Unanswered Queries!

Asem Mustafa Awan

Islamabad: She is nearing 80 and sits in a space with her merchandise setup by some shop owner to attract Eid customers using her age and frailty as a crowd puller.

Her presence gives rise to many questions: why is she sitting there? Where does she live? What is being done to protect the dignity of old people. What is likely to happen to her when Ramadan is over?  There are these and so many questions but no answers.

There are plethora of departments to provide safety net for the poor people, for example, Baitul Maal, Poverty Alleviation Fund, Benazir Income Support to mention a few. There are countless others charitable societies which exist and collect limitless downpour of funds from the world on the name of the poor. But where does all this money go? The answer lies in the annual reports of these departments where embezzlement and misappropriation amount to many billions.

Is there any effort on the part of the government to recover the embezzled funds? The answer is an obvious no. We do have to look far beyond the recent disbursement of BISP involved many individuals being sent behind bars as they were taking a percentage from the poor for handing over the money to them.

The plundered funds from the national exchequer are all stashed away abroad in foreign accounts if these made public will result in national upheaval, public turning into a lynch mob.

Read More:https://thepenpk.com/struggle-for-healthcare-in-pakistan/

Those who think that they will get away with robbing the national treasury need not to go beyond the tragic ending of Romanian strongman Nicolae Ceaușescu who served the country as president. The absconders of public wealth are known to everyone and have been named in lists which are shown to public time and again. There are others too but the biggest culprits are obvious.

There are countries who have gone to the International Court of Justice where the public looters were identified and nations were given relief. Why can’t this happen for Pakistan where funds received for the devastating earthquakes that were enough to rebuild three cities but affected are still waiting for the compensation cheques.

The devastating floods have left millions of people shelterless in Pakistan and to date, they are still without any roof over their heads.

Something is drastically wrong because the disbursement is not happening. The loopholes are deliberately left unattended to allow the money to be diverted to the coffers of individual suiters.

The law exists but is lamely ineffective. When it might be applied with force begs the question. The country is in dire economic crisis but the looters are gleefully lining up their pockets whilst the public is being subjected to the indignity of poverty. Will they ever be able to hold their heads high is a billion-dollar question.

The writer is a journalist based in Islamabad and writes on a wide range of issues.

Photo Credit: Haji Ibrahim