MOST Pakistanis wonder why we have to approach the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to seek financial help every now and then. The country depends on the working classes, which, unlike the elite, work day and night and pay taxes for the betterment of the country. But then the same country needs foreign assistance to help its own citizens.

The reason behind this dilemma is that every political party, after coming to power, does everything except introducing an economic charter, binding legally the future governments to act upon it. On the contrary, every government starts from scratch, and this leads us to spend money on starting some development project only for the next government to halt it. The funds already spent on the project stand wasted.

And when that earlier party return to power, it does the same to the projects initiated by the other government, and restarts the ones that had been halted. The cycle of waste continues unabated.

Besides, we have not established a mechanism for accountability of public- and private-sector enterprises. Tax, which is collected for the progress of the country, disappears when it is needed the most. This results in the failure of the government in terms of providing basic needs, such as education, shelter and healthcare, to the masses. Instead, we borrow money to overcome the crises to meet our basic needs.

That is why taxpayers protest against inflation and violation of rights. They want their tax money back in the shape of progress and welfare. And they are not wrong.

Siraj Ali
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2022