beggar

One of our two political parties has, during the last two decades, descended into such unseriousness and gross irresponsibility as to beggar belief.

“In any other country, if you see a beggar, it’s clear he’s a beggar,” said Habib Kareem, 26, a lawyer in Islamabad, the capital.

“But here, you see a beggar and you think to yourself, ‘He’s working for them,’” he added, referring to Pakistan’s powerful intelligence services.

You become a general contractor, goat herder, traffic cop, negotiator and beggar in a byzantine system that would be so much better — for doctors and patients — if it were more about the mission of healthcare than the business of it.

The night was as black as a beggar’s toenail.