Macabre drama

Our annual budgets and balance of payments have always been in the negative and not once have we ever seen surplus in either of these vital economic indicators. This speaks volumes of the incompetence of our policymakers. As far as the annual budget is concerned, the deficit can be met by printing more money as has been the practice in the past and present.
But in the case of balance of payments, it requires foreign exchange that is hard to come by and requires consistent growth in the exports. But this is not happening. Successive governments have been borrowing foreign exchange from donor agencies which then dictate their strategically beneficial policies to lend this hard money to us. We need to set our priorities right and get rid of our perverted policies. Our population of illiterate people is multiplying exponentially. The elite culture is thriving at the cost of poor people’s treasury. Billions of rupees are being wasted on security/protocols of a few high officials despite knowing well that no one is indispensable while thousands of people die of hunger and disease every day. When will this macabre drama end?
Shafiq Ahmad
Muzaffargarh