Charity In Chain

Pakistan In Picture

Asem Mustafa Awan

This is not an uncommon sight in Pakistan; people who have empathy and compassion for others do this time and again and often nurse regrets. This picture tells many things. The cooler doesn’t cost much, but the way it is locked and secured tells us that in the past, individuals who tried to do something for the thirsty were thwarted time and again.Encased and secured with locks and chained glass, it depicts the efforts of the individual, and quenching the thirst for the common good has its own price.

This picture also depicts the moral decay that has seeped into the very core of the ‘land of the pure’. The majority benefits from the service that is done by many with the concept that it is a good deed that will be rewarded in life, but one individual who steals away the cooler and glass disrupts it all. Who is that individual? This needs to be identified, and once caught; the national dilemma of plundering and looting will also come to an end. This disruption is caused by one person who is hell-bent on taking revenge on others because their happiness after quenching their thirst is unbearable for the miscreant who has a sadistic approach to life.

There is no second opinion that Pakistan is the ‘graveyard of developmental projects’. The loans that were taken on behalf of the masses are amassed in the personal accounts of those who sat at the helms of affairs. The Swiss banks have billions of dollars stashed by Pakistan’s ruling elite, and if the government, namely the law, makes a serious attempt, this plundered loot can be brought back to Pakistan. Only time will tell who will take the initiative, but all the manifestos of political parties have this point, namely ‘accountability’.

A rhetoric memorised by many generations who have seen Pakistan going into ‘nose dive’ since long. The tunes for the good times coming have seen generations go down in the grave, and one leading lawyer was on record a few days ago that the ruling elite’ at the helm of affairs have plundered money to such an extent that the next four generations of Pakistan will never get their backs straight.

It is time to name and shame, and the Public Accounts Committee that has yearly reports should now fix responsibilities on individuals who, for their ulterior motives, robbed the national wealth. This scribe hopes and believes that this will happen, but the public believes that this ‘accountability’ is still ‘light years’ away from Pakistan, which we all call home.

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