Constructive criticism

PTI Chairman Imran Khan and his former ministers are currently engaged in criticism just for the sake of criticism. It would be better to indulge in constructive criticism for reforms and the betterment of our society. A patriotic Pakistani will always want progress and the person who works for the country will be praised. But sadly, we have some who defame their own country and describe the side of the picture that is far from facts.

The incumbent Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government has started taking some excellent decisions which are necessary to highlight. The first decision which should be welcomed in national interest is banning the import of luxury items. But somehow, this is also being criticized by PTI leaders and supporters.

Former members of Imran Khan’s government are saying that stopping the import of luxury items will not make any significant difference. They are reminded that curbing imports of luxury goods will impact foreign exchange, control trade deficit and a positive impact would be felt on Pakistan’s local industry.

A country develops when its Gross National Products (GNP) increases. When imports are stopped, sales of locally-made goods increase, which develops the domestic industry. This encourages industrialists to increase production and expand their businesses. This requires manpower and employment will increase. All countries having GNP growth are developing nations. Economists around the world countries including Pakistan believe that growth depends more on GNP than GDP.

Another critical point raised by PTI leaders and former ministers is that the dollar has crossed Rs200 due to Shehbaz Sharif’s government. This is due to the free float exchange legislation introduced by Imran Khan’s government which may the economy like a gambling den. Free float exchange causes the dollar to depreciate. It is not controlled by the government in any way. It has become a form of gambling due to speculation due to which religious scholars have declared the purchase of such dollars forbidden in Islam.

If we want to see Pakistan becoming a developed country, we have to work together in national interest.

Due to this high demand, people bought a dollar of Rs150 and started spreading rumours against the economy to increase its value. For example, the stock market is collapsing, country is on the brink of collapse, we are bankrupt and so forth. This kind of news creates uncertainty as investors panic and start buying dollars instead of rupees. Their investment began to increase the demand for dollars and thus the rupee began to depreciate.

The third point was raised that the current government was brought by United States and Imran Khan was ousted because he visited Russia. They claim Imran Khan is a great messiah and benefactor as if rivers of milk will flow if he was elected premier again.

Now when Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was asked if Imran Khan’s visit to Russia was wrong, he replied ‘No’. Bilawal supported him and said that Imran Khan visited under their foreign policy and it is wrong to blame Pakistan for his visit to Russia. Surprisingly, this did not make any difference to the United States which wants to promote trade with Pakistan. US officials have said that the US wants an agreement that would allow Pakistan’s economy to move in the right direction. Then why was there a need to overthrow the government?

Politicians must stop blaming national institutions and the current government for no reason. If we want to see Pakistan becoming a developed country, we have to work together in national interest.

Citizens also need to understand that if they want to vote for their favourite political party, they should do so on the basis of performance so that politicians understand the reality and stop chanting hollow slogans. Politicians should stop exploiting people emotionally, sometimes in the name of religion, language, sects and community. The nation needs to understand that we are all Pakistanis and our future depends on it.