The road of life is filled with challenges and unprecedented scenarios. As a common Pakistani, one is always in a struggle to survive, thrive, or escape the country to make out alive. If a problem doesn’t exist for a while, Pakistan has a talent to create one for itself. Even after 76 years of independence, the struggle for political and economic prosperity is real, and by now most people are exhausted.
1. Economic Hardships:
- Inflation: A few years ago, a family could comfortably feed a family of five with a monthly budget of 30,000 rupees. Today, that same budget barely covers the essentials. The minimum wage decided by the government for a daily laborer is about 38,000. This merely covers the food expense of a family of 3. The price of living, including the household and energy costs, is through the roof. A gap between the amount earned, and the amount needed to survive is increasing, creating a huge divide in the society.
- Unemployment: A young graduate with a promising degree is struggling to find a decent job, despite months of searching. Even governments encourage the youth to look for jobs internationally so they could pay national taxes, that too with a high-speed monitored internet with a firewall the government provides. The advanced digital infrastructure also allows the government to disrupt internet facilities in case of national emergencies, which persist every other week.
- Income Inequality: The widening gap between the rich and poor, which was always there, is increasing every passing day. The ones who are rich and have control over resources are crazy rich. Most of the property owners in Dubai or the UK would be Pakistanis. The unaccounted money is in huge numbers as the system favors the feudal lords and rich entities, putting extra pressure on an average person.
2. Political Instability:
- Corruption: The pervasive issue of corruption. Corruption exists in Pakistan like a norm, not just at the government level, but is rather a social issue present in every aspect of living. People will use some extra money to get their work done, even if it’s just breaking a queue to get done early.
- Ineffective Governance: Power outages, water shortages, and poor infrastructure are common problems that affect the daily lives of millions of Pakistanis. Now the internet load shedding is real too, and Pakistanis are the only people to experience the issues of connectivity in today’s time when everyone is progressing. We seem to move in an opposite direction.
- Security Threats: Terrorism and Extremism and State Authoritarianism are the threats for people to survive. The wrong decisions since the beginnings have created rebel groups from the very beginnings, and the mishandling of these groups has always led to terrorism and an increase in extremism in Pakistan. Such groups still exist, and the policy to deal with the iron fist has never worked for Pakistan, but change in Pakistan’s policies seems unlikely.
3. Social Issues:
- Education: Children, especially girls, are forced to drop out of school to help support their families. The concept of child labor, early marriages, and skilled learning without basic education is still a major hurdle in development. Rural and backward areas are still living in the past. The government schools and institutes are more like dump yards with ghost employment and registration of students that doesn’t exist.
- Healthcare: Public hospitals are overcrowded and understaffed, leading to long waiting times and poor-quality care. The system is designed to move the population to private hospitals where the affordability is the issue, and only a particular sect in the society can avail themselves of private health facilities.
- Gender Inequality: Discrimination against women, honor killings, and toxic workplace culture make it difficult for women to move in the society, leading to a rise in professional individuals leaving the country to find a better atmosphere for a good working environment.
4. Environmental Challenges:
- Pollution: The air quality in major cities like Lahore and Karachi is often hazardous, leading to respiratory problems and other health issues. Record levels of toxic air were recorded in Lahore this year, making it the most polluted city in the world. The issue remains unaddressed as the quality of vehicles on the roads is left unchecked, and inadequate reforms to counter deforestation still exist.
- Climate Change: Extreme weather events, such as floods and heatwaves, have become more frequent and intense, causing widespread damage and displacement. Pakistan is a victim of global climate change, but the forest land is also diminishing day by day, which is already only 4% of the total land area. Efforts to counter these elements are yet to be seen.
Conclusion:
Poor Infrastructure and Energy Crises Disrupt Economic Activity. The amount of water Pakistan wastes every year that causes havoc, leading to a major flood every year, is still a catastrophe. With access to so many natural resources, Pakistan still cannot generate enough power. The water each year flows, or rather overflows, through the Indus Basin into the Arabian Sea every year but is yet to be channeled and taken advantage of; rather, it wreaks havoc each year while we wait for the next catastrophe. A common Pakistani facing these dilemmas with no positive outlook ahead only wishes to leave for a better future, causing a massive brain drain the country is experiencing.