Ours is a strange nation, if at all we’re a nation, which has over the years become a society which consumes everything and that too in abundance. In other words, we produce less in most cases and then go on consuming more and more, irrespective of whether we have to import one or other commodity from abroad to meet our growing requirements (quite in an unthinkable manner) and pay in precious foreign exchange.
These somewhat bitter remarks are in the context of recent news which appeared in the newspapers that Pakistan is now going to import oil from India after getting supplies of mutton, vegetables, fruit and what not on daily basis from neighbouring (but highly unfriendly) country. This is indeed yet another glaring example of our producing less and consuming a lot habit, unmindful of the need that we should cut our requirements of all items according to what we’re producing locally to the maximum extent possible instead of relying on others even for daily use items.
Cutting the long bitter and painful story short, this is to ask the federal and provincial governments that they should adopt austerity measures both in the public and private sectors to try to meet our requirements within the limits of what we’re producing locally. We’re importing oil products from abroad for many years for meeting our requirements as what we’re producing locally is not adequate to meet half of our requirements of these commodities. Resultantly, oil import bill is going up every year. And, now we’re going to import oil from India which is not only painful but shameful, to say the least.
In order to keep the oil products consumption to the lowest level to the maximum extent possible, the federal and provincial governments, irrespective of which party is in power, should in the larger national interests adopt some fuel saving measures on priority measures.
ASMAAR BILAL
Lahore