OrionHunter
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Though this article is about Pakistan, I first thought this was about India! The issues are strikingly similar though it may differ in degree. Just replace the locations and names and you'd think this is all about India! South Asians! Jeeez! No wonder we're where we are today! Here's some extracts from the article...
Yes, what a country! A paradise on earth, that’s what Pakistan got — from shining sea to the second highest peak in the world. Before you declare it ‘paradise lost’, tarry a while and think: Only in this country does the heart beat faster when a PIA plane brings you back to your roots. In no other country does it feel like home. In no other country does the desi food taste as delicious as here. In no other country do you get hugs and kisses accompanied by profuse dinner invitations when you chance upon an old acquaintance. People are genuinely happy to welcome you back to where you really belong.
But what a country — where traffic lights don’t exist in the capital city. The message: Drive at your own risk; fend for yourself! There are no cops on the streets. It’s free for all. The daredevil motor bikers challenge every nerve in your body as they charge around recklessly packed with women and children at the back. The only cops you see are standing fiddling with their cell phones or chatting leisurely with each other while lined up along VIP routes daily.
What a country where a property tycoon can buy off the sons of VVIPs, load them with pricey gifts and then openly boast about his feats. First to fall from grace is the son of the Chief Justice of Pakistan. The case stands unresolved. Now it’s Bilawal’s turn to have a multi-million dollar mega-home named after him by Riaz.
What a country where the US dollar touches the Rs100 mark. Instead of stalling the rupee decline, the government dispenses with the services of its finance secretary. A week later, the finance minister too departs, leaving the country’s finances in the lurch. A manager of a local bank tells me that as elections near and uncertainty grows, politicians are busy transferring their ill-gotten wealth out of Pakistan.
What a country where the ruling elite are the main black marketers who pocket $6.12bn, paralleling almost half of Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves. Their ill-gotten money is mainly acquired through drug smuggling, book piracy, gas and oil smuggling, human smuggling, tax evasion and counterfeit money. Havocscope, the world’s leading provider of information about the black market ranks Pakistan close to Afghanistan which is the world’s number one country with $7.3bn in black market. There are laws to catch the scofflaws but the courts, including the Supreme Court are helpless.
What a country where the constitution is violated by the lawmakers themselves, most of them holding fake degrees and owing huge sums to the State Bank. When the Election Commission writes to 249 legislators giving them a deadline to prove their academic credentials, only 26 of them respond. The rest, 223 member parliaments miss the deadline, proving they sneaked into the parliaments on suspected fake degrees. Heavens don’t fall. There is business as usual. When the State Bank threatens to out the identities of the bank defaulters, pressure from the government and the opposition arrives and the matter goes into a limbo.
What a country where one million ton plastic bags a week are thrown randomly and are left lying forever. Most of them make their way to the chocked gutters or fly around in the wind until they land on trees and bushes. We have a minister and a secretary in charge of environment. They, like the rest of the government wear blinkers and perhaps don’t see the plastic bags suffocating the environment.
Still, what a country where ordinary people are the most resilient, hard working and honest — Pakistan could have been a paradise for all — from the privileged to the underprivileged, had it not been pillaged repeatedly by those in whom God had wrested power.
Paradise lost and regained may yet be the lasting narrative for Pakistan.
What a country! | Opinion | DAWN.COM
There's hope still. All we need are a couple of statesmen on both sides who can make that paradigm shift to good governance!
Cheers!
Yes, what a country! A paradise on earth, that’s what Pakistan got — from shining sea to the second highest peak in the world. Before you declare it ‘paradise lost’, tarry a while and think: Only in this country does the heart beat faster when a PIA plane brings you back to your roots. In no other country does it feel like home. In no other country does the desi food taste as delicious as here. In no other country do you get hugs and kisses accompanied by profuse dinner invitations when you chance upon an old acquaintance. People are genuinely happy to welcome you back to where you really belong.
But what a country — where traffic lights don’t exist in the capital city. The message: Drive at your own risk; fend for yourself! There are no cops on the streets. It’s free for all. The daredevil motor bikers challenge every nerve in your body as they charge around recklessly packed with women and children at the back. The only cops you see are standing fiddling with their cell phones or chatting leisurely with each other while lined up along VIP routes daily.
What a country where a property tycoon can buy off the sons of VVIPs, load them with pricey gifts and then openly boast about his feats. First to fall from grace is the son of the Chief Justice of Pakistan. The case stands unresolved. Now it’s Bilawal’s turn to have a multi-million dollar mega-home named after him by Riaz.
What a country where the US dollar touches the Rs100 mark. Instead of stalling the rupee decline, the government dispenses with the services of its finance secretary. A week later, the finance minister too departs, leaving the country’s finances in the lurch. A manager of a local bank tells me that as elections near and uncertainty grows, politicians are busy transferring their ill-gotten wealth out of Pakistan.
What a country where the ruling elite are the main black marketers who pocket $6.12bn, paralleling almost half of Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves. Their ill-gotten money is mainly acquired through drug smuggling, book piracy, gas and oil smuggling, human smuggling, tax evasion and counterfeit money. Havocscope, the world’s leading provider of information about the black market ranks Pakistan close to Afghanistan which is the world’s number one country with $7.3bn in black market. There are laws to catch the scofflaws but the courts, including the Supreme Court are helpless.
What a country where the constitution is violated by the lawmakers themselves, most of them holding fake degrees and owing huge sums to the State Bank. When the Election Commission writes to 249 legislators giving them a deadline to prove their academic credentials, only 26 of them respond. The rest, 223 member parliaments miss the deadline, proving they sneaked into the parliaments on suspected fake degrees. Heavens don’t fall. There is business as usual. When the State Bank threatens to out the identities of the bank defaulters, pressure from the government and the opposition arrives and the matter goes into a limbo.
What a country where one million ton plastic bags a week are thrown randomly and are left lying forever. Most of them make their way to the chocked gutters or fly around in the wind until they land on trees and bushes. We have a minister and a secretary in charge of environment. They, like the rest of the government wear blinkers and perhaps don’t see the plastic bags suffocating the environment.
Still, what a country where ordinary people are the most resilient, hard working and honest — Pakistan could have been a paradise for all — from the privileged to the underprivileged, had it not been pillaged repeatedly by those in whom God had wrested power.
Paradise lost and regained may yet be the lasting narrative for Pakistan.
What a country! | Opinion | DAWN.COM
There's hope still. All we need are a couple of statesmen on both sides who can make that paradigm shift to good governance!
Cheers!
