Pakistan's moral dilemma

The evil eroding the prosperity and development of my country is the menace of corruption. According to Transparency International's Corruption Index, Pakistan ranked 140 out of 180 countries in 2021. Corruption is the root cause of all other evils in society. The economy severely suffers when corruption is practiced widely in a country. The political malaises result from corruption. Pakistan is facing socio-economic and political challenges due to unbridled corruption. Most of our problems will have vanished when we nip corruption in the bud.

The precarious economic condition of Pakistan, where 25 percent population lives below the poverty line, 30 percent inequality, 5 percent unemployment rate, 13 percent inflation rate, and 81 percent debt to GDP, is the cause of corruption, incompetence, and red-tapism. Our government isn't prepared to crack down on corruption. The state's enterprises and bureaucracy are rapidly burgeoning, and the private sector is shrinking. Private enterprises have to face bottlenecks in their smooth functioning.

Corruption is the cause of political discrepancies. From sectarianism and extremism to a weak rule of law and accountability are the spillover effects of dishonesty, deceit, fraud, and misconduct. Feudalism, monopoly over political parties, and lack of merit are prevalent in Pakistan. It is the need of the hour to eradicate the menace of corruption in Pakistan by creating change from within.

The current government of Imran Khan came into power with the slogan of eradicating corruption. He has also disappointed the people of Pakistan. In his government, Pakistan is facing new and growing challenges. The country has been divided based on ethnicity, religion, and race. 

Being a leader, I try to wipe out corruption from Pakistan. Although many governments and politicians have tried in the past, they all have one common weakness. They all are greedy, selfish, and power-hungry. The peril of corruption is to be eradicated when someone can let go of his cranial desires and think of the development of the people and the prosperity of his nation. The American Revolution and subsequent prosperity would not have been possible if the Founding Fathers had vied for power, personal desires, and needs.

Bringing change in the lives of the poorest of the poor and educating every citizen are the first steps toward a sustainable society. Educated people not only obey laws in their lives but also participate in nation-building. They abstain from corruption. When corruption is eradicated in the minds and hearts of people, a nation is born. Such a nation has a strong government and a morally upright population. It is a nation that thinks of the prosperity of the whole world. It promotes tolerance, love, reciprocity, empathy, cooperation, and brotherhood. 

Such a nation was dreamed of by Martin Luther King Jr. when he said, “We need to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”