Who will do it?

Each one of us can guarantee that there is hardly any compatriot of ours who doesn’t know what ails us as a society or, in the broader context, the Nation itself. Not all may possess deep insights about the various factors and aspects that deeply affect our everyday lives, but certainly and invariably, many have superficial, if not sound, knowledge of our problems.

Talk to any individual in the street, he or she will amaze you with the quality of input over issues ranging from brown outs, blackouts, lack of water, gas and other civic amenities; some would express views on our foreign policy and would also venture to make recommendations of what Pakistan must do or not do in the context of regional and international relations.

Every morning/evening on the growing number of TV channels, we are tortured with the views of ‘intellectuals’, who are self-licensed to speak on any subject under the sun; in fact, most offer free advice on the way forward for the country. So it is an established thing that we know our problems well.

Last night, I saw a short clip of a well-known TV anchor, wherein he asks the sitting defence minister of what ministries he headed for the first time. In response, the minister counted more than half a dozen ministries that he led as Federal Minister. Just as he was completing the long list, the anchor quipped, “but no issues or problems were ever solved”! The minister was nonplussed; he struggled for words, which seemed to choke his vocal chords. I am certain the minister is well aware of all “issues” of the various ministries he led, but somehow either he (like all other ministers) could not come up with sound workable solutions or it could very well be the “yes-minister” syndrome where the laden mind-set of the bureaucracy could have been an impediment and an insurmountable bureaucratic red tape of “processes and procedures”. We are die-hard adherents to antiquated colonial bureaucracy whims. The framework of law has been used (abused) to kill all initiatives in their tracks on the file itself; rarely has it been used to facilitate growth and development.

Every single Pakistani knows that online export led economic strategy can bring the country out of the mire and quicksand of endless borrowing – who doesn’t know that the growing figure of inward remittances, which currently is of invaluable value for us, is not a reliable, stable and sustainable resource, to fund the FCY gap between exports and imports. (Visible trade). The recent turmoil and events in the Middle East must serve policymakers as eye-openers. It has been reported in the media that Pakistani workers are facing difficulties in retaining their jobs; one can hope that this be untrue.

All Pakistanis are aware and can speak endlessly about the low tax-to-GDP ratio; however, with the exception of the salaried class (who are choice-less because their tax is deducted at source), all segments are in the hunt to either evade taxation, or to put it in a glorified/civilised way, indulge to seek reprieve, which only means pay less to the exchequer. We know retailers and agriculturalists are not taxed or are taxed on a low scale. So what stops us from collecting taxes? Is it the mind-set or the bureaucratic hurdle; or is it a deadly combination of both? What rocket science is needed to collect tax?

Most people are well informed that we pay “capacity charges” to the Independent Power Projects (IPPs) without them generating a single watt of energy. It is well known that power supply is inefficient due to transmission lines; everybody is aware that energy bills are not paid by the high and mighty ‘elite’ and that the lower economic strata of society resorts to what is commonly known as “kunda connection”. So both the haves and the haves - not are cheating the nation. What action has been taken? None. Who will take action? Unknown. Somebody, anybody or nobody; the collection would never happen between these three unnamed actors.

The ‘lack of action’ renders misery to the middle class. This set of people suffers the most either due to strong inherent ‘values of uprightness’ or for the ‘lack of opportunity’ to cheat and hoodwink. Again, these opposite poles could be fairly well-balanced in our society. Hence nothing happens.

Every adult knows that there are over 25 million children who are out of school! This is said and reported repeatedly – so who is addressing this lethal problem, which is social bomb in the making for the future leaders to contend with?

If everyone knows everything about politics, economics and social ailments, then it is very difficult to accept that policymakers are “innocent” of this “critical knowledge”. It is when officials themselves start to complain about lack of action to redress the ailments that the common man discovers the inability of those in power or their lack of interest to resolve.

The weeds of corruption like the many heads of the hydra have entangled every branch of government and administration. Corruption stifles growth. Politicians are less to blame, but certainly the administration must take the blame for non-implementation of policies framed by the government/Parliament.

Politics and economics are inter-twined, akin to Siamese twins. Dr. Henry Kissinger wrote: “The global system rewards and penalises its participants by economic criteria. But, for the public, these criteria are far too esoteric to evoke loyalties and commitments. In a crisis, the population will turn to its political leaders to ease the impact of the economic penalties. This is all the more true even periods of expansion take their tolls on the part of the population, so that there exists in most countries - and especially developing world - a new permanent minority ever waiting in the wings to act out the validity of its resentments”. In our context, the fear is this minority may actually grow into being a majority.

There should be complete elimination of waste and reduction of non-productive expenses. This however, demands “sacrifice” by all. Any takers? The fear of resentment taking home on the streets is not a healthy threat.

Wisdom lives in silence. It reflects itself in the society’s everyday rituals that connect, care and find meaning to our lives. To do. What is required to be done is not certainly a one man’s job; it takes collective action to achieve results.

I shall draw up in two Japanese idioms or proverbs of wisdom. The first, “Chiri mo tsumoreba yama to naru” meaning, “small repeated actions can create meaningful impact of change” and the second is, “Kumo no ue wa itsumo hare” meaning, “Above the clouds, it’s always sunny”. Both the proverbs are best explained by the renowned Japanese wellness coach, Saori Okada.

In elaborating the first, he says, “Like dust accumulating to form a mountain”; this proverb is a reminder that “even the smallest efforts can build something remarkable”. The power of consistency is under-estimated as against the over-estimation of the need for grand gestures. Steady intentional steps are the answers for handling our issues.

The second proverb says, “hope and positivity remain even when hidden by life’s challenges”. No cloud should depress or discourage us. The brighter moments of sunshine are behind the clouds and we must toil and await for them to rent asunder.

We know our problems. We also know solutions to most. Let’s waste no further time and get going, with positive spirit; small acts will converge to convert into a major adventure of development, growth and prosperity.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026