Where does the buck stop?

Published in Daily Times on November 1, 2020 

By Shakir Lakhani

If you ask anyone on the streets whether the PTI government has made life easier for the common man, the answer is always in the negative. From massive unemployment to high inflation, this government seems to have done its best to make our lives miserable. And almost invariably, our ministers blame the previous regime for its failures, although it has completed almost half its allotted term.

Take the Punjab Information Minister Fayyazul Hassan Chouhan. He is the same dude who once made extremely derogatory remarks about Hindus (perhaps because he has never come across them in his home province), which led to him being temporarily removed. He was then involved in a scandal trying to get ten more marks for his son in an exam. Maybe he thought this was his contribution to improving the system of education in the country. No action, however, was taken against him, and he has continued in his job as minister for (dis)information. But he stunned everyone by saying something more astounding recently. When asked how long his government will continue blaming the previous one for its failures, he said it would do so as long as this government lasts; even if it wins the next election and doesn’t succeed, PTI will blame the previous government for all its failures. I wonder how such a man got into the PTI.

Perhaps readers will remember the astounding predictions of the very able Faisal Vawda, the minister in charge of ensuring water supply to the helpless citizens of this benighted country. He’s the chap who once prophesied that thousands of foreigners would soon line up outside our embassies to get jobs in Pakistan.

He used to drive his highly expensive motorcycles up Zamzama Road in Karachi, besides getting himself photographed near the downed Indian MIG and risking his life when police were trying to capture the terrorists at the Chinese consulate. But whatever you say about him, you have to admit that he is indeed very capable of defending his own interests. He was able to persuade the powers that be not to order a recount of his votes, despite having won by only 723. Not to forget his other achievements, like having a fake degree and being a dual national at the time of submitting his details to the Election Commission, and still remaining a minister because the hearings in his cases have been postponed repeatedly. But like all PTI ministers, he’s not been able to do what he’s been appointed to do, namely ensure water supplies to the people, especially those living in Karachi, where we have to pay through our noses for a tanker of water.

Someday we’ll find out who gives such bad advice to our Dear Leader. I’m referring to the World Bank loan of three hundred and four million dollars to Pakistan for “supporting the provincial government in strengthening fiscal risk management and budget formulation to ensure reliable resource allocation for public services”. Right now, more than ever, it’s necessary to save every penny we can instead of increasing our foreign debt. Why does the government think we need to spend money on frivolous projects? Isn’t the very learned Mr. Usman Buzdar already doing a splendid job in Punjab? Isn’t that the reason why the Prime Minister has so much confidence in him?

The latest is from Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan who says that the prices of medicines have been increased substantially to “ensure their availability in the market where they were illegally sold at extremely high prices”. According to this genius, “drugs suppliers and middlemen had created artificial shortage of those medicines whose prices were quite low”. One would have expected middlemen and drug suppliers to create shortages of high-priced drugs, as profit margins are higher whenever the price is high. But then, we shouldn’t be surprised at anything coming out of the mouths of PTI ministers and advisors. From Vawda claiming that he has “installed machines in Adiala Jail to reduce the weight of Maulana Fazlur Rehman”, to Fayyaz Chouhan demanding the public hanging of the AJK prime minister and even the great Imran Khan saying that he would go to the UK to persuade Boris Johnson to hand over Nawaz Sharif (as even the Queen herself cannot order the sacking of a lowly traffic constable), there seems to be no end to the gems emanating from them.

It was President Harry Truman who used to say “The buck stops right here!” He meant that ultimately he alone was responsible for the failures of his government. Imran Khan should realize that in Pakistan the buck stops with him, he and his ministers are responsible for rampant inflation, sugar and wheat shortages, unemployment and all other problems facing the country.

https://dailytimes.com.pk/683880/where-does-the-buck-stop/

What if the subcontinent had not been partitioned?

published in daily times on AUGUST 13, 2020

If you ever wondered what would the situation have been today had partition not taken place and Pakistan not come into existence, you can get a good idea from what is happening to Muslims in India today.

Just consider the following:

1. Despite Muslims being at least 20 per cent of the total Indian population, there is only one Muslim in Modi’s cabinet of 57 ministers and advisors.

2. There are no Muslim ministers in 15 Indian states (including even Assam, where the Muslim population is 34 per cent of the total).

3. UP has only one Muslim minister, even though one out of its four residents is a Muslim. The BJP did not field any Muslim candidate in the last UP state elections. And in case you’ve forgotten, the UP chief minister remained silent when one of his staunch supporters told rabid Hindutva activists to dig up the graves of Muslim women and desecrate their bodies.

4. The Sachar Committee concluded that Muslim representation in government was between two and three per cent.

5. Modi is going ahead with depriving millions of Muslims of citizenship and subsequently deporting them to Pakistan and Bangladesh.

6. There are plans to demolish all Islamic monuments in India and replace them with temples (as they did with the historic Babri Mosque).

This gives us a fair idea of the hatred that Hindutva followers have always had for Muslims. If partition had not taken place, and India had remained united, very few Muslims would have made it to the assemblies. They would have been virtually powerless. It would have been very easy for rabid Muslim-hating politicians like Modi to do with us what they are doing with Muslims in Kashmir. They would have prevented Muslims from occupying positions of power, by gradually settling non-Muslims in Muslim majority areas of Sindh, West Punjab, Baluchistan and NWFP (as KP was then called). Muslim children would, of course, have been kept out of schools for the elite, they would have been peasants tilling the fields as their forebears did before partition.

In 1947, the Karachi Port Trust did not have a single Muslim officer. There were only three Muslims: a clerk, a peon and a security guard. If Pakistan had not been created, we can imagine that there would have been Hindus in every bank and government department, with Muslims practically invisible, and certainly no Muslims in positions of power. The army would have had no senior Muslim officers.

Ever wondered why there had been no industrialisation before partition in Muslim majority areas of the subcontinent?

My father once quoted from a Geography textbook from his school days in the Indian state of Gujarat. “The climate in West Punjab, Sindh, NWFP, Baluchistan and East Bengal does not support industrialisation,” it said.

Of course, it conveniently omitted to mention that those were Muslim majority regions.

Karachi and Lahore would have been small provincial towns with less than a million people. There would have been no large industries, perhaps only small cottage industries, with the majority of the population employed in tilling the fields.

So to those, who think partition was a mistake, I say, “Please thank Mr Jinnah for not surrendering to Gandhi’s tempting offer to make him prime minister or anything he wanted.”

Despite all its faults, Pakistan is the best thing to have happened to the subcontinent’s Muslims. It has saved them from extinction.

By Shakir Lakhani

The writer is an engineer, a former visiting lecturer at NED Engineering College, an industrialist, and has been associated with the petroleum, chemical industries for many years. He tweets @shakirlakhani

https://dailytimes.com.pk/653200/what-if-the-subcontinent-had-not-been-partitioned/

What will future historians write about Pakistan?

Published in Daily Times on August 1, 2020

I wonder how future historians of the country will view Pakistan in these crisis-ridden times. I assume, of course, that humanity will survive the current pandemic and there will be historians in future.

Perhaps they will write about how the dithering Chief Executive of the country went around in public without wearing a mask in the beginning and saying that the disease was just like the flu and would affect only the elderly and aged people. They will mention him constantly saying that he was against a lockdown from the start and then imposing a lockdown and calling it “smart”. They will note that he frequently spoke about turning the country into a welfare state without doing anything about it. They will be amazed that he then told people to take all precautions (like wearing masks), and then immediately announced the reopening of tourism in areas where there are virtually no healthcare facilities. They will write about how, despite knowing that this lethal virus had the potential to strike in crowded places, he allowed the opening of mosques, malls and markets.

Historians will mark how, instead of concrete steps to help the very poor of the country, his government announced a package to help the builders’ mafia, a package that would simply restart speculation in a sector where seven trillion rupees of black money is stocked, simply because powerful men in this business are among his staunch supporters.

Perhaps they will also note that his government succumbed to some religious bigots who have proclaimed that this entire Corona thing is a hoax to enrich pharmaceutical companies, and that if a vaccine is developed, it will contain a very small microchip that will turn Muslims away from their religion. And so, despite being told by healthcare professionals not to open mosques, his government did so, just to pacify the religious lobby.

They will be amazed that in the twenty first century, his government did nothing to promote the teaching of science in schools, with the result that illiterate scholars freely taught children in seminaries that the earth is flat and stationery while the sun goes around it once in twenty four hours. But then, they will also find that the Oxford-educated prime minister himself proclaimed that Chinese trains run at the speed of light and Germany and Japan share a common border.

They will write about the controversy arising every year at the time of sighting of the moon and people in some places claiming to have seen the moon even though astronomical calculations predicted that it could not be there. And how the clerics refused to take into consideration the scientific fact that the moon would be present in the country’s skies above the clouds and declared the celebration of Eid-al-Azha next week a day later than it should have been. They will wonder why the people tolerated a group of illiterate clerics wasting millions every month scanning the heavens to look for the moon (when the science to determine the time, date and place of sighting the moon had been available for more than a thousand years). And they will see people (under the influence of these same illiterate and bigoted clerics) waste money on quacks and spiritualists to make their wives bear male children.

They will then conclude that the terrible condition of the country was due to lack of education (particularly scientific education) among its leaders and the people.

Shakir Lakhani

The writer is an engineer, a former visiting lecturer at NED Engineering College, an industrialist, and has been associated with the petroleum, chemical industries for many years. He tweets @shakirlakhani

https://dailytimes.com.pk/648711/what-will-future-historians-write-about-pakistan/

Government should open Karachi’s beaches for the public

 Published in Daily Times on June 23, 2020

The government recently relaxed restrictions and lifted the lockdown imposed for the past two months. Shopping malls are now open, public transport has resumed, and people made to wear masks and maintain social distancing. As the Great Khan said, it was done to prevent people from starving and revive the economy.

The government recently relaxed restrictions and lifted the lockdown imposed for the past two months. Shopping malls are now open, public transport has resumed, and people made to wear masks and maintain social distancing. As the Great Khan said, it was done to prevent people from starving and revive the economy.

One of the oldest truths I’ve known is that people are usually safe from air-borne viruses in open spaces like beaches. Fifty years ago, there was a vicious flu virus that was making people sick, even though it was not as deadly as Covid-19. I was being posted to the sea shore for construction of an oil terminal and I was worried that I might fall victim to the flu virus. “There’s a greater chance of you getting infected from the virus here in this air-conditioned office building than out in the open,” said my superior.

All the evidence so far suggests that the risk of getting infected outdoors is very low, certainly very much lower than getting infected indoors (In China, only one outbreak of infections occurred outdoors, due to neighbors talking to each other without observing social distancing).

Which brings me to the question of opening Karachi’s Hawkesbay and Sandspit beaches to the public. The simple folk living in villages near the beaches are very poor. Until two decades back, they were mostly Baloch (Makranis), but in the past two decades people from all over the country have settled there.They try to survive by working in salt works, catching fish and working in a few small factories nearby as daily wage workers. But a large part of their income is obtained from supplying cold drinks, fruits and other edibles to picnic goers on the two weekly and other festival holidays. Ever since the lockdown was imposed, this source of revenue is no longer available to them, which has made them poorer than they already were.This is why I think the government should allow people to go to the beaches, considering that there is a very low risk of getting infected there compared to the risk involved in going to shopping malls, markets, mosques and buses. The strong sea breeze would immediately disperse the virus and thus weaken it, preventing people from getting infected if there is an infected person nearby. And there is no evidence that an infected person bathing in the sea can transmit the virus to those nearby, as the swirling water of the ocean would minimize any chance of that happening.

Of course, to minimize the risks even more, the same SOPs should be imposed on people going in cars to the beaches. Those not wearing masks should be stopped and turned back. Patrolling on the beaches is already being done to prevent picnickers from wading into deep waters when the sea is rough. The same staff can be used to enforce the wearing of masks and maintaining a minimum of six feet.

Opening the beaches to the public will revive the economy of the area, besides providing the citizens of Karachi the much needed Vitamin D from sunshine which they are prevented from getting due to being confined indoors. I hope the people in power realize the importance and necessity of allowing people to go to the beaches and will issue the necessary orders.

Shakir Lakhani

The writer is an engineer, a former visiting lecturer at NED Engineering College, an industrialist, and has been associated with the petroleum, chemical industries for many years. He tweets @shakirlakhani

https://dailytimes.com.pk/630647/government-should-open-karachis-beaches-for-the-public/

Will our people accept the Covid-19 vaccine?

Published in Daily Times on May 27, 2020

A few days back I read an article in the New York Times about what would happen if half of the U.S. population refused to get vaccinated against Covid-19 (whenever a vaccine is developed). I found there is a very vocal anti-vaccine movement in the United States (despite its literacy rate being much higher than that of Pakistan). It is very likely that a great number of Americans (probably more than a quarter of the population) would reject the vaccine, risking thousands of lives beside their own.

So I got to wondering what would be the reaction of our people to a vaccine for COVID-19. Our experience so far tells us that many (if not most) Pakistanis would be skeptical and refuse to get themselves or their children vaccinated. We have seen how our illiterate preachers have brainwashed their followers into believing that the polio vaccine is a tool to reduce the population of Muslims. That is why Pakistan is now only one of two countries (along with Afghanistan) where polio has not been eradicated (Nigeria, which was also polio-affected, has not had a case since 2016). Our vaccination teams are routinely attacked and both male and female health workers shot dead in many areas of the country. So how can we expect the COVID-19 vaccine to be welcomed in Pakistan?

“None of my relatives or friends have died of this virus, and I have never met anyone who knows anyone who has this virus, this Corona thing is a hoax”, said the manager of a store in DHA where I buy all my groceries and medicines.

“It’s all a drama”, said a vegetable seller. “They want to reduce the population of Muslims, like they did with the polio vaccine”.

“You can see it’s meant to cause friction within Muslims”, said a PTI loyalist. “When they said people should stay six feet away from each other, my wife left me to live with her parents. Thank God we have Skype, otherwise I’d have forgotten what she looks like by now”.

“Only a thousand deaths in Pakistan in three months”, says the imam of the mosque near my house, “We don’t need a vaccine, it’s not a serious disease”.

“This sanitizer is made from alcohol, before long our bodies will crave it so much that we’ll be forced to drink it to be able to survive”, says a deeply religious man I’ve known for many years

A neighbor of mine said, “It’s always the same, I have never come across anyone whose near relatives have succumbed to this so-called disease”. Why “so-called”? I asked. “It’s a conspiracy, this Covid-19 thing,” he said. “It’s meant for the government to make common people like us contribute to their funds so that our leaders can enrich themselves. This vaccine will make some people very wealthy”.

Then there is this viral message on WhatsApp: “Do you think coronavirus is as dangerous as projected by media? Or is the purpose of the media campaign to create panic so that Pharma companies can sell their products like sanitizer, masks, medicine etc? Or is it Bill Gates and his masters who want to sell their vaccines, install chips and control world population to launch their world government?”

It’s evident that the vast majority of our people believe that coronavirus is not real, it’s a conspiracy hatched by enemies of Muslims to prevent them from practicing Islam. Even though people in Saudi Arabia were told to pray at homes instead of going to mosques they still believe it’s a plot to change Muslims into atheists. And as this was repeated thousands of times, it was only natural that our people should flout all government directives to wear masks and observe social distancing when the lockdown was relaxed. Saudi Arabia has ordered a curfew during all four days of the Eid holidays next week. Do you think our people would passively remain at home if a curfew is ordered in Pakistan during Eid holidays? I would bet that all of them would openly defy it, even if it meant getting shot and losing their lives. So why should we expect them to accept a vaccine, whenever it is available?

It seems Bill Gates is the new villain in Pakistan. In a viral video, a man is heard saying that the vaccine being developed by Bill Gates would turn Muslims away from Islam (without of course turning Christians and Hindus turn away from their religions). How would the vaccine do it? How would Bill Gates ensure that only Muslims would be affected? But then, our people are simpletons, and they easily believe in conspiracies, perhaps because they have very little knowledge of science. And for this we have only ourselves to blame, as we elect ignorant and corrupt politicians to our assemblies.

Shakir Lakhani

https://dailytimes.com.pk/617514/will-our-people-accept-the-covid-19-vaccine/

Has Pakistan lost the war against Coronavirus?

Published in Daily Times on MAY 2, 2020

I’m one of the lucky few who have been able to stay at home while my assistants are also working from their homes. Fortunately they live in localities where practically no cases of coronavirus have surfaced (on the other hand, DHA, where I live, has many infected residents and we have been told to stay at home as much as possible). So I have kept abreast of my business and I have also been able to exercise daily and absorb much needed sunlight. I meet men coming out of the nearby mosque, none of them wearing masks or maintaining the six feet distance between themselves which is required to prevent the spread of the disease. When I admonish them, they laugh and say, “Imran Khan himself doesn’t wear a mask when he meets his ministers, and the lady health minister neither wore a mask nor did she maintain distance, while she was coughing away all the time”.

Today I called my driver and went around parts of Clifton, Burns Road and DHA to see for myself whether people were following the recently relaxed directives imposed by the government. What I saw shocked me no end. There were many cars on the roads, almost the same number that was normal in the pre-corona period. Very few car drivers and passengers wore masks, and the same was the case with policemen who are supposed to enforce the law. The traffic cops of course were more interested in catching those who were going through red lights or didn’t have licenses. It seems they don’t think we are in the midst of a serious crisis, like some people I’ve met who think this corona virus thing is a conspiracy to make Muslims stray from the right path. Even if a vaccine is developed, they will be highly suspicious, like those of our countrymen who think the polio vaccine will make them infertile.

This brings me to those who insist on offering congregational prayers (taraveeh) in the holy month, as they have been doing on Fridays. How can you convince such people that they pose a danger to others, if not to their own families? It is said that about half of those who test positive display no symptoms, they only find out they are infected when tested. They simply cannot believe that the disease is serious. They don’t realize that even though they are not in danger, they can infect others. My neighbors who regularly pray in the nearby mosque together with possibly many infected ones use the elevators in my apartment complex. All that is necessary for others to get infected is to touch something they have touched, or to be in the lift immediately after they’ve used it. But when I point this out to them, they simply laugh. “You’re paranoid, sir,” says one of them. “How do you know your driver or the cooks and other maids who work for you haven’t been infected?” It’s also evident that those who are fifty and above will not pray at home (as required by the authorities), since more than half of those who pray in mosques are senior citizens.

Some eminent Karachi doctors today appealed to the government to strictly enforce the lockdown again, warning that otherwise there won’t be enough health personnel to treat the thousands of sick people who will show up in hospitals in the coming days. Around the same time, the TV showed the Sindh Governor Imran Ismail violating all SOPs while freely mingling among his three hundred guests in Matiari and eating with them, as though they’ve never heard of the dreaded virus. Just like those shopkeepers who defied the government and reopened their shops today (some of them were arrested, but again, the Sindh governor told the police to release them). It seems the PTI and the Sindh government do not agree on how to enforce the lockdown. I hope the authorities will not cow down to demands of shopkeepers who want to reap rich harvests in this Ramazan (they earn more in the holy month than in the other eleven months combined). I hope Imran Khan and his advisers have the strength to resist shopkeepers and others who defy the lockdown, particularly the religious lobby which consists of so-called scholars who have no background in science and who believe that only they are the chosen ones to decide what is right or wrong. But the recent surrender by the government makes me pessimistic. It looks like we’ve already lost the war against the dreaded virus.

https://dailytimes.com.pk/605803/has-pakistan-lost-the-war-against-coronavirus/

Government should get out of the sugar business

Published in Daily Times on April 17, 2020

No one should have been surprised at the recent report on sugar and wheat shortage in the country, which caused a split in the ruling party. It was only natural for the core members of the party to feel bad when they saw the sugar barons getting wealthier while they continued to remain mere spectators. One hopes that they persuade the Dear Leader to end government control of the industry and stop supporting the sugar barons in their nefarious attempts to get subsidies in future.

For a start, the government should immediately end guaranteed minimum prices for sugarcane, sugar protectionist import tariff of 40 percent, subsidised transport costs and domestic freight, reduced export taxes, and export quotas. These measures have enabled manufacturers to earn billions at the cost of the common man, as local sugar prices are much higher than in most other countries.

It is time the government got out of the sugar business. It should let the market determine price of sugar, depending on supply and demand. But this is not the only thing it should do. It should buy excess sugar and maintain adequate stocks to protect the people from sudden price hikes. It should also allow the free import of sugar whenever it feels such a step is necessary.

The present government policy of interfering in the sugar industry actually encourages formation of cartels by mill owners. With prices fixed by the government, there is no incentive for sugar manufacturers to be competitive. There is no incentive for them to become internationally competitive. Once the industry is deregulated, mill owners will try to reduce their cost of production and would be induced to manufacture value-added products like ethanol fuel, molasses, etc.

Of course, there will be problems in the beginning. Sugar barons in parliament will fight tooth and nail as deregulation will mean an end to subsidies doled out by practically every government in recent years.

Government should also give incentives to sugar cane growers to switch over to other cash crops like rice, which do not consume so much water and can earn valuable foreign exchange for the nation. Presently, the growers are at the mercy of unscrupulous mill owners who deliberately delay buying sugar cane. The longer the delay, the greater the loss to the growers. By indulging in negotiations of prices after every harvest, and taking their own sweet time, the sugar cane loses weight thus resulting in reduced payments to the farmers (who are paid according to weight).

The farmers, therefore, get much less than the support price fixed by government. The delay also results in them not being able to prepare their lands for the next crop. This arrogance of the mill owners can only be reduced by complete deregulation of the sugar industry.

The government should not delay any more. The Great Khan has a golden opportunity to rid the country of this curse. The nation cannot afford to lose money by giving subsidies every year to the criminals in the sugar industry. This one step alone will earn the immense gratitude of the people and will increase the popularity of the ruling party.

by Shakir Lakhani 

The writer is an engineer, a former visiting lecturer at NED Engineering College, an industrialist, and has been associated with the petroleum, chemical industries for many years https://dailytimes.com.pk/596939/government-should-get-out-of-the-sugar-business/

Lockdown: violators should be punished

Published in Daily times on MARCH 31, 2020

It’s been many days since I last went out of my house. The good men who manage the affairs of our apartment complex have decreed that senior citizens stay home until the virus has been tamed. But most residents violate the order to refrain from praying in the mosque. “It’s unthinkable”, says a Muslim resident, “It is mandatory to gather in a mosque five times a day, corona or no corona”. The cops who are supposed to enforce the law apparently agree, they participate in the congregational prayers as well (despite the presence of Tableeghi Jamaat members who may have been infected while attending the recent gathering in Raiwind). I see from social media that throughout the country, men are doing the same without considering that they are endangering the lives of those who are most vulnerable (like me). It’s for these reasons that I fear we may lose the battle against the dreaded virus.

Now the greatest authority on Sunni Islam (Shaikh Al Azhar) has advocated that mosques be closed to prevent the spread of the disease. Even Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other countries have done so. But our ulema apparently consider themselves superior to those in other countries, they want the faithful to gather and offer congregational prayers five times a day. Last Friday the mullah in a Clifton mosque near my work place exhorted his audience to come regularly to his mosque despite government orders not to do so. Today I heard that people stormed the door of a mosque in Karachi’s DHA to offer prayers, putting others at risk.

I remember how, when Al Azhar decreed that simple bank interest was not equivalent to “riba” and was therefore permissible, a prominent religious party leader said he did not accept this ruling, as Al Azhar had permitted the use of condoms for birth control. I suppose the same reasons will be cited for rejecting the august body’s fatwa regarding closure of mosques.

I was wondering: what if all nations simply resigned themselves and gave up? What if we just sit back and decide to let nature take its course, and let those who are vulnerable die? As those who are against the lockdown say, “All of us have to die one day, so why not now?” A hundred years ago, during the last pandemic, 50 million perished. How do you explain to them that even though death is inevitable, the virus will cause millions to die an early death? Here we run into another problem. “The time of death for every living thing is fixed, you can’t delay it with medications and lockdowns”, say the faithful. Even when you tell them that those who survive the virus will be forever scarred, with reduced immunity and lung damage, they are not convinced. They point out that a 103-year-old woman survived, but they ignore the fact that an infant also succumbed. It’s useless, these people will never comply, the government will have to use force to make them do so. But our prime minister Imran Khan himself is not sure what to do. He’s against a complete lockdown; he wants buses and trucks to continue operating. Sure, it will ensure that truck and bus drivers will remain fully employed, and it will enable people to travel between cities to visit their relatives and pray at their favorite shrines, but again, it will result in more and more people being infected. So the end result will be the same: a lockdown or even a curfew.

The Great Khan should learn from what other countries have done. In parts of the U.S., there is a complete curfew, in neighboring India, a lockdown has been enforced for three weeks. Apparently this is the only solution. Those who violate the lockdown should be punished. There is no other way. The writer is an engineer, a former visiting lecturer at NED Engineering College, an industrialist, and has been associated with the petroleum, chemical industries for many years. He tweets @shakirlakhani

https://dailytimes.com.pk/585995/lockdown-violators-should-be-punished/

Black magic, astrology and all that mumbo jumbo

Published in Daily Times on March 20, 2020

The one thing you find in most countries (particularly India and Pakistan) is a strong belief in black magic and the supernatural. You see huge bill boards in every locality, with names of experts like “Amir Bangali Baba” who can tell you what will happen to you in future, and how to get rid of any ailment or sickness you’re suffering from, or even cause your enemies to die (by muttering certain magic words thousands of times). Even educated people believe in that fakery called “astrology”, according to which the positions of the sun and moon and stars determine what will happen to you.

Before the last elections, I once saw a female astrologer on TV saying emphatically that Imran Khan would never be the prime minister, as the stars indicated otherwise. I haven’t seen her after the Dear Leader got “selected”, which is natural. She can’t go around claiming to be an expert on the supernatural, after such a devastating failure to predict the future. Come to think of it, I’ve heard that the Great Khan himself believes in such things, he’s talked about “spiritual” science many times. Even our past prime minister and the ex-president used to be advised by their spiritual advisors not to travel on certain dates. The ex-president was sometimes told to go and live in Karachi in his house near the sea, while our Mr. Clean often retreats to the mountains, apparently to ward off evil spirits.

I once bought a book to study palmistry and got a big shock. This was when I was in college, in 1961. According to the book, I could be dead anytime soon, perhaps within a year or two, as the life line was cut much earlier by another line. For a few days I was quite depressed, but one day I told a friend studying in medical college about it. He laughed and said, “I see bodies of youngsters everyday with very long life lines, this palmistry thing is a hoax”.

Then there is numerology, which predicts the future according to your lucky number. An expert in this “science” told me that I would be a great leader one day (based on the date and year of my birth). Obviously, since this did not happen, I don’t believe in numerology either.

As for astrology, only a moron can believe there is anything in it. Recently there was a super moon (it was a Monday). I looked up on a few websites what was in store for me on that day. According to one, “When you help out other people today, you'll actually be helping yourself”. Now this is something which is applicable to everyone under the sun. Moreover, “Surrender that excellent parking space to someone else, and you'll probably end up finding an even better one later in the day”. Only a fool would believe that, the “even better” parking place would only be found in the dead of night.

Then there was this gem: “Lend someone some money for lunch, and someone else could appear with a very special treat for you”. No one asked me to lend him money for lunch. If someone had, and if I had lent him the money, “that very special treat” would have been my wife shouting her head off for doing so.

Another one said, “You can capitalize on real estate and other fixed assets during this cycle”. The only real estate I have is my own apartment, so how can I capitalize on it? Another one says, “There is no concern for your health and you are welcome to enjoy the outdoors”. I wonder how he can say there’s no concern for my health, as I have to take eleven pills a day just to remain alive. As for “enjoying the outdoors”, this chap apparently hasn’t heard about the lethal corona virus.

Those who believe in all this fakery are welcome to do so. I shall always remain a skeptic.

Shakir Lakhani

The writer is an engineer, a former visiting lecturer at NED Engineering College, an industrialist, and has been associated with the petroleum, chemical industries for many years. He tweets @shakirlakhani

https://dailytimes.com.pk/579556/black-magic-astrology-and-all-that-mumbo-jumbo/

Keamari gas leak: what really happened?

Published in Daily Times on February 25, 2020

I have worked for most of my life in the petroleum and other industries, located at the shore of the Arabian Sea in Karachi. So, I know the kind of horrible stench the people, who live in the coastal areas, have to endure on most days, especially when the tide is low in winter or when rotting fish is washed ashore.

Besides, Hydrogen Sulphide, released by petroleum crude oil in small quantities, is always present in the air in the vicinity of the oil terminals in Keamari. So, Hydrogen Sulfide could not have been the “toxic gas,” which resulted in the tragic deaths of 14 people. I doubt if we’ll ever know what happened (which is the norm in this country).

Panic-stricken residents will continue to believe that there is a massive cover-up and that the government is protecting those who should be behind bars. Some thought it was vapour from a radioactive blast, while others thought a ship carrying chemicals had released the gas into the air. “Because Pakistan is a third-world country, the ship’s captain knew it wouldn’t have the means to find out which gas it was and where it came from,” said one resident.

“It’s been done to make us stop thinking of the high cost of food due to the government’s policies,” said another.

There were rumours that the “gas” was a mutation of the Coronavirus, which has recently wreaked havoc in China and other countries. In the meantime, the people of Karachi have received Whattsapp messages; advising them not to consume seafood until there is definite evidence that fish and crabs are not contaminated. People are also scared to go to the beaches as they think the gas leak may occur again.

As for the claim that it was soybean dust that caused allergic reactions resulting in the fatalities, this is not the first time that soybean has been unloaded at the port. A TV channel showed workers sweeping away soybean on the ground without being affected at all (even though they were not wearing face masks). The ship’s captain was told to move to Port Qasim (an unnecessary step, as the “leak” had already stopped).

And now for the third suspect: Methyl Bromide, the highly toxic pesticide gas used in fumigation of containers at the port. This product is banned in most countries, yet its use is allowed in Pakistan. Some doctors have theorised that the victims may have inhaled it in very large quantities and succumbed. Again, the fumigation contractor claims that none of his workers has suffered from using it, so it does not prove that Methyl Bromide caused the deaths.

So what caused the deaths of 14 innocent people? Committees will be set up, members will attend meetings, they will have tea and samosas, yet they too will not be able to solve the mystery. Those who were responsible for the event will remain at large. You know how the Punjab Government reacted with the “speed of light” when it transferred hundred-and-seventy-five officials after the First Lady was not given due protocol at the Pakpattan shrine! The PTI parliamentarians “selected” from Karachi should act with the same speed to deal with such disasters. I highly doubt they have the will to do so.

by Shakir Lakhani

 

The writer is an engineer, a former visiting lecturer at NED Engineering College

https://dailytimes.com.pk/564317/keamari-gas-leak-what-really-happened/

Make the punishment fit the crime!

Published in Daily Times on February 19, 2020

I’ve often wondered why Pakistan is in such a sorry state. Why, for instance, do people display such blatant disregard for traffic rules? Is it because they know that even if they get stopped by traffic cops, they’ll get away by paying them a couple of hundred rupees? Why is it that there are rampant smugglings, under-invoicing and misdeclaration of imported goods? If by chance, customs personnel do catch someone indulging in these illegal activities, they simply take bribes to release the confiscated goods.

Drug dealers have the police in their pockets. A Station House Officer has to pay a handsome amount (millions of rupees) to be posted to a city where he can earn millions from criminals. He continues paying a part of his illegal income to higher-ups, simply to ensure that he is not transferred back to a small town where he won’t make much. The same is true of other government departments (like the Customs). A famous saying in Urdu, when translated to English, goes, “In the national toilet, everyone is naked.” It means that in this country, every government employee is corrupt. My attention was drawn to a recent news item about high-ranking customs officials being found involved in large-scale corruption. It seems that these enterprising men allowed the clearance of nine hundred containers of misdeclared goods, causing losses of billions of rupees to the nation. If this had happened in a civilised country, the corrupt officers would have been sentenced to jail terms. In China, they might even have been executed. But not in Pakistan. Some were transferred, and others were suspended for a time. What kind of message does this convey to other government officials? That whatever the crime, there will be practically no punishment?

But then the government has been encouraging crime in the private sector. After every two or three years, tax evaders are allowed to whiten their looted wealth by paying a pittance (about two or three per cent). Knowing that even if they are caught, they will not be punished, the looters merrily go on making millions and billions. No wonder that you come across income tax officers, police inspectors and customs appraisers owning huge bungalows in posh areas.

Smugglers are a class apart. They are the chosen ones. It seems that they simply cannot be touched. Millions of tonnes of wheat and sugar were smuggled across the border without anyone batting an eyelid. Would this have been possible without the connivance of the officials involved? If a truck carrying smuggled items is intercepted, and the truck driver does not have the money to pay the required bribe, a phone call from some powerful person gets it released. No wonder smuggled cloth, and other items are freely available in our major cities!

I know that those who rule over us are too busy trying to save themselves, but the few honest ones among them should at least remember they are supposed to protect the interests of the nation. Why can’t they ensure the punishment is according to the crime? I do not suggest the corrupt government officials should be hanged, but a few jail terms (combined with heavy penalties) would go a long way in reducing corruption. Remember what happened in South Korea when its president and others were sentenced to death for corruption? Even the peons in government offices stopped asking for bribes!

Shakir Lakhani

The writer is an engineer, a former visiting lecturer at NED Engineering College

It’s not corruption, it’s perception, stupid!

Published in Daily Times on February 12, 2020

The ruling party went into panic mode after the publication of Transparency International’s report, according to which Pakistan had slipped two or three points in the Corruption Perception Index. It implied that corruption had not been contained. It had increased. The very learned lady advisor on (mis)information said something about it being a conspiracy against the PTI.

She said that the Pakistani chapter of the organisation had been given favours by the previous Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government. That may be true, but this time, the report was issued by Transparency International (Berlin), according to which Pakistan is among dozens of nations, where perceived corruption has worsened significantly over the past year.

The local chapter of Transparency International attempted damage control; saying that the report did not reflect that corruption had increased or decreased in Pakistan. But this had little effect as the organisation admitted that it was not responsible for the report and had not contributed in any way in its compilation. But PTI ministers and advisors reacted triumphantly as though Kashmir had finally been conquered.

Of course, it is common knowledge that rampant corruption has not been contained, leave alone eliminated. When he was on that container for four months, the Dear Leader had promised to wipe out corruption in 90 days. If he had done so, by now, the country would have been richer by 18 billion dollars (since a billion dollars a month are lost to corruption). So it would be better for the Great Khan to stop talking about it, seeing that he can’t explain why he has tainted ministers in his cabinet. Among his friends, one has been disqualified from holding public office. Another is being investigated for corruption by NAB.

Then, there is the foreign funding case, which the Laadla has been trying with all his might to get postponed on one pretext or the other. Not to forget the much-delayed BRT project (which, if it is ever completed, will cost many times more than the originally estimated and on which seven billion rupees in kickbacks have already been reportedly paid). Of course, the sudden disappearance of wheat flour (being first exported and then imported at a much higher cost) qualifies to be treated as an example of corruption. Then, there was a sharp increase in the price of medicines, for no apparent reason except to make someone rich. And PTI followers still say that corruption has not increased in the country?

I suppose it is an encouraging sign that the ruling party is worried about how it is perceived by the public. But does it matter? People are now convinced that it cannot deliver, that it has duped the nation and whatever the Great Khan says, he cannot be believed (due to his many U-turns).

His latest admission that his salary of two hundred thousand rupees is not sufficient to meet his expenses makes one wonder how poor peasants and factory workers survive on a mere Rs 15 to 20,000. As for taking money from his friends to pay for his visit to Davos, doesn’t he know there’s no such thing as a free lunch?

I’m not sure, but I believe someone from a European country immediately responded, “We don’t allow that in our country,” when he heard about Imran’s expenses being paid by his friends.

But why stop at Davos? Why not allow friends to pay for the fuel being used by his helicopter, flying from Bani Gala to the Prime Minister’s House? Since he thinks that his salary is not so high, perhaps, the friends should consider contributing to his household expenses!

https://dailytimes.com.pk/556420/its-not-corruption-its-perception-stupid/

Reactions to the death of Danish

Published in Daily Times on February 3, 2020

In this great republic (often called the Land of the Pure), which has been reportedly turned into a heaven on earth by Mr Clean and his very able colleagues, it is not surprising to see so many people deeply concerned at the death of Danish (a character in a TV play).

For a week before the telecasting of the finale, the writer of the play was repeatedly attacked for being a misogynist. Most women objected to him describing the unfaithful wife as a girl worth two “takkas,” which is a common expression used to describe a person (man or woman) of bad character.

In fact, before the Coronavirus appeared, the main topic of discussion was how the play would end. There were those who wanted the unfaithful wife killed. Others said her boyfriend should be sent to jail or even stoned to death for living in sin with her for five months. But no one expected that the main character would have a heart attack and kick the bucket.

I don’t know if our worthy ministers and advisors were asked for their opinion on the drama’s ending, but I imagine this is how they would have reacted:

Female Advisor for Disinformation: “I’m not surprised that Danish died. This is what happens to those who supported the past corrupt regimes of Pakistan.”

The lady minister in charge of climate change: “Danish should have spent more time on exercising, taking long walks and jogging, like our Dear Leader has always done. Everyone knows what a great smile our Leader has, that’s because he has always been health conscious.”

Minister for Transportation: “I’m not going to rest until two hundred billion dollars looted by the past rulers have been recovered and brought back to the country, whatever happened to Danish is not going to stop me.”

The Foreign Minister: “The death of Danish is shocking, particularly when the Prime Minister is doing his best to reduce expenses and successfully making world leaders notice what is happening to Muslims in India. But his death is not going to affect us in any way, we shall not rest until the people of the disputed state are free.”

The Advisor on Finance: “The government has successfully managed to curb inflation and the year 2020 will see a dramatic reduction in prices, we shall not rest until tomatoes are available for seventeen rupees a kilo. If our opponents think Danish’s death will slow down the process, they are sadly mistaken.”

The Accountability Advisor: “We’re going to investigate the death of Danish and if we find that he had to die due to the suit filed against the Daily Mail in London by that man with many hats, we shall give them all the evidence we have. We shall do everything to bring the corrupt to justice. This is what people expect us to do and we’re going to do it!”

The Health Advisor: “I have asked the Prime Minister for funds to develop an injection which will make men run after hoors, the exercise will ensure that heart disease virtually disappears in the country within two years, and no one has to die like poor Danish.”

The Minister for Narcotics Control: “We’re investigating if that man with the thick moustache (I can’t remember his name) is behind Danish’s death. We shall leave no stone unturned to get him convicted if we find he is responsible.”

Finally, the Great Khan himself: “I don’t care if Danish died of heart disease or this Corona Shorona virus, I’m not giving NRO to the corrupt mafia!”

Shakir Lakhani

The writer is an engineer, a former visiting lecturer at NED Engineering College

https://dailytimes.com.pk/550974/reactions-to-the-death-of-danish/

Land grabbing, Vawda and corruption

By Shakir Lakhani 

Published in Daily Times on January 26, 2020

It’s the kind of thing that has been happening for centuries and usually doesn’t raise eyebrows. Someone sees a plot of land lying vacant for a long time, finds out that the owner is poor, or dead or out of the country, and then occupies it. In this highly corrupt country, he is usually able to get land records manipulated to show that he is the owner. If the real owner is lucky, someone informs him and he gets a stay order to prevent construction on the plot. But usually he finds out only when a house has been built and people are living in it. Sometimes the illegal occupier offers him a pittance for the land (about a tenth of its value), but mostly he is contemptuously ignored. Knowing that it will take up to thirty years to get relief from the courts and he could well be dead by then, he decides not to take any legal action, cursing the day he was born.

It wouldn’t be out of place to mention here that many mosques in Karachi are built on illegally occupied land. Immediately after the illegal occupation, a small mosque is built, then a house comes up where the land grabbing mullah can live with his wives and children. The poor owner has no choice but to forget that he ever owned the plot.

But today we have an interesting case which involves two confidants of Mr Clean himself. One is Mohammed Mian Soomro (minister for privatisation), the other is (ironically) the Accountability Czar, whose brother is the alleged occupier, while the claimant is a nephew of the minister. A senior government official was asked to investigate the matter and he determined that the brother of the accountability advisor (Shehzad Akber) got the land record manipulated in his favour. Guess what happened? The senior government official was immediately transferred! It should be interesting to know how this drama turns out, and whose side the Great Khan will take. But knowing that he has too much on his plate right now, perhaps he will tell the two parties to reach a settlement.

In the meantime, the flamboyant minister for water (Vawda) is in the news again. It seems he was a dual national when he submitted the papers to contest the National Assembly elections against Shahbaz Sharif (he was able to persuade the court not to order a recount, despite winning by only 723 votes). In the signed affidavit to the Electtion Commission, he declared under oath that he didn’t have any other nationality except Pakistani. Perhaps he didn’t know that it’s a serious matter, as he contemptuously said, “Please go ahead” when a reporter asked him for his version before printing the story. Perhaps he was confident that his crime would be overlooked, maybe he even thought he could get the process of disqualification postponed indefinitely (you know, like the PTI foreign funding case). And if you tell about this to any PTI followers (the few of them who are still around, that is), they say, “So what? He later applied for cancellation of his US citizenship, didn’t he?” But the really puzzling thing is why he should have applied for US citizenship in the first place. When you see that he owns very expensive motorcycles and cars worth many millions, he’s not the kind of person who would want to go and live in another country and work for a living.

And finally, here’s a piece of news that shouldn’t surprise anyone. The country grew more corrupt after the Laadla was thrust upon us to ruin our lives. Remember how he used to say that he would eliminate corruption in ninety days? No comment!

The writer is an engineer, a former visiting lecturer at NED Engineering College

https://dailytimes.com.pk/546384/land-grabbing-vawda-and-corruption/

Will the flour shortage change anything?

Published in Daily Times on January 21, 2020

Last week people had only one thing to discuss: the very able Faisal Vawda placing a boot on a table and two opposition politicians leaving in disgust. The flamboyant minister for water has done other memorable things too in the past year, like predicting that his government would arrange so many jobs in the country that even foreigners would come to Pakistan to work. And who can forget his contention that the only way to solve the country’s acute economic problems is to drag five thousand people and hang them in public? But that was in the past; this time he seems to have gone a bit too far, seeing that his leader has banned him from appearing on TV for two weeks. One must be grateful that he’ll be back soon, as he gives us plenty of material to write and talk about.

Strangely enough Vawda has almost been forgotten, as another crisis (flour shortage) has hit the country. One only hopes that this one doesn’t cause mass suicides. The Great Khan may remember what happened after the disappearance of sugar in 1968. He must have been in his teens when almost the entire country came out protesting against the government. Poor Ayub Khan didn’t know what hit him, he had to leave in disgrace (even though he had been called “the saviour of the country” during most of his reign). The Dear Leader should at least spend some time watching local TV channels. He will see grown men and women weeping and cursing his government, he will hear of the man who killed himself because he didn’t have the money to buy warm clothes for his children. If that doesn’t make him take serious action, there is something seriously wrong with him.

It should be interesting to hear what explanations his cronies have to offer (when they are done with placing boots on tables or staging fake blood donations, as the information advisor did recently). Whatever they say, it’s obvious to even a moron that the disappearance of wheat flour (atta) is the natural result of mis-governance. As his cronies scramble to explain why it has happened, giving one reason after another, the people know that this is what happens when incompetent people are chosen to rule the country. Even one of Laadla’s ministers (the learned minister of science and technology) has criticised the performance of Dear Leader’s favourite (Chief Minister Buzdar of Punjab).

If Shakespeare had been around today, he would have asked, “Upon what meat does this Buzdar feed, that he is so beloved of the Great One?” There are rumors that there will soon be a change in the country’s largest province but that will only alienate the Khan’s party members if one of them is not appointed chief minister. That’s the problem: the Khan cannot satisfy everyone, he has to bend over backwards to retain the support of his allies (most of whom he called looters and dacoits in the not so distant past).

But then, as another common man on TV said, “We know that Imran is not really in charge of the country, so we can’t blame him”. If most things are beyond Imran’s control, at least he should choose his ministers carefully; he should remove some of the clowns who regularly flank him. Like the genius who gave the go-ahead for exporting eight hundred thousand tons of wheat, or the one who gave away forty thousand tons to Afghanistan. Or will sacking of ministers also be done by someone else? If that is the case, what really is Imran Khan doing? Helping to solve the Middle-East crisis? How will that help the people of Pakistan?

Shakir Lakhani

The writer is an engineer, a former visiting lecturer at NED Engineering College

https://dailytimes.com.pk/543025/will-the-flour-shortage-change-anything/

I no speak English!

Published in Daily Times on January 15, 2020

Embed from Getty Images

We should really be grateful to the selectors for choosing such highly intelligent people to rule over us. You know, like that genius who claimed that rampant inflation is actually good for the country. And the one who spoke openly about killing some five thousand Pakistanis to solve the country’s acute problems. Not to mention the lady who said that the untimely but welcome winter rains were due entirely due to the Great Khan being perhaps the only honest and upright man in the country. I wonder who she thinks is responsible for the dreadfully cold winter this year. Trump?

Our leaders’ recent pearls of wisdom are enough to make one conclude that the country is in safe hands. The advisor on commerce, for instance, has just claimed that businessmen are responsible for inflation. He said, “The business community is causing rise of inflation in the country” and asked them to make efforts to reduce it, according to a news item. What can I say? He should know, being the scion of one of those twenty two richest families in the country until forty years ago. So we were wrong all the time, it seems. Inflation isn’t caused by devaluation or the steep rise in energy prices. The high cost of diesel (which is used in trucks transporting goods), doesn’t cause prices of foodstuffs to increase. It’s really businessmen like meat, fruit and vegetable sellers who are responsible. So what can they do to reduce inflation? Give away their goods free of charge?

Then there is the Dear Leader himself. After more than twenty two years of struggle, he’s suddenly realized that peace can only be found in the grave and that only in fairy tales do people live happily ever after. You could have fooled me. So all that yelling and screaming on top of that container was for nothing?

But that’s not all. He said those politicians who make speeches in English

in our assemblies suffer from an inferiority complex, as most of their listeners don’t understand the language (apparently he doesn’t know that the Quaid couldn’t speak Urdu, so he always used English at rallies).

As has happened so many times with the Great Khan, one of his own party men immediately did something which proved he didn’t agree with him. He appointed a simple matriculate as education minister in the Khan’s home province of KP. When asked why, he said the man was highly qualified as he spoke excellent English. That’s all? I’ve come across taxi drivers who speak very good English, much better than the National Assembly speaker who should stick to speaking in his mother tongue (whatever that is). I’m referring to his egregious accent, when he said, “Aaaaal those in favor, say aaaaaye!”. One wonders why he couldn’t have asked that question in Urdu. 

As for inferiority complexes, the next time Imran Khan makes a speech at the U.N., he too should speak in Urdu (or Punjabi, which really qualifies to be the national language, being spoken by seven out of ten Pakistanis). The leaders of France and Germany don’t make speeches in English at international forums, despite being fluent in it. Nor do the Chinese. It’s high time our Dear Leader shed his own inferiority complex, he should also make speeches in Punjabi in the country’s largest province, it will win him many more votes (assuming that the next elections are not rigged).

And finally, the Great Khan should watch the viral video of the senior-most police officer in KP lecturing students on the benefits of positive thinking. If that doesn’t make him immediately ban the use of English in the country, nothing will. In the meantime, I no speak English!

Shakir Lakhani

The writer is an engineer, a former visiting lecturer at NED Engineering College

https://dailytimes.com.pk/539957/i-no-speak-english-daily-times/

The emperor has no clothes

Published in Daily Times on January 6, 2020

It’s been over 15 months since the Dear Leader was imposed upon us in the hope that he would easily change the fate of the country. In these months, the country’s debt has grown by another trillion-and-a-half (more than a hundred billion rupees every month). Those who were stupid enough to believe that he could do the impossible, most of them are now bitterly regretting they voted for PTI. But the truth is the emperor isn’t wearing anything. Yet his minions keep telling him that his clothes are the finest in the land.

And it soon became clear that he would never be able to bring back the supposedly looted two hundred billion dollars stashed abroad by those who preceded him. It is doubtful if there is that much illegally earned Pakistani money in foreign countries. So it was only inevitable that gas and electricity rates would be increased to help the Great Khan maintain his precarious grip on power. On New Year’s day, when petrol prices were again increased, TV channels showed people wringing their hands in despair, some of them on the verge of tears, but I doubt if it had any effect on Kaptaan (assuming that he saw the videos, or read about it in the papers). This makes me wonder why hungry people are not out on the streets; demonstrating against the continuous torture inflicted upon them by the unscrupulous ones who promised them utopia.

I believe it’s the charity of well-to-do Pakistanis, which has saved the country from turmoil. Charitable organisations (like Sailani, Edhi and Chippa) feed thousands, if not millions, of hungry people daily. I have noticed that until recently those being fed were usually very poor, but now you can see plenty of people there who would have preferred to die rather than be seen standing in line for the free meals. I’ve also heard that the downward slide in the economy has considerably reduced the amounts donated to these charitable organizations and hospitals which provide free treatment to the poor. The stupid measures taken by our equally stupid leaders have caused a steep rise in the number of hungry and poor people in the country.

And the tragedy is that it wouldn’t have been so very difficult to turn the economy around. We’ve had very efficient finance ministers in the past, like the late Dr Mahbub-ul-Haq (who turned South Korea into an Asian Tiger). His formula was simple: increase taxation by ten per cent every year, while reducing expenses by an equal amount. Instead of following this method, our emperor has increased expenses phenomenally (his cabinet is the largest in recent history), while doing practically nothing to increase revenue (like stopping smuggling and taxing the property and agricultural sectors). And with NAB now having been made practically redundant, we can expect corruption to further increase.

With war clouds hovering over the region, it will become increasingly difficult to balance the books. Oil prices are expected to rise further, adding to the country’s woes. The government should immediately embark upon cost-cutting measures, like curbing fuel consumption by its ministers and bureaucrats. It would be a good idea for it to send some of its ministers home, as they have proved to be highly inefficient and useless. But if that is done, who would tell the Dear Leader that he is the best thing to have happened to Pakistan?

Shakir Lakhani

The writer is an engineer, a former visiting lecturer at NED Engineering College

https://dailytimes.com.pk/534178/the-emperor-has-no-clothes-daily-times/