In the last few days, Pakistanis have been struggling with the biggest petrol shortage in history, and all this time the media is going crazy trying to pin the blame on someone from an amazingly large list of usual suspects. Realistically, even the best of systems can fail at one time or the other, and while pinning responsibility is necessary for corrective measures, crisis management is definitely more important. Empirically, the blame game has really not helped the country, since even when blame can be established, nothing happens. Worse, this preoccupation diverts attention from current actions to solve the problem. A vast majority will probably disagree with the above conclusion and will voraciously argue that taking the culprits to task should be the first agenda on the priority list. Under normal circumstances, that assertion might even be undeniable but the fact that this has never happened in Pakistan clouds the premise. In fact, this domestic obsession with the frivolous blame game has a perverse outcome: energies and resources get engaged in passing the buck rather than the more important task of resolving the problem and mitigating the risk of repeat occurrence. Look at the record below. Sometime ago, while reviewing a recent publication, the ‘flabber was gasted’ by the realisation that even after more than six decades there was a school of thought opposing the two nation theory. Until someone builds a time machine, will this debate make any difference whatsoever? Stuck in the past, the proponents can never move forward with building a stronger nation. Off the subject, a few days ago, I received an article that had compiled quotes about the Quaid-e-Azam, and I cannot help but reproduce a particular one: “Jinnah is one of the most extraordinary men in history” — Jawaharlal Nehru. Another amazing argument is that the martial law dictator of the 1980s is responsible for the Kalashnikov culture prevalent in the country and what else not. Even that was more than three decades ago. In this time, frame the global map, economic and political theories and technology have changed radically, and even now continue to change in fast track mode. Whether or not the blame is appropriate is not being debated here; au contraire, even if that was the case, is it the conclusion that nothing could be done in 35 years to counter actions taken way back then? Exasperatedly, recall that getting a phone was impossible then, now most people have two cell phones with internet even. The crystal clear choice is to focus on solutions, otherwise the blame game will be there three decades into the future when things are even worse. Let us get to the power crisis. All through the tenure of the previous government, the loud and continuing narrative was that load shedding was a ‘gift’ from the last dictatorship. Again, whether or not that is true is not being debated here. In the current government’s defence, they have just been in power for two years, but overall eight years of democracy later, where are we with load shedding? Experts continue to point out that Pakistan has tremendous capacity to generate hydel electricity up north and, undeniably, that is cheap electricity. Hydel projects take around eight years or upwards for development, so how many have been completed or are nearing completion today? In fact, how many have been started to date? Only when the debate is focused on solutions will the constraints be indentified and positive action taken. Big dams are another mystery. For all intents and purposes the inter-provincial dispute is inexplicable. This is reminiscent of an old joke when Mangla dam was being built; the punch line was that downstream communities objected to taking the strength out of the water by upstream electricity generation therefrom. The experts continuously warn that in the near future the country could face a water crisis. In fact, a few days ago, the Chief Minister (CM) of Balochistan was on television pointing out that the province was already facing a water shortage. So should the nation continue arguing about who is right and who is wrong or find amicable solutions to a pressing need? In the former case, a decade down the road, lines for getting water might break the current records for CNG. A few years ago numerous cases of corruption were brought to light and there was a lot of media hype about ‘who done it’. There are those who remain unaware of what was the outcome of those cases and whether anyone was ever taken to task, but one thing is surely clear: steps to correct the system, if any were taken at all, failed miserably. Even today, there is a lot of gossip about corruption, and that is exactly the point: gossip is worth nothing. Whether the losses to the exchequer can be recovered or not is a separate issue. Should concrete steps not be taken to address the issue of corruption once and for all? While eliminating corruption might even be impossible, stopping corruption is not rocket science; other nations have done it. The media and civil society will do a great service to Pakistan by focusing on future leakage rather than lambasting the past. Interestingly, one blame game has eluded the propagators for an inordinate period of time, perhaps because nobody understands the economy anyway. Considering the resources Pakistan is blessed with, barring oil for energy needs, it must be pure economic negligence that today the country is in a debt trap and facing a humongous economic crisis; somebody is to blame. So what should the finance minister do? Blame the previous managers and go on a witch-hunt or take measures to reverse the decline? True, fact finding to learn from the mistakes of the past, and even to an extent taking action against wilful negligence may be required, but the first agenda is to stabilise the economy on a growth trajectory. The blame game is indeed perilous, if it in itself becomes a means to an end. This is not to suggest that everyone should be allowed to go scot-free. The view is that in all the hype nothing substantive is being accomplished and the leadership is kept busy passing the buck. The media cannot be blamed in this instance. After all it is their business to create and sell hype. On the other hand, the intelligentsia has a larger role, to divert focus, even that of the media, towards solutions. Otherwise, the lines for CNG and petrol will continue breaking records forever. The good news is that at the time of writing this article, the lines for petrol have shortened and apparently the supply line has been improved. Now let us hope and pray that solutions for militancy, dams, electricity, corruption and the economy are around the corner. The writer is a chartered accountant based in Islamabad. He can be reached at syed.bakhtiyarkazmi@gmail.com and on twitter @leaccountant