payments. In other words, Imran Khan’s only major achievement, the Peshawar BRT project, remains disputed.
Although Imran lives in jail and style unknown to any politician in the past, rumours continue to sprout from his suite. For instance, his wife claims her food had three drops of washroom floor washing chemical and she fell sick a month later after eating it. What kind of poison was this that took a month to show its symptoms? But Khan claimed she was served with arsenic-mixed food to take her life. He blamed the high-ups of the establishment for it. He also insisted that she should be medically checked up by a doctor from Shaukat Khanum Hospital and not by any government hospital, which is the usual procedure. When the lady was checked up by a doctor, he found no traces of dangerous chemicals in her body. It only reveals the mindset of the gent and the lady who steal the political limelight with their antics! To top it, Khan’s security in the jail costs the poor nation Rs1.2 million a month.
While the high-profile legal and political activities continue, the World Bank warned that 10 million more Pakistanis would likely go below the poverty line because of inflation. But do the upper ruling classes care to consider the miseries of the poor of society? People might have ignored the tussle between the upper segments of the society if the economy of the country was booming. Those living below the poverty line and finding it hard to keep their body and soul together nurture immense aversion against the upper ruling classes for showing no empathy for their miseries.
Moreover, an alarming situation ensued after the recent acts of terrorism. The last tragic incident took the lives of five Chinese citizens when a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-carrying car into their vehicle. The Chinese were working on the Dasu Hydropower Project. The project is part of the CPEC that will connect western China to Pakistan’s deep sea port – Gwadar. Before this sad event, offices of Gwadar port authority were attacked by an armed group. Eight attackers were killed and two security men lost their lives, according to an official statement. Now CPEC is considered an economic lifeline for Pakistan. When the economy improves, it will automatically create employment opportunities in the country. It’s time to give up infighting and concentrate on real dangers hampering the CPEC.
The writer is a Lahore-based columnist and can be reached at [email protected]