The PMs decision to give a bail out worth Rs25 billion to Pakistan Steel Mills would be just a waste if the reasons that caused a hole as large as this in the company finances are not duly addressed. But the mindless apathy with which taxpayers money is being squandered by the elected government is appalling in the truest sense of the word. It also shows complicity of those responsible in the crime of omissions and commissions that led to this profit-making organization going into losses of this scale within the last two years. Lessons need to be learnt from fate of the corrupt regimes of Central Asia that have fallen like dominoes despite support of America and Russia because peoples patience ran out with the corruption of their rulers. The present outrage of waste and plunder of the state and its scarce resources would no longer be tolerated by people who are on edge of desperation at present. They are barely living lives of the locust while the rulers live like emperors of the ancient times. The losses in Pakistan Steel Mills occurred because of a corrupt management that pilfered billions in collaboration with contractors and agents. The beneficiaries, Abbas Steel and Laljee, have got away with a windfall of profits while taxpayer has been ripped off to an extent that only a cash injection worth Rs 25 billion can now payoff the debts and provide the investment needed to put balance of the company back in black. This is a failure of the government which failed in its role as custodian of peoples rights in a national asset. It seems the next bailout to be announced would be that of the PIA, another white elephant afflicted with the same malaises of corruption and incompetence. The silence of PIAs overpaid surplus employees was bought with a hefty salary raise in 2009 causing an additional annual loss of Rs3.5 billion to the airline. PIA management which has lowest utilization of the existing aircraft in its fleet, including brand new Boeing 777s, is believed to be getting more funds through sovereign guarantees provided by the state to buy still more aircrafts. There is this insatiable greed for commissions that has to be satisfied, no matter what. -NASIR K KHAKAKHEL, Peshawar, June 14.