Questions I ask myself...
Below is a selection
of questions I have asked myself recently. Some deal with very serious subjects
and others are more whimsical. All of us need to keep our minds open and
question our assumptions. Remember there are no stupid questions!
- Why doesn’t PIA
use cotton blankets?
We are the 4th largest producer of cotton in
the world yet PIA uses a synthetic material that not only smells terrible but
also creates enough static electricity to power a small appliance!
- Why don’t
Pakistanis carry umbrellas during the monsoon season?
On a drive from Abbotabad to Haripur in August,
in the midst of the monsoon season, during a torrential downpour I saw only one
person carrying an umbrella. Umbrellas are cheap and readily available.
- Why don’t we
ride bicycles in winter?
In most parts of Pakistan we have six to seven
months of wonderful weather. As a country we import very large amounts of
expensive fuel, putting pressure on our balance of payments as well as on the
government exchequer that ends up having to subsidise much of this consumption
of fuel. Cycling is a very healthy activity, enjoyable (given safe roads and
lanes for cyclists) and environmentally friendly. Why don’t we see more
cyclists on our roads? (Friends have told me road safety is a major concern. I
tend to agree and clearly we need to do more to make our roads safer- for
drivers, pedestrians and cyclists alike.)
- Why does
Islamabad have some of the highest pollen counts in the world and what is
CDA doing about it?
Each year hundreds, if not thousands of
Islamabad’s citizens suffer from pollen allergies. Many end up being
hospitalised. The culprit is usually the paper mulberry tree, and Islamabad
has some of the highest pollen counts in the world. Yet each year we see a
repeat of the same sad story. Why?
- Why can I
(fairly easily) use a Pakistani credit card to buy online from the US but
not within the country? What are we doing to promote ecommerce and online
payments?
As a member of the Senate Committee on Finance,
I hope to be able to bring about a change by working closely with the State
Bank of Pakistan.
- Over the last
three decades, we have spent obscene amounts of money repairing/ widening
the same stretch of road (Kashmir Highway)? Why?
Do we have so much money to waste? Why can’t we
do it right once, the first time? Where is planning and accountability? And
remember this is the main road leading to our nation’s capital!
- Why do we have
“christian colonies”, shantytowns of squalor in the midst of some of the
richest areas of Islamabad?
It is obscene that Pakistanis are living in sub
human conditions next to multi-million dollar homes. What are we doing about
this? Do the residents of these slums have formal or informal property
rights? Can we not build decent accomodation for them at the same sites?
- Why doesn’t
Islamabad have a decent library that the public can easily access?
Perhaps reading has gone out of fashion!