If the foreign trips taken by our VVIP’s were to be yardstick for economic progress, diplomatic status and prominence in comity of nations, than numerous foreign junkets by Benazir, Musharraf, Shaukat Aziz, Asif Zardari, Nawaz Sharif etc, should have placed Pakistan far above countries like China, Saudi Arabia, USA, South Korea etc. We are in a state of war, with fatalities and Shahadat of soldiers, citizens and minor children, far exceeding in numbers, than lost in all the wars with India, as declared by our PM, who now thinks it appropriate to fly with a large delegation to Bahrain this month and is in Saudi Arabia now, scheduled to depart for Davos.
Why is it that President of USA or PM of India visiting foreign countries, involving Trans Atlantic or Trans Pacific flights, do not break their journey in London, Dubai, Saudi Arabia or for that matter Vatican? Is it that they have tight working schedules and need to spend time on matters of state, or their countries cannot afford such extravagance and our leaders have all the time to spare and money to throw away? Why don’t our public office holders understand that Pakistan faces an economic crunch, with debts far exceeding our reserves and cannot afford such extravagance.
ALI MALIK,
Lahore, January 14.