If we critically evaluate our country, we will see that no sector of life is functioning as it should. The lack of ethics is evident everywhere. Is it not the effort of each of us to elbow our way forward, buy luxury cars overnight, and build mansions in the most expensive parts of the city, lavishly adorned with marble? Have parents ever tried asking their employed children, who are living beyond their means, how they are affording such luxury? Are they not being wasteful in various aspects of life? Have parents only considered it their duty to equip their children with higher education, neglecting the importance of moral training? Sadly, we have produced capable professionals, but can we say we have raised good human beings? The answer to this question is no.
The road transport system in this country has become so unsafe that it is beyond words. Every day, dozens of people are dying in traffic accidents. If the cities of this country had been connected by an integrated public bus system like there once was in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and if attention had been paid to Pakistan Railways—which the British left in excellent condition for us in 1947—it would have been so much better. We could have introduced tram systems in the cities, like the ones that used to run in Karachi, but we ended up shutting down even the functioning trams. Not too long ago, about 20 years back, there was a bus service called GTS operating in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It was immensely popular because, on the one hand, it provided safe travel, and on the other, it was known for its punctuality. It was so well-loved that tickets were hard to come by, and advance booking was necessary.
Today, the need of the hour is to connect all four provinces of the country through an integrated bus transport system, and to establish such a system within each province as well. The buses running on our roads today are nothing less than death traps due to the greed of their owners. These owners exploit drivers, depriving them of the physical and mental rest they need, which leads them to take drugs while driving to stay awake, often resulting in road accidents. Whether people admit it or not, the reality is that the Chief Minister of Punjab has simultaneously initiated numerous public welfare projects. She is now going to Beijing on an invitation from China. If she succeeds in structuring the economy of her province on the Chinese model, as hinted recently, Punjab's economy will receive a tremendous boost. For the readers’ information, China recently lifted 20 million people out of poverty. If Maryam Nawaz manages to implement this economic model in Punjab, it will be a monumental success for her government.
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