One would like to congratulate the current government for presenting its 5th annual budget under adverse circumstances.

However, one would lament that the government of a prime minister, who in one of his last stints passionately appealed to the nation to donate for his “Qarz utaro, mulk savaro” scheme, would push the country to the abyss of debt trap arduous to come out of.

The finance minister also deserves praises for breaking the old proverbial begging bowl and replacing it with a new one made of copper, hard to break by the coming generations and lead a life of dependency worse than slavery.

Raja Shafaat Ullah
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2017