The root of our troubles

This letter refers to the article ‘Changing the national narrative’ (December 7, 2023) by Husain Haqqani. Being 85-years-old I have seen this country right from the beginning and have witnessed the gradual worsening in all fields that has culminated in the chaos that we now find ourselves in.

The writer has listed our “dismal literacy rate, insufficient tax collection, low standards of higher education, poor agricultural and industrial productivity, and extreme dependence on external aid and loans” as the main causes behind our current predicament”. But what is the meta-cause behind all these problems? It is our rampant political corruption, of which the writer seems rather dismissive, and the nepotism, excessive greed and opportunism associated with it.

SRH Hashmi

Karachi