An ethical and brave girl

An ethical and brave girl writes to her dad, after breaking her engagement:

 Dear Aboo,

After staying for only a few days at their house, it became so absolutely obvious that behind the façade of their wealth, affluence and status, there was nothing but dishonesty,  swindle and fraud. Their lives were full of all that you and me, forever detested  and disapproved.

For as many days that I was in their house, a brand new car of the Agriculture Department along with a driver was placed at our disposal. The car and the driver were performing duties that had nothing to do with the Agriculture Department. There were another half a dozen government cars in the house that performed similar private errands. One for meat, fruit and groceries, one for the elders of the house, one for taking children to school, one for Auntie and her friends and two for guests. All these luxury government vehicles and their drivers had been extracted (as a matter of entitlement),  from different departments, entirely for private (mis)use.

 I was told by the driver that the two guards at the gate had been provided, courtesy the Police Department, the cook came from the Government Hospital, while the three cleaners and the two gardeners came from the Municipality. The entire family lived at the expense and plunder of tax payers’ money.

 I decided not to live a life based on ill-gotten wealth and gross misuse of state’s resources. The first thing I did after landing at Heathrow Airport  was to call up my fiancé  and break my engagement.

 Aboo, I hope you will be proud of me.  I did what you preached and practiced all your life.  None of us should associate ourselves with this  shameless plundering elite of Pakistan.

 The above translation is inspired by a true story from Dr. Sher Shah Syed’s recent book,  “To mera dil bana dia”. The streets of KDA, DHA and Clifton are loaded with such parasites  who live luxurious lives on misappropriated state resources.

 Naeem Sadiq

December 1, 2019