Speak to any person, whether living in rural or urban environment, the individual would not only surprise with his grasp of politico- economic-socio issues but would also flabbergast the listener with multiple solutions for resolution of the issues facing the country. Each person is armed with necessary information of what ails the country? They have solutions, too, up their sleeve.
As a voluntary misfortune, we have for the longest time been indulging ourselves with the choice of remaining in deliberate ignorance. We much too often turn a ‘Nelson eye’ to our predicament of intentional ignorance. We know it all but remain in defiance as an ignorant nation. The nation across the board has become fond of using to the fullest the two softest pillows of ignorance and incuriosity. Thomas Gray had said, “Where ignorance is bliss, ‘tis folly to be wise.” Ignorance is akin to blindness. Consequently, ignorance is the mother of impudence. Ignorance is not innocence but sin. (Robert Browning). A deliberate one is a grievous sin.
The nations’ attitude towards problems confronting it is not only a ‘Greek Tragedy’ but a glaring challenge. Perhaps, it has become customary for us to behave the way we do while examining the challenges present before us; the only lens we put to use is of “positivity”, which largely is self-deception. We search for positives in grim situations, too, not because we gave a positive mind-set, but due to our unwillingness to critically self-evaluate ourselves - as citizens and as a society.
The tendency is to be critical of those who ‘genuinely’ criticise. To those who point out the gaps in our efforts or even in the christening of new and fresh policies, we are quick to judge them as ‘pessimists’. They are called the ‘negative’ segment of society.
While it is indisputably important to possess a positive state of mind, it is stupidity to remain oblivious to the realities that stare us. The ‘Ostrich Syndrome’ of burying our necks in the sand has been prevalent for decades now. We know this; it is time we accept it, as an issue to amend.
We are certainly not uniformed people. We have both information and knowledge. However, the lacking in substantial quantum is of “wisdom”. The ‘unwise’ leadership across all segments has promoted, year after year, the growth of the unprepared, untalented, unintelligent and the unskilled. There is a growing army of the ‘educated but useless’. Their education doesn’t meet the litmus test of current application. The imparted is outdated. So everywhere we have square pegs in round holes.
Our pride is the youthful population. This pride will most likely get totally irrelevant if we continue not to harness this growing potential of the ‘social bomb’. The youth need relevant to times education and skills. They need re-tooling. They need to be educated differently and not be made captives or slaves to antiquated methodology of education and training. Isn’t this known to everybody? But is there anybody doing anything about it? None.
Education allocation takes a back seat to social welfare hand-outs in the overall budget - a wiseacre remarked in a LinkedIn post, “We are promoting growth of parasites. Beggary industry will grow…” We keep reading/ listening about how much corruption prevails in these social welfare programmes - the CNICs used, actually document senior civil servants as recipients of these ‘hand-outs’. True or false; anybody’s guess.
We have consistently undervalued ourselves by lack of action that, in turn, originates from the confused pond of our thoughts and actions.
Audit by definition is an exercise of validation or otherwise of past transaction. Pre-audit processes generally at the government level are weak in spite of PPRA rules. Only two days back all the leading newspapers carried headlines about discovery of fraud/corruption or near corruption in several government departments and organisations. Again; is this a fresh discovery? The nation isn’t ignorant of the rampant corruptive practices. We have just decided to turn “Nelson’s eye” to this stark reality.
Consistency of purpose is a certain recipe for success. It is the purpose that essentially drives action. Ill-conceived purpose leads to inertia. A commitment and fidelity to a common objective can be the binding factor between diverse forces in a society.
Performance is dependent upon a resolute will and attitude. Fluctuating purpose serves no objective. It is akin to changing weather patterns.
People are the architects of their own future. One can study as many blueprints of other successful nations, but ultimately a plan that is fit for purpose will need to be developed that recognises the dynamics of the all-encompassing local environment. The end in mind must be known before the initiation of the journey, only then would there be no amiss.
The institutional ignorance leads to go-for-quick and temporary ‘fixes’. Ad hoc arrangements are popular. There is no serious effort to come up with policies, covering politics, economics, and society. There are only knee-jerk reactions to situations.
The radicalisation of society is solely a consequence of deliberate ignorance of the realities. Societies that do not offer opportunities for employment, growth and development become breeding grounds for extremism. The current contemporary unease that persists in our society is not a making of few years; the damage began in President Zia’s years. The decline has been slow and rapid.
Those responsible for future have pledged themselves to the deception of numbers, statistics, self-serving analyses and reports. The refusal to accept past misdeeds prevents the movement forward. Let there be wisdom of accepting what is outside our control; not as a matter of surrender but more out of choice.
We must embrace humility to accept the dynamism of change and not tire ourselves by refusal and resistance.
All challenging goals must begin with intentional actions. Only the forward step is progress. Do we not know this? So why take regressive steps? That which falls or fails has potential to rise and be a success requires perseverance and the wisdom of resilience. Do we not know this? We do indeed, but are unable to surmount the thought barrier of remaining in a perpetual state of inertia.
It is a view held with passion that no Pakistani is in any manner less intelligent than those who live in developed economies of North- and South-East Asia. In fact, we are far more open to creativity. We tend not to enslave ourselves to systems; this is good because it allows for critical thinking; it is bad because, in the violation of systems, policies and procedures, we beget confusion, nepotism and favouritism. If we can employ creativity within the binds of good governance then our progress will be faster.
Wisdom demands acceptance of reality. To set a target of USD 60 billion for exports in the next 3-4 years (today there is stubborn stagnation at USD 30 billion) and revenue collection of Rs15 trillion for fiscal 2026-27 (we did not achieve the downward revised numbers last year) puts to serious doubt of both intellect and wisdom.
The country needs a comprehensive plan covering all segments of society. The “fix” cannot be done one after the other; it has to be addressed with unison of thought and action. Every sector/ segment impacts upon the entire strategy and hence an all encompassing “policy of correction” needs to be developed and implemented. Policy-making and action must move in tandem; currently they appear to be at tangent. We can do it. Let’s first stop pretending to be ignorant. We know our issues. Let’s fix them.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
The writer is a Senior Banker & Freelance Contributor
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