Need of the hour

The country is currently experiencing irrefutable financial difficulties. Even while the government insists there is no chance of default, the reality is highly unsettling since foreign exchange reserves have dropped to dangerously low levels. According to reports, numerous shipments at Karachi Port have been halted since the government is unable to pay in dollars. In other words, the possibility of default is certain if Saudi Arabia or any other ally of Pakistan does not offer quick financial assistance.

Sadly, despite the passage of 75 years, Pakistanis have not been able to develop into a proud nation that is willing to make sacrifices for the country in trying times. The tragedy is that a political party tries to improve economic conditions when it is in power. But as soon as they lose power, that party’s interests suddenly change, and a strong desire arises for the country’s economic problems to worsen in order for them to regain control.

The political party that is now out of power is actively working to ensure that the country defaults on its debt in an effort to prove that their removal from power was unjustified. The leadership of this party has no interest in Pakistan or its citizens. Unfortunately, this fact is not understood by the nation. By the same token, when the present ruling coalition was in opposition, it fervently wished for inflation to soar, the economy to tank, and people’s lives to become wretched in order for them to gain popular support and take over the government. If a nation’s political elite has such beliefs, how can it progress? The establishment’s part in all of this abhorrent behavior is quite disgraceful as well. I don’t have the courage to go into depth about their part, so instead I scream and rave about how the nation thinks and behaves.

It wouldn’t be unjust to imply that in addition to politicians, the general public is equally to blame for the mess the country is in. How many citizens of this country put the national interests ahead of their own? I doubt many. We, the people, don’t think twice about causing millions of rupees’ worth of damage to the country for pitiful gains. We are a self-centered country that does not regard loss to the country as our own. The country’s financial status is currently rather fragile. Due to the SBP’s depleting foreign exchange reserves, the Pakistani rupee has lost more than 30 percent of its value. But people who have hoarded dollars in their houses just want to see the value of the rupee fall even further in order to maximize their gains. They are unconcerned with the state of the country.

The need of the hour, as well as national pride and fervor, call for anyone with even one dollar in their pocket to sell it in the market in order to relieve the pressure on the rupee. We sadly lack that national perspective. Believe it or not, but in my opinion, every person who kept dollars in their homes during this crucial time for profiting has betrayed the country. And these folks will also be accountable if Pakistan defaults. A wee bit of reflection will make every one of us realize that the politicians are not the only ones responsible for the country’s sorry state of affairs, we, the people, are equally to blame.