MANAGING EXPENDITURES: This is with reference to the reports ‘Austerity takes a back seat as cabinet swells’ (Feb 28) and “220 ‘non-essential posts’ abolished in NA to save money after MNAs’ pay hike” (March 2). Only a few weeks ago, the salaries of federal legislators had been increased by an astounding 300 per cent. The net result of favours shown to the top-heavy lawmakers and rulers is a rather heavy and completely unjustified burden on the national exchequer. Austerity has surely been forced to take a back seat.

Asif Jah
Karachi

BLAME GAME: On good days, I am able to exceed 55/60kph while driving my car. However, such days are rare. I usually do not get the chance to drive at this speed, thanks to the motorcyclists who almost always overtake me from either side. Sometimes, they seem to come out of nowhere. My car has pretty good brakes and a lot less weight than trucks and buses. Still, it takes me a few feet to stop in such emergency cases. Instead of behaving responsibly and riding carefully, the motorcyclists dodge vehicles on the roads. Trucks going at 35/40kph just look as if they are going faster. The blame should not always lie on the driver of the larger vehicle.

Suhail Siddiqi
Karachi

WORKERS’ SAFETY: Many unfor-tunate workers in Pakistan are forced to work under precarious conditions. Their right to safety and wellbeing is continuously being ignored by their employers. As such, the Baldia Factory fire, Sundar Industrial Estate incident and Gadani shipbreaking yard inferno are some of the horrific reminders of this tragic tendency. Similarly, accidents in the coal mines of Balochistan are a fre-quent occurrence because safety proc-edures are blatantly flouted by mine-owners. According to a report of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan in 2023, the health and safety standards for the miners were alarming. The gove-rnment must save the lives of workers.

Nida Azeem
Turbat

Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2025