When will the Pakistan government begin helping its citizens living in rural areas?
When I visited Pakistan’s rural areas such as Tank and Hyadabad in the Northwest Frontier Province, in the FATA, and even in places such as Bhakkar and Mianwali in Punjab, I found many people are unemployed (approximately 8 percent), and that living conditions are substandard, including little potable water, power outages lasting 5-10 hours every day and inadequate sewage systems. This year the inflation rate is 23 percent. Couple these hopeless circumstances with a population increase of 85 million people over the next two decades and the need to create 36 million new jobs a year. Not only Pakistan but the entire region will be affected. When will the political leadership embrace democracy, stop corruption and fix the dysfunctional bureaucracy? I worked closely with the Pakistan political parties helping to strengthen their democracy. Too many Pakistani politicians worry more about their next trip to China, Thailand, or the United States than addressing constituent needs. They pay lip
