The Off-Limits Garbage!

Asem Mustafa Awan

Islamabad: This heap of filth is not far from a building that hosts scores of parliamentarians assigned to do one job which is building Pakistan.

The nation-building slogans raised for decades have seen nations go down on the notions of the big wigs, but seeing them built or rebuilt has seen a generation go six feet under.

Pakistan celebrates its 76th Independence Day in the coming week. What is gained and lost can be measured by the pending cases against the policymakers who, instead of serving the nation, serve their own interests.

The words used by international media for elite added with public sentiment are embarrassing and can’t be penned down and rightly so as the stakes are too high and official secret acts get applied.

This off-limits picture taken by a daring photographer (Sohail Shahzad) tells how the nation and its future are prioritised by these legislators.

There is no second opinion that they meant well but the list of their shady deals is exposed by people who have the same rank as them. If truth be told, these tales are enough to take the entire debt from this poor third-world country that stands at number four from the bottom in the community of nations.

The lists are there, and the names are there, of worthy account holders who have stashed money in Swiss accounts enough to pay off the entire national debt.

There are various indexes and the lists bearing Pakistan’s name tell a different story in each category. The most recent one is in the skilled category of workers and out of 100, Pakistan is at number 96.

The other three countries ranking below have the same turmoil that the ‘land of the pure’ is faced with and only in time will it be clear which one gets out of the quagmire first.

The nation is faced with malnutrition and stunted growth, and that has been going on for decades while parliamentarians can easily qualify for the roles of WWE wrestlers and Rugby players. This stunted growth of the nation as compared to its members in parliament also explains why Pakistan faces food insecurity.

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

Photo Credit: Sohail Shahzad