Islamabad
\nMurtaza Mughal, President of Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW), said on Thursday that the biggest threat to the country\u2019s integrity is not terrorism or climate change but ruthless elites.
\nThe elites have been looting the country\u2019s resources with both hands for decades and transferring capital out of the country, he said.
\nHe added that the elites responsible for the destruction of the economy pose the greatest obstacle to its recovery.
\nIn a statement issued here, Dr. Murtaza Mughal said that the economy would have fully recovered due to the pressure put on the people in the shape of utility prices and inflation.
\nHowever, the limping economy still needs to recover due to the theft of a significant amount of public capital. Therefore, the situation is only slowly improving, resulting in frustration.
\nHe observed that the masses would continue to suffer due to the elite\u2019s unabated corruption, and the people\u2019s anger would continue to increase.
\nMurtaza Mughal asserted that party workers had transformed nearly every department in the country into a recruitment center. Now, the politicians were bringing important departments under their control that were previously safe from their loot.
\nHe said that a complete ban on new recruitment is part of the solution to political interference in government departments. The federation should stop giving unnecessary funds to provinces that receive more than they need. It is an open secret that many provinces receive funds and later waste them.
\nHe said that the process of decorating the offices and houses of top officials and purchasing new vehicles should be stopped. Free housing, free electricity and gas, telephone, overseas treatment, foreign visits, and an army of staff should not be given to anyone.
\nInfrastructure projects should be initiated through a public-private partnership. A voluntary pension scheme should be introduced, and national and provincial assembly members should not receive funds for development schemes that end up in the pockets of the corrupt.
\nHe noted that politicians who do not receive development funds will resort to other means to enrich themselves instead of using politics.
\nMughal stated that ending the privileges of elites is more important than any of the measures mentioned above.
\nThe United Nations has reported that the Pakistani elites enjoy privileges worth seventeen and a half billion dollars annually, and the removal of these privileges could lead to a significant reduction in hardship for the populace.
\nOn the one hand, elitism seems limitless. Yet, the masses must endure escalating electricity costs, gas bills, children\u2019s fees, daily necessities, and rising inflation.
\nPakistanis have accumulated assets worth trillions of rupees abroad with no fear of accountability. Recently, the disclosure of properties worth billions of dollars to thousands of Pakistanis in Dubai is the latest incident in this regard.
\nThis practice would continue unless some people involved in plunder were punished according to the law.
\nHe said the situation would persist as long as a significant portion of our national resources were lost to corruption. He added that we would continue to beg if action was not taken to improve things.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad Murtaza Mughal, President of Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW), said on Thursday that the biggest threat to the country\u2019s integrity is not terrorism or climate change but ruthless elites. The elites have been looting the country\u2019s resources with both hands for decades and transferring capital out of the country, he said. He added that the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":386537,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-408980","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n