I recently received a call from a senior, long-retired government official. He is perhaps in his early eighties and had just returned after receiving free medical treatment for many days in a government hospital. I greeted him warmly and congratulated him for having recovered from the serious illness. But he was angry and agitated. “The hospital told me they can do nothing more. They did not transfer me to a private hospital. They have no hospital-to-hospital transfer system. I will report the matter to the chief minister” he kept saying. Clearly, Pakistani government officials feel entitled to superior medical treatment. This is perhaps a trend established by many politicians who have in the past availed treatment abroad at the taxpayer’s expense.
Pakistan’s rich ruling elite, spoiled by years of obscene perks and privileges, refuses to recognize the new reality. Pakistan is no longer the same country. It is hollow, broke, and struggling. Its ordinary people have been deeply wounded by the tyranny of inequality and poverty, thrust upon them by the greedy, entitled elite. Will the new occupants of Constitution Avenue, please strip this entitled class of all those perks that are not available to every ordinary citizen of Pakistan.
Naeem Sadiq
Karachi