'Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink' 'Ancient Mariner' Coleridge was talking of sea but we in Pakistan are facing the problem on land, and not just for drinking water, but also for food, shelter, clothes, medicines and every thing else needed for daily life and sheer existence. And it is not just today, tomorrow or a year hence, but for generations to come (assuming there will be some generation left to procreate).
Pakistan is undergoing the worst trial and tribulations of its history - the unabated floods have no parallel in living memory. It may be no exaggeration to say it is the worst since biblical 'Noah's flood'. That was a curse and retribution for the humanity for acting contrary to Divine wishes! We are defying all Divine and human laws and codes of morality, ethics and decency without remorse. Do we deserve any better? God punishes evil doers in this world as well as the next, what is in store for us?
Religion, faith and morality apart, and considering only the financial scope of the tragedy, the country is doomed, with no chances of survival except by Divine Grace, and that is a tall order, considering our own conduct of affairs. Can the experts, cribbling about a minuscule shift of bps in policy rate, visualise the extent of calamity descending on the nation that is going to cripple generations to come, if there are any generations left surviving the present deluge, and its aftermath of hunger, disease, famine, and lingering deaths without food, shelter, clothes, medicines, jobs or means of livelihood for a majority of people with nothing left - not even HOPE for the future!
The government hopes for foreign aid - from the world already suffering from 'donor fatigue', and financial institutions worrying about recovery of loans already disbursed, with no future for industry, agriculture, housing, schooling, medical care, or any kind of development activity, no tax collection or means to repay debts, let alone daily expenses for survival - what FUTURE awaits Pakistan?