PAKISTAN is struggling with a myriad of issues and so are its people. The level of despair among the people is quite obvious. The number of beggars has rea-ched a level where even cab drivers and delivery boys end up begging for money in addition to the tips they usually get from their clients. Inflation has brought people to their knees, and they are doing everything they can to survive.

The problem is that we have become desensitised to the ill of begging and seeking loans. The prime minister himself recently used the phrase “beggars can’t be choosers”, and similar sentiments were echoed repeatedly by his predecessor.

However, both the governments did the right thing by seeking International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans in the best interest of the state and its people. The issue is not with seeking loans; it is how we beg for them, and what we do once we get the money.

Ironically, both the government and the people of Pakistan have the same approach in this regard. They beg forcefully as if everyone owes them the money simply because they happen to be poor. They beg because they need money and want to arrange it the easy way. And, once they get it, they waste it on luxuries without addressing the core problems. The government and the people of Pakistan are addicted to seeking loans and then wasting them on short-term projects for short-term benefits.

Africa has been receiving aid for the last several decades, but not much has changed on the ground. We are walking the same path. The government needs to realise that the loans we receive are not meant for the present; they are meant to set our future right. Once the govern-ment makes the necessary adjustments in its approach towards loans, the people will also follow suit. Hopefully.

Affan Khattak
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, November 3rd, 2024