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At school, while reading Charles Dickens’ (a personal favourite writer) novels, me and my classmates had developed a clear and serene meaning of what poverty meant — it created within us, a deep sense of empathy towards the less-privileged sections of society.

We felt, thanks to our Rev. Bros and Rectors, that poverty was a thing not to be ashamed of, but to have, instead a certain pride about it. The state of poverty could be changed, we learnt, by sheer hard work, honesty and tenacity, to prosperity. But it was also spelt out clearly that the task to convert required “sacrifice” of all sorts.

Dickens’ poverty was more about it being at the level of an individual constituent of society. It is today, that at the country level, we are experiencing poverty of all types, inclusive of financial constraints and bankruptcy, but it is difficult to gather empathy for this state of affairs. Why?

The persistent decline and ruinous path, we are traversing for the last 75 years has numbed all senses of the masses. With an inflation rate wildly raging at 40% plus, has made the life of a common man one of living in an inferno.

Milton Friedman (with apologies to him) was wrong, when he remarked,” Inflation is the one form of taxation that can be imposed without legislation,” because we have recently legislated to further and fuel the fire of inflationary trends, alongside enhanced taxation, both direct and indirect.

The prevailing conditions are ripe for a looming social disaster. The have-nots’ patience is being tested to its maximum stretch; and when and if they fall over the precipice is a thought that should cause tremors through the hearts of the rich and mighty. The conditions are seductively attractive for a revolution of sorts.

Injustice cannot prevail for prolonged periods or endlessly; it has never in history sustained beyond human endurance. While, destiny has blessed humans with great skills to test their peculiar capacities to withstand the vagaries of time; however, the fact remains, not everything in life is programmed. Surprises are aplenty.

Our ministers in the cabinet have no way to control their wagging tongues; they would offer comment on what may not evenly remotely relate to their portfolios, but comment they must because it is fashionable.

While the entire government machinery, including the central bank, is engaged in assuring that Pakistan would not default, here comes a minister on a TV talk show who says that Pakistan is about to default, but the cake goes to a federal government minister, who says with glamour that Pakistan will not default, it has already defaulted; having said so, the trading partners and investors are now worried and the stance is to do so much less transactions with us. This ministers’ portfolio have no relevance to Finance, yet the comments must be made.

A retired Major-General of Indian army, in an audio-video post that’s laced with arsenic sarcasm and taunt, claims that Narendra Modi, the Butcher of Gujarat, had said about bringing us down on our knees without fighting a war; his plan was/is to indulge in economic annihilation of our beloved country.

In the same video he pleads to Modi, to not reestablish any relations with Pakistan, diplomatic or economic for the General fears that in the garb of business, Pakistan would send terrorists.

As a Pakistani, my gut reaction is, he can go eat grass — but in a non- emotional state, what have we done to our country, really? Collectively, at least for the last two decades, we are performing “economic, political and social, hara-kiri” to the cheers of our enemies and international financial institutions, inclusive of the multilaterals. And we are jubilant at our monkey performance; this is said with a deep sense of apologies to the specie. They have a right to a justified protest at this comparison.

There is a Biblical saying, ‘Be not made a beggar by banqueting upon borrowing, when thou have nothing in thy purse….’ An oversized cabinet where each member has privileges that shame the opulence of the Russian czars, a minister, who looks at the atlas of the world and undertakes journeys to lands with whom we share no trade relationship now or will ever in the future.

This is banquet, arranged by the lenders. Human race is divided between lenders and borrowers; we have chosen “borrowing” as a life-long pastime, nay a passion. Borrow first, later bury in sorrow.

We have let down our traditional friends in the Middle East. It was painful to read in the local print media that at Davos, a minister of a brotherly country remarked that ‘we have stopped straight lending; we ask for purpose and seek evidence, that the money’s lent are appropriately utilised’. How much more embarrassment or insult are we prepared to take?

To plunge the dagger of borrowing deep into our stomachs, we used to feel the pain earlier, not anymore. The habit has been formed. The most illegitimate acts once done repeatedly and blatantly get sanctioned by the society; either willingly or by sullen silence, the acceptance is awarded.

No wonder, hence, that the government functionaries have no qualms to make public admission that we are not being “respected and trusted” for our words or commitments, even by friendly countries—these remarks are made, not to convey regret, but it is done to make the previous regime look small.

Our politicians love to launder dirty linen in public; some editor recently wrote a piece aptly titled “The Turkish Hamam” (No offence meant to Turkiye, it is about public baths); there is no shame, between the bathers —all equally guilty. Of fellow Parliamentarians, had said Sir Robert Walpole, Chancellor of the Exchequer: “All these men have their price”. This he said in year 1730; has anything changed?

As Pakistanis we have become used to see the glint and glimmer in the eyes of our public officeholders when in the glare of cameras they express with joyful pride that talks with multilateral financial institutions have been finally successful — they also with all the impudence say that the success is due to our unconditional acceptance of the conditionalities to lending.

The lender’s covenants, I can say with confidence being a banker, are always tilted against the borrowers. Even the Prime minister said that beggars cannot be choosers.

In the financial industry, no business is allowed to go belly up by the lenders, until the borrowing hits astronomical proportions, only in such event, the umbrellas are folded by bankers, but in reaching this zenith of economic collapse, lenders are passionate to bleed the borrower; they infuse blood to help keep the patient alive. A dead borrower is hardly a case of rejoicement; but a perpetual borrower, who is in and out of an ICU, is a prized client; hence a celebratory sight for the lenders.

As a country we can only come out of the ICU and never from the hospital. Our bed in intensive care is reserved; hence from general ailment to serious health impairments, we keep moving in and out of it. We as perennial patients of borrowing can only pay on the nail if we can arrange a fresh and timely borrowing. We have failed to earn to repay. There is no tomorrow with begging bowls.

Is there no solution to the economic morass? There is. If said as a policy in a single word it is: “sacrifice”. Are we prepared for it? No. We cannot give up our ostentatious life style, which is full of pretentious behaviour.

We ban the import of the insignificant, but never the automobiles, the cell phones, etc. We cannot give up drinking tea! We cannot be without “pakoras” (a piece of vegetable or meat, coated in seasoned batter and deep-fried); hence the huge palm oil imports of over US$ 2 billion.

Now that the holy month of Ramazan is knocking at us, how can we give up “pakoras”. A nation of ‘pakora’ eaters is as bad an appellation as a nation of opium eaters—the effect is the same! One wishes that one could shout to shun the despair all around; hence the need for upbeat words of Norman Lamont, “The green shoots of economic spring are appearing once again”.

Will we ever stop celebrating “borrowing” and replace it with celebrating our collective ‘spirit of sacrifice ‘. Should we as citizens rely on Alexander Pope’s words, “Hope springs eternal in human breast. Man never is, but always to be blest”. Fingers crossed!!

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023

Sirajuddin Aziz

The writer is a senior banker & freelance contributor

Comments

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Rizwan Mar 02, 2023 07:17am
I believe the day will come when we will hear that Afghanistan is among the fastest growing economies in the world, but we will still be running after IMF begging them to give us just 1 billion dollar, like a charsi who begs the drug dealer just for one "puriya" of heroin
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KhanRA Mar 02, 2023 12:32pm
What is even the point of Pakistan anymore? Why did we demand independence? What has 75 years of Pakistan done to improve the lot of its people, let alone the world? The optimism of the 1950s and 1960s is gone. Now we are taught to think only about the afterlife because our leaders have no capacity to improve our lives now.
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Junaid Mar 02, 2023 12:53pm
Pakistan do not have any more freedom on finance. What to tax and how much tax. What to import what to sell. Thank you for our great leaders nawaz and zardari family and most importantly our defence budget played great rule for current conditions. If we could not solve it today how our children and next generation will solve it?
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