What a negative mindset

I think in Pakistan a narrative has developed in the mind of people for the last several years that anyone who is riding a shiny car or living in a affluent housing society or having a well furnished office is supposed to have looted Pakistan’s wealth. Even when a middle or a lower middle class person buys a new motor bike, he is suspected to have got the money by doing something wrong. One reason for this mindset is that there has been a lot of noise in the media about corruption. Another reason for such a poisonous mindset is the way the current accountability process and documentation drive is being carried out. Nobody is against accountability or documentation drive but these should be carried out with a very well-thought-out plan so that business sentiments are not suppressed and the economy is not tanked. We rarely find out that corruption allegations have been proved in the courts of law and the alleged person is convicted.

This mindset is harming the country’s economy because this mindset is one of the factors contributing to the slowdown of the economy. The prime minister’s economic team has ill advised him as to how to improve the country’s economy . Prime Minister Imran Khan himself has been telling people of Pakistan that there is daily corruption of Rs10 billion in Pakistan. He also told us during election campaign of year 2018 that there is money laundering of $10 billion every year from Pakistan .But none of these claims have so far been proven to be true. We haven’t seen recovery of looted wealth from the alleged corrupt people nor have we seen many convictions by courts. Instead, the economy has slowed down and the country’s balance sheet has weakened. I think the government must immediately take notice of such a negative narrative and help counter this narrative by creating a business-friendly atmosphere to encourage investment. Hard working people have all the right to build a house and buy a car of their choice. Therefore, I suggest that we must try to reverse the dangerous narrative to help the country’s economy grow at a pace which meets our requirement.

Ejaz Ahmad Magoon

Doha

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