By: Asem Mustafa Awan
The ill planners of Pakistan have given another issue to Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan who has his hands full in negotiating different problems that could have been solved at a very low level but have been made mountain ranges from mole hills.
The recent meeting with high officials who control the import and export of the country and have devised strategies for over 220 millions inhabitant of Pakistan are so ill informed and incompetent that they could not gauge the needs of the nation.
The ‘wheat grain’ is the staple food of Pakistan unlike rice, which is staple food of coastal areas and countries namely Bangladesh for an instance.
Pakistan for decades have faced an issue, which causes grief to millions and few who profiteered from this, makes millions at the cost of national anguish.
The recent meeting over the import of wheat resulted in scarping the 150 million tons of wheat as allegations of collusion surfaced during the Economic Coordination Committee meeting and everybody decided to meet another time at another date.
It is the kickbacks in dollars and cents which have made this decision an arduous task for the members or there is something which smells of a rat.
Sadly, every year the wheat shortage come up and the next in line is that of sugar for which decisions are likely to affect millions besides public backlash.
The announcements and committee are made and to beat around the bush, a few vehicles are impounded with media headlines to cull the national unrest but never the person responsible is booked by the law.
The inter-provincial transportation of wheat is checked and often curtailed. This practice needs a probe as why this happens, is it the incompetent officials who don’t plan accordingly or a deliberate sabotage activity is planned to make people suffer which in return curse the government for its incompetency and lack of control.
This is a recorded fact that Punjab before partition was providing grain to the whole of Subcontinent. It is the same land and descendants of the same people but somewhere some crooks have made their way as middlemen and are responsible for causing grief to everyone for their ‘pound of flesh’.
A hoodwinking practice, going on for decades to divert public attention from the real issues which are always round the corner but never adhered as addressing them would give relief to public which is never the intention of profiteers.
A dozen issues in a year, one for each month will keep the masses busy with opinions from top adding spice to the dilemma of the masses, who overlook the death, disease and hunger engulfing them with each passing day.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has his hands full and efforts are underway to make him ‘hands up’ by opposition colluding against his captaincy in running the state of affairs.
PM IK is still dealing with butter fingers and hasn’t put his hands down and toothless NAB as per public hasn’t squeezed the looted billions in stretching the necks of the thieves who made good with the booty and all that appears in media is mere pittance and peanuts of the stolen amount.
The high level committee including the financial wizard Abdul Hafeez Sheikh and likes who hold the reign on national pulse failed to come up to a consensus. There can be a million reasons but the love for the masses is missing as none of them has faced hunger.
Insiders believe that the money for the ton of wheat is not agreed upon as the sellers and buyers both protecting their interest which in simple terms can be called ‘cuts’ or ‘shares’. The provinces with their 18 Amendment empowerment are having reservations at the costs of the wheat grain.
These big wigs are making these decisions for the dwellers of the ‘land of the pure’ who care less where the wheat is coming from. More than half of the population lives below the poverty line and UN reference for one province Balochistan states that which is poorest of all in infrastructure but richest of all in its mineral wealth.
It the riches of the area that has made vultures scavenging the natural resources and cases have been in media of the officials who had money and gold bars stashed in their homes worth millions. The poor commoner and the resident of the ill fated land had no stakes in the power politics and the share of resources as all the common man wanted was the integrity to survive and pass the remaining life in peace.
Prime Minister Imran Khan in his address to the nation pointed out a small child who holding his dead rooster in the stagnant water left due to monsoon rain pointed fingers on all the government and its paraphernalia.
This scribe has seen that video and child is accusing all the government as a whole as ‘murderers’. The child holding the body of the lifeless dead rooster in his arm pit has charge sheeted all. His rooster is dead and the world with the bird died for the child who may not live long as the stagnant water is bound to breed mosquitoes causing malaria, dengue besides other infections.
The power brokers can hold another meeting in their import export businesses and a commoner till that time with empty stomach can wait as by the time meeting concluded there is possibility the commoner will be six feet under.
The writer is a special correspondent at The Dayspring