- Let Pakistanis buy Pakistan!
The prime minister of Pakistan made an appeal to overseas Pakistanis to help construct a dam as well as to improve the economic situation of the country. There is no doubt that Pakistan is in dire need of foreign exchange at the moment. But, before analysing the appeal made by the prime minister, we should know who these overseas Pakistanis are.
Why would a person opt to leave his/her country and go abroad? No one likes to leave their hearth, home, relatives, and country to go abroad, but they do so under tremendous compulsion. The majority of the Pakistanis earning money abroad are those expatriates who were faced with the worst economic situation in Pakistan. They lead a tough life abroad. They have to work day and night, doing tough tasks and odd jobs just to eke out a living. On top of that, they have also become the target of racism and xenophobia.
If expatriates take their family along with them to a foreign land, the next generation becomes mostly oblivious to their own moral values and adapts to the culture of their new country instead. A Pakistani in a foreign land bears all of this with a heavy heart and without complaint. Now, how appropriate is it to make an appeal to these people, who already face an enormous economic crunch and lead painful and miserable lives abroad, for donations?
Another question arises here: Why is Pakistan seeking donations? A person that is seeking donations normally has nothing to give in return. Any self-respecting person who has something sellable would never indulge in solicitation. They would sell their assets or trade them instead. Business and trade are professions that God has blessed profoundly. The Holy Prophet himself was attached to business. How could those claiming to turn Pakistan into the state of Medina have forgotten this golden principle?
Business and trade are based on giving and receiving. Keeping this in view, the incumbent government should think about what it could give to those Pakistanis who are either staying abroad or living in the homeland in return for their money. Is there really nothing that a huge country like Pakistan can offer in return for cash?
No affluent Pakistani, whether living in Pakistan or abroad, who has earned money through diligence and hard work, will give a second thought to this idea
What can Pakistan give in return for the money it is seeking from its countrymen? Going back through history, whenever the Pakistani government has felt a need for money, it has always sold state assets for privatisation. This is a practice which has always faced some ramifications and has been marred by shady deals. The Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) and the Karachi Electric Company are glaring examples of this privatisation process which is devised so that big investors are preferred and facilitated. As a result, the country’s institutions of paramount importance fall into the hands of foreign companies which are neither sincere with Pakistani consumers nor ready to contribute to the country. The foreign companies are only driven by profit making.
How can a common Pakistani happily provide money to the government with which the dam can be built as well as fulfill its monetary needs for running other official affairs? This would also help the government not seek loans from international financial intuitions.
Sheikh Rashid, the federal minister for railways, recently shared a very good idea. He said that the properties owned by the railways should be sold to meet the economic needs of Pakistan. Is there only one government institution in Pakistan which has property in the country? The answer is a big “No.” Presently, all major cities in Pakistan have army cantonments with mega commercial centers and bazaars. These cantonments are the property of the state of Pakistan. If only the commercial buildings in the cantonments and the open lands adjacent to them were sold, then every small, moderate, and big investor in Pakistan would surely come forward to investment. This would allow the government of Pakistan to collect a large amount of money in days rather than months with which it could construct 10 dams instead of only one.
However, conditions should be set saying that those buying these properties must be Pakistani citizens and that for the next 10 years whoever they sell it to must have Pakistani citizenship as well. Setting these two conditions for the purchase of government property would surely pave the way for Pakistanis to invest their capital while making sure that these properties only fall into the hands of Pakistani nationals.
No affluent Pakistani, whether living in Pakistan or abroad, who has earned money through diligence and hard work, will give a second thought to this idea. They will invest their capital in these precious, profitable properties without hesitation. This will cause the capital of Pakistanis staying abroad to start flowing back into Pakistan.
If the government gave serious consideration to this idea, the state could collect a huge amount of capital just in a few months for mega projects within Pakistan. It is regrettable that the government is making an appeal for help and donations despite having such precious national assets. Instead of looking to others, the government should take practical steps towards using the national wealth properly for the wellbeing of its people and its country.
