According to newspaper reports, the United States has committed a $100 million assistance for small and medium enterprises in Pakistan with an aim to create jobs and bolster the economy through Pakistan Private Investment Initiative. It is yet to be clarified by the government that what were the circumstances which promoted the world power to extend this kind of investment in Pakistan and who in the country was authorized to receive the money. Every nation has some dignity and respect but this nation has crossed all degrees and limits to maintain minimal level of decency and self-respect. The isolated incidents of foreign aid and its acceptance without resistance shows that how quick the nation falls from the precipice of morals which the forefathers of this nation had kept closed to their hearts even during the British raj. The foreign governments, especially the United States, are in the habit of extending loans and aids and send their own teams of experts at hefty salaries and perks to supervise and monitor the use of the funds. The money given from one hand is withdrawn from the other.
The foreign governments extend loans and aids with secret agendas and this nation is docile enough to except every things without realizing the consequences in the long run. The United States, Britain, Japan and many western nations have been funding NGOs in Pakistan for decades without any visible change in the lives of the people. It means the change travels from inside out and cannot be forced from outside in. The small medium organizations of Pakistan had never been in need of any foreign assistance, but the government attention for the resolution of their problems. The biggest enemy of the SMEs is corruption as officials from utility agencies to local government use or misuse all the powers in their hands to intimidate owners of the small and medium level organizations on one pretext or the other. What there is a need to do is to fix these government officials who are the biggest hurdle in the way of industrial development in the country.
It is equally unfortunate on the part of the political parties that they work on one point agenda – that is to grab power without looking into the real issues facing the nation. No political party from any ideological background has the ability to coordinate with government and work for the welfare of the masses. They always fight for non-issues only to give trouble to the ruling elite and have failed in every test of sincerity. There are various small nations in the world which started their journey to economic wellbeing decades after Pakistan and are now standing high not on the pinnacles of morality, but also economic development.
