FOR most of the 77 years since Pakistan`s emergence as an independent state, successive governments have relied on rhetoric rather than action, particularly when it comes to providing basic necessities to the masses.

Unfortunately, they have sustained themselves on hollow promises, wrapped in `policy frameworks`, without havingany meaningful execution. As a result, despite the countless policies, plans as well as programmes announced supposedly for public welfare, the common man`s condition has remained largely unchanged.

As such, Pakistan`s social indicators have regrettably ranked among the worst in Asia, with the country falling behind its regional peers in terms of living standards in recent decades.

This pattern persists even today and is directly responsible for the nation`s current crisis regarding food, energy, healthcare, education and employment.

Moreover, for decades, Pakistan has been facing severe challenges, including a high unemployment rate, poor health infrastructure, rising poverty, severe undernourishment, lack of clean water and sanitation, a low literacy rate, and millions of out-of-school children.

Alarmingly, Pakistan ranks 137th out of 166 countries on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Index 2024.

Each year, nearly four dozen federal ministries and divisions, along with their provincialcounterparts,generate countless policy documents. These policies aim at improving living standards, alleviating poverty as well as uplifting socioeconomic indicators.

However, these policies often lack serious efforts towards implementation, target monitoring, and outcome evaluation.

Ironically, this cycle repeats itself annually, with each new policy merely replacing the last one without any analysis of past failures or successes.

In the long run, a policy is meant to be a strategiccourse of action guidinggovernment decisions towards rational and angible outcomes. But we tend to merely churn out policies apparently for the sake of having some kind of fun. Why? Hussain Ahmad Siddiqui Islamabad