Time to focus

With elections around the corner, it is time for political elite to focus on the welfare of the citizens, who have been facing the brunt of our economic downturn, instead of usual rhetoric and theatrics about their own petty issues. Pakistan was created for welfare of its citizens, where the state would invest in human resource development by investing in education, health and provision of basic necessities. Instead, starting from 1956, the deprivations of the poor have increased and the game of thrones started.

Subsidies for education and health stood withdrawn and the state chose to outsource them to the private sector. Cartels have flourished and so has tax evasion, depriving the state of the fiscal space needed to ensure that Jinnah’s vision of a modern democratic welfare state is restored. The daily suffering of the people, with almost 40 per cent living below the poverty line, is far greater than the perceived injustices that the political elite has endured.

Malik Tariq Ali

Lahore