Begging, as a profession could well compete with many others considered oldest on the list, with very similar characteristics. The first clink of coins falling in the begging bowl takes away one’s self esteem and any left over reluctance for all times to come. From here on, there is no looking back. One ceases to utilise one’s own faculties and gets hooked on to the life of easy money. More creative and unscrupulous begging techniques are devised to draw greater sympathy from the charity giver. Interestingly, few beggars have ever become rich or said good bye to beggary. It is a an addiction that even psychiatrists find difficult to deal with. Cold turkey is often the only solution.
Sixty years of begging and borrowing have reduced Pakistan to an addicted state whose claim to fame is its own self acquired helplessness. It has said good bye to its own faculties, conscience and self respect. It is willing to find a million excuses to beg , but is not willing to take a single action to reform itself. It is not willing to save billions that it looses every year on its mismanaged state-run organisations like PIA, Steel mill or Railway. It is not willing to save on its army of ministers, whose only job is to roam around in Prados sponsored by the tax payer or foreign aid. It is not willing to save on its leaders eternally performing ‘umrahs’ or doing family junkets in foreign lands. It is not willing to save on its hundreds of bullet proof cars that are imported for its worthless leaders.
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Kashmir policy, acquiring nuclear asset(s) and Army has been sensitive issues for Pakistan since its birth in 1947. Though there can be no disagreements that Army rule could not bring change by ridding corruption and opening flood gates of economic progress by sacking popular leaderships in their four trials in 1958, 1969, 1977, and 1999 respectively. Having said that there has not been a paradigm shift in the love for its main stream Army, lust for independence of Kashmir and acquiring a sustainable mechanism to hold on to nuclear assets for a just deterrent, and maintaining state sovereignty.