The VIP lounge wore a desert­ed look. The four of them were wondering if they were the only passengers boarding the plane not realizing that not all had the luxury to buy busi­ness class tickets. As usu­al, time was to be ‘killed’. Hence, a discussion.

First: Stalin was perhaps right when he said that death was the solution to all prob­lems. No man - no problem. But I don’t agree to this line of argument. You do not cut your head off just be­cause you have a headache. You find an analgesic. Look at the irony. All of us know where the problem lies but no one is ready to bell the cat. A couple of billion dollars? Is that it? Why don’t they pool in their own resources to get the country out of this mess?

Second: You must be dreaming. Who would pay from his own pocket for the country’s debt-servicing? Doesn’t hap­pen that way …not in the third world in any case. What I see is large-scale loot­ing, civil war, no oil, no cars moving, all industries shut down, no internet, no gas, no water, schools shut, hospitals deserted, thefts, day-light robberies and what have you. I think it was the 23rd of January, wasn’t it? The whole country went into darkness. Everything came to a virtual stand-still. Technical problem? I don’t believe it. There was something more to it than meets the eye.

Third: As a rule, the governments all over the world would wish to hide facts from people while trying to di­vert their attention to other insignif­icant developments. Watch the Hol­lywood movie ‘Wag the Dog’ and you would understand this phenomenon in greater detail. As an electrical engi­neer, I know that the generators pro­duced more power than was required. Weeks have passed by but the initially announced ‘technical problem’ is still shrouded in mystery.

Second: Correct. And why did the supply overshoot demand? Someone needed to explain why the 223 mil­lion people of Pakistan faced a com­plete grid failure or collapse of the inte­gration of renewable energy? Why did it take nearly ten hours for the hydro plants to operate consistently? Black outs in the world are not considered a big deal. It happens. But they don’t link such ‘technical issues’ to economic is­sues or overdue payments or debt ser­vicing. Meanwhile, politics went on fine with no announcement of resignations by the responsible officials. Funny enough, the nation was busy in an un­ending guessing game, taking this huge faux pas as just another policy failure anecdote. A routine matter...!!

Fourth: My economics is failing me, Sir. The rupee’s value has declined to a record low. Remittances have de­creased. Export proceeds are badly af­fected. Currency adjustment is getting more difficult by the day. The market needs new direction. Exchange com­panies are losing confidence. External loan payments look impossible. Dollar flight has increased concerns. Forex re­serves have depleted to a critical level. Around 10,000 containers stuck at the ports waiting to be paid for clearance. On the other hand, the IMF’s strange-looking conditions seem difficult to understand let alone follow. And, what are we doing? We are busy in blame-gaming. What a country.…!!

Second: Nations go through difficult times. Ups and downs are normal. Trust me. It is just another phase. Do me a fa­vour. Just be patient. This too shall pass.

Third: Any idea why India has sud­denly left Pakistan to its own devic­es? No threats? No provocative state­ments? Looks as if the ‘enemy’ doesn’t have to add into the self-destructive path Pakistan is treading. The teasing clip of PM Modi taking credit for Pak­istan’s miseries is once again in cir­culation. On the other hand, look at the fast-paced development. Amazing progress. Don’t you agree?

First: Keeping smartphones in your pockets is not progress. Mindset needs to be changed as well. In the face of making unprecedented technological advancements, India would wish to re­mind the world that the ‘Mother Cow’ is the ‘backbone of Indian culture and rural economy’. Did you hear about it? ‘Cow Hug Day’ on 14 Feb? A made-in-India Valentine’s Day? Do you really think this ‘act’ would foster ‘emotional richness’ and increase ‘individual and collective happiness’? It all depends on which side of the table you are sitting…!!

Third: You have a point. I mean, just ask anyone about Genghis Khan and you will hear a horrendous story of cold-blooded barbarism. You will hear that he ruled over fifty nations and killed around forty million people in his conquests. How many of us real­ize that Genghis Khan created a postal service that used fifty thousand hors­es; ordered the creation of a new writ­ing system; and, outlawed the practice of kidnapping women? The coin cer­tainly has two sides.

Second. Point well taken. But tell me, Sir. Which side of the table are you sitting? Tell us, if you believe in Paki­stan’s future. After all, this country has given us an identity. We owe it to our fatherland. Why do we see Pakistan through the lens of its elite? Why don’t we make our own contributions to­wards development count? The coun­try is suffering from one of the worst economic crises and we are busy in winning the next elections?

Fourth: Talk about elections. Good­ness gracious. Such a mess. I must have covered on tv at least five gener­al elections. Never cast my vote, ever. Sheer waste of time. I mean, who has the time to stand in a queue for hours, wait for your turn and then be a part of an already decided result?

At that point, all of them got hold of their fancy hand-trollies as the an­nouncement was being made, ‘This is the final call…’.

While cleaning the table, the stand-by waiter had a broad smile on his face. The electable of his constituen­cy had promised to give him a motor­bike. All he had to do was to deposit ID cards of his ten family members at the designated place, the night before the election. A brand-new motorbike…!! He wouldn’t stop smiling.

Najm us Saqib
The writer is a former Ambassador of Pakistan and author of seven books in three languages. He can be reached at najmussaqib
1960@
msn.com