One way to write this article would be to begin with the pattern of events that started unfolding with the creation of Pakistan. However, I would rather narrate the events to which I have been a witness, although not a participant.

I remember load-shedding, especially during the summers of the 1970s. The public was advised that, owing to low water levels in dams and reduced rainfall, electricity consumption should be curtailed. I remember sweltering summers and studying under lamps at night. Alongside load-shedding came the Afghan problem, and Pakistan suddenly offered to become a frontline state in the fight to save the free world. Although billions of foreign dollars were poured into the Afghan war, no serious effort was made to improve the country’s infrastructure, industry or education, all of which could have contributed to GDP growth and long-term development. Consequently, when the dust of war settled, everyone left, while Pakistan was left with chronic problems of poor infrastructure, power outages, low economic growth and a growing low-skilled and........

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