Around 200 years ago, legendary Urdu-Persian poet Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib had to appear before a judge to answer why he hadn't paid off his debt that he owed to a wine merchant who had filed a suit for the recovery of his dues. Ghalib said to the court: "Qarz kee peetay thay mai aur samajhtay thay kay haan, rangg laavegi hamari faaqa masti aik din (I used to drink on borrowed money and feared, making merry in penury will certainly bring wonders some day)."

Some of the readers of these lines must be curious to know about judge's response to Ghalib's poetic reply. Incidentally, the judge was one of the ardent admirers of Ghalib's poetry. He settled the dispute by making payment to the wine merchant from his own pocket. Unfortunately, however, Pakistan's plight is not different from Ghalib's. Ghalib was bailed out by a person who happened to be one of his strong admirers who never bothered the poet to return his money. Both Saudi Arabia and China have stood by Pakistan to persevere through good times as well as bad. But neither will ever write-off Pakistan's debt without a quid-pro quo, as relationships between countries are based on political, economic and geostrategic interests and goals.

Khadim Hussain (Karachi)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021