WHAT PLEAUGES PAKISTAN ?

Bakhtiar Hakeem, TOPIX OrganizationCol.(Retd) Ghulam Warris, U.S.A.Col.Ghulam Warris (Retd), PTT Advisory BoardCourtesy BBCCourtesy : M.F.KHANCourtesy : Times of India, Courtesy: Maryam Mehboob, PTT MemberCourtesy Mike Bax, Ph.D. Journalist and WriterCourtesy: The News Contributedby: Maj (R) KI BajwaCourtesy: BBCCourtesy: BBC NewsCourtesy: Google News ServiceCourtesy: M.F.KhanCourtesy: MSNBCCourtesy: Tufts UniversityCoutesy: NDTV Blogs: Bharat Mata ka mitta zeharDaily Dawn of October 17th, 1951 (Courtesy: Z.Hamid, The Brasstacks Organization, Islamabad, PakistanDaily TimesDaniel Markey, Senior Fellow for India, Pakistan, and SouLahore, PakistanDr Tanvir Hussain Bhatti, International Columnist, Poet and AuthorDr Tanvir Hussain Bhatti. Columnist, Poet and AuthorDr,Mike Bax, Member Pakistan Think Tank Advisory BoardDr. Abraham Kovoor, Sri Lanka, The Modern Rationalist, March 1999Dr. Adalat Khan, International Columnist, UQAAB, Malaysia.Dr. Jassim Taqui; Deputy Editor (IR)Dr. Kamal Chatterjee, M.A., PH.D (U.S.A)Dr. Lisa A. Curtis is Senior Research Fellow fo

What Plagues Pakistan?

by

Dr Tanvir Hussain Bhatti


What Plagues Pakistan? Pakistan is at the crossroads of grave challenges that have plagued the social, political and economic fabric of the country. Its economy is in a shambles; its politics is based on fragile democratic institutions and powerful dictatorship; and its society is confronting relentless gauntlets of growing intolerance and extremism. Its enemies are sparing no effort to create instability in it. Its power boozed foes are letting no cranny untapped to rob it of its nukes. Western dinosaurs and their paranoid wheeler-dealer media are propagandizing to brand it an irresponsible state that cannot safeguard its nuclear assets. There are massive pockets of poverty and illiterate teeming millions. Educated people are moving from cigarette kiosk to tea stall in search of jobs to make both ends meet when the prices of all commodities are skyrocketing. Politics is tremendously personalized that has shattered the basis of democracy. There is perpetual institutional decay.! The masses are indifferent while the men on good wickets are lavishly spending the national treasure for their luxurious activities. When Pakistan appeared on the map of the world it possessed bare resources because it was carved out in the areas of the subcontinent that were deliberately kept backward by the colonial white burglars. The death of the father of the nation during the formative phase of the country was a bolt from the blue for the budding nation. He did not get adequate time to strengthen the social, political and economic framework of the newly created country. After his untimely death Pakistan made average steps forward at a snail’s pace due to internal intrigues of the vested interests having their own shirt to button and external conspiracies of its enemies having their own trouser to zip. Even after the lapse of six decades our country is still confronting scores of challenges that are perpetually impeding its pace of progress. If these snags are disentangled by adopting head-on approach Pakistan can emerge as an Asian Tiger that is time and again desired and pledged b! y our rulers. Volatile law and order situation discourages foreign investment because no one would like to lose his moneybags in a state where men in the driving seat address the public gatherings behind bullet proof screens and the life of a two times former PM is not safe. Pakistan is endowed with towering mountains, glistening peaks, gushing rivers, sprawling deserts, historical monuments and unrivaled archeological sites. Despite the presence of these blessings our Tourist Industry is in the doldrums due to continuously worsening security situation. The developed countries issue advisories to their tourists ‘Don’t visit Pakistan’. Terrorist activities in various parts of the country have tarnished the image of the country in the constellation of nations. The regime should strive to improve the image of the country at the international level through media and by controlling criminal activities. Establishment of peaceful atmosphere in the nation state is mandatory ! to ensure considerable foreign investment and to magnetize tourists. The government should launch a Herculean campaign for indiscriminate deweaponization to check the menace of street crimes. The intelligence agencies, police and Interior Ministry should regularly share information among themselves to curtail the peril of felonies. A country where President SCBA and CJP are under house arrest demanding fairly independence of the judiciary and supremacy of the constitution; how can a man in the street expect justice? Judiciary should be sovereign so that it can dispense prompt and cheap justice disinterestedly. There is dire need to reform the judiciary from the crown to the foot so that the filings of humanity get speedy justice at their doorsteps. The role of the touts who work as intermediaries between clients and the sleaze-spattered officials of the justice providing institution should be terminated by keeping a sharp eye on of the court procedures. The government should establish committee comprising of honorable High Court and Supreme Court judges that can monitor the speed of dispensation of the cases and to check bribery in the judiciary. In addition to this the administration should increase the number of consumer courts to safeguard consumer rights. It is called for to cre! ate awareness among the hoi polloi about the presence of these courts. Energy is necessary to fuel the power parched industry. Pakistan is passing through pitiable phase of severe energy crisis because no major dam has been constructed for more than 30 years to harness the country’s hydroelectric potential. During this summer episode, the situation so worsened that the gap between supply and demand touched 3,000 megawatts. Lack of national consensus and deficiency of mutual trust among the constituent units are major stumbling blocks in exploiting water resources to meet the immense challenges of water stress and energy shortage. The incumbent President has inaugurated Diamer Bhasha Dam that is forecast to complete in 2016. He has taken steps to construct many other dams but their completion is still a distant dream when the country is facing tremendous energy shortage. The government should develop inter-provincial harmony for fair distribution of water resources and to tap the country’s hydroelectric potential. In addition to! this wind, solar and nuclear energy should be exploited to meet the growing needs of the burgeoning population and power hungry industry. Pakistan has enough coal resources that should be used to get thermal electricity. The rulers claim that Pakistan is making gigantic strides in the economic field due to successful policies of the current regime but actually the monetary picture is dreary round the clock. Recent State Bank report about economy of Pakistan has punctured the balloon of fabricated economic claims. The economic growth rate of Pakistan is one of the highest in the region but there is no trickle down effect that has widened the gulf between the loaded fat cats and the poor as shithouse rats. The standards of living of some people have improved due to high income but at the cost of others who are pushed further downwards. There is high food inflation that is making it difficult for the poor to afford eatables. Pakistan will be included in the list of the developed countries when it would be able to develop self-reliance in the production of all commodities. The country is currently entangled in the heavy debt trap of $38.86 billion that has hampered national econo! my because loaning agencies charge heavy interest rates. Therefore, the government should utilize the foreign aid to establish indigenous industries that can boon export and trim down import of goods. In this way Pakistan can emerge as a strong economic power in the comity of the nations. Illiteracy is the major barrier in the way of our progress. Paradoxically, those who acquire education after several efforts do not get job. Therefore, they are compelled to leave the country for good to permanently settle in other countries. There is not a shadow of doubt that these geniuses sent their remittances to the country that help in alleviating poverty. But there is crying need of the presence of these intellectuals in the country that can help in resolving intricate national issues. They can provide services to the people because now there is deficiency of the expertise in the country. The government should increase the salaries of the professionals so that they do not go abroad just for the sake of fulfilling their requirements. The government should also pump massive resources for education. It should pay heed to overhaul the standard of education. This can enhance worth of the degrees of our institutions which are currently nothing but wort! hless pieces of paper and have no value in the international institutions. Corruption is acting as blight and rocking the foundations of our country. It has corrupted the moral fabric of our community. Now palm greasing is not considered an immoral act and the officials stipulate bribe as kiln owners demand loan from the people that they have given the cash-strapped unfortunates on interest to ensnare them permanently. Ironically, we are dwelling in a culture where maintaining integrity is becoming difficult with each passing day due to rapid pace of dishonest practices. The number of honest people is as dwindling in the society as oil resources from the world while the number of dirt-dashed people is as rapidly increasing as digits of divorces in the sexually pullulating western society. My subsequent verses reflect this heartrending situation of deceit and duplicity: Sleaze is a perilous and horrendous blight It cankered the society like a rabid dog-bite; Bribery must be eradicated root and branch Plugs on lacunas of jobbery should be tight; Probity in a community is the jewel of crown Because it can revamp the public by its might. We are a nation in search of a common goal which we have botched to determine in the past six decades. Vested interests and foreign interferences in our national affairs have already done enough damage to Pakistan. It can afford no more detrimental wounds. O’ my dearest countrymen wake up and give up your prejudice on the basis of personal preoccupations. Let us throw away the regional garbs that have divided our nation state. Let us highlight commonalities instead of differences. Let us unite for the progress and prosperity of our motherland. Let us work with a sense of commitment to liberate our country from the current morass. We must hammer into our minds that our survival is in unity, faith and discipline. Our division has provided vacuum to the nefarious elements to intervene in our national affairs who are impatiently seeking pretexts to deprive us of our nuclear assets. Let us get rid of these reprehensible meddlers permanently by strengthening the fou! ndations of our motherland. Let us march towards our destiny of political stability, economic prosperity and social strength under the guidance of the golden words of the father of the nation that he told the Daily Worker, London in 1944: “Muslims in Pakistan want to be able to establish their own real democratic popular government. This government will have the sanction … of the people of Pakistan and will function with the will and sanction of the entire body of people in Pakistan”.

Dr Tanvir Hussain Bhatti Freelance International Columnist, Poet and Author of the Book “What Plagues Pakistan?” Lahore. (Pakistan)


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