The media should, through investigative reporting highlight the big issues rather than waste time with vegetable rates and help our nation remain on the right path. The media should stay away from the personal lives and conflicts of politicians.
For example each year the people of KP would face three months of flour shortage, while the people of Karachi face water shortages. Similarly, while Pakistan has one of the highest gas reserves, we have been forced into importing gas.
Similarly, the entire nation was forced to use the Euro2 variant of fuel, while the rest of the world used Euro 5 or 6 variants. Crude oil is exported or smuggled out of Pakistan, without processing it and we are forced to import processed fuel. Each year sugar industries would export sugar after getting a subsidiary and then import the same sugar back while getting more subsidiaries. Sugar industries would show 45% lesser production and not pay taxes on that production.
Three car companies claim they manufacture local vehicles, but in the last 30 years, they have only been importing all the vehicle parts and not locally manufacturing even the vehicle maintenance parts like filters. These car companies also remove the safety features of Japanese cars before selling them to the public.
The CPEC land route, which was supposed to provide linkage to Baluchistan and KP’s least developed areas, and help these areas get developed, was completely changed and forced to move through congested Lahore.
National Railways and Airlines have been overburdened with extra personnel and extremely high pension payments, leaving both organisations as loss-making. Similarly, more than 750 million was paid per month in salaries and rents to Pakistan Steel Mills employees for 20 years without the organisation even operating.
There are many more high-level corruption cases that have cheated trillions of rupees from the people of Pakistan. The media has a role to highlight these scams and figure out why and who committed them, rather than confuse our nation with discussions of minor issues.
SHAHRYAR KHAN BASEER
Peshawar
