BE PAKISTANI: There have been heated debate and ‘logical’ arguments about how to go about managing the current economic crunch. The fact is that the basic way out of the tight spot is so simple that we seem to ignore it all the time. Produce locally, ban imports, be Pakistani and buy only Pakistani. This no rocket science, is it?

Omar Seljouk
Lahore

INDIAN POVERTY: While India as a state is living in the fast lane, there is no dearth of people whose dreams stand crushed who are being pushed into perpetual poverty. There are those unfortunate, ill-fated, helpless and socio-economically deprived members of Indian society for whom education is a privilege. Most of such souls belong to marginalised communities. If India continues to turn a blind eye to these serious challenges, its move towards modernisation will not be smooth.

Saikat Kumar Basu
Kolkata, India

PENSIONERS’ PRESENCE: The government is making efforts to ease the woes of pensioners by allowing access to monthly pensions through bank accounts. However, it is frustrating to see the banks demanding the account holder’s presence with a copy of CNIC for making any withdrawal. Many of the pensioners have settled abroad with family. How can all such people present themselves for withdrawals every month?

Abdul Hafeez
Canada

FRIENDLY TIES: Currently, around 500,000 Pakistani-Americans are in the United States, and thousands others are enrolled as students in various US colleges and universities. Such a brotherly relation has been reflected well in the new commemorative postage stamp issued by Pakistan Post which features both the Statue of Liberty and the Minar-i-Pakistan. This will surely boost friendly sentiments between the two countries.

Syed Ali Musa Zaidi
Rawalpindi

Published in Dawn, February 2nd, 2023