Move towards change

This refers to the article, ‘Move towards change’ (August 12) by Dr Atta-ur-Rahman. The writer lucidly points out that Pakistan has been borrowing $5 billion per year for the last 10 years and the repayment amount is increasing each year. According to the law, the debt-to-GDP ratio cannot go beyond the statutory limit of 60 percent but the present government has failed to bring it down. Ishaq Dar claims that the economy is doing very well. All this is poppycock of course. Pakistan languishes at the 146th position out of 187 countries in the Human Development Index with such countries as Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are ahead of us.
International donor agencies are using loans as a noose around Pakistan’s neck to extract the desired outcome. Billions of dollars are being secured in loans and then frittered away in huge infrastructure projects with massive kickbacks involved. During the last 10 years Pakistan has secured $49 billion in foreign loans out of which one-third have been spent on budgetary support while much of the amount has been siphoned off. Corruption is the common thread uniting politicians of all major political parties. Small wonder then that major political parties are all rooting for the word, ‘reconciliation’ – euphemism for the heartless rapacity of these champions of democracy who start chanting the mantra of ‘democracy in danger’ whenever some institution comes out to clean the Aegean stables of our political and economic governance.
Brig (r) Raashid Wali Janjua
Rawalpindi