Where is our socio-economic independence after 60 years?

Ali Ashraf Khan
14-08-07

When the Pakistanis woke up on the morning of the 14th August 1947 they thought they were a free nation in a free country, the nation danced jubilantly to follow to follow the path of honesty and sincerity with this natural asset they started to work when even pen and paper were not available to them. Karachi was loaded with humdrum activities, people worked from morning till late night. Pakistan had to face multiple problems: no office buildings, no furniture, no stationary and on top of it no funds. India had refused to release Pakistan's share from the funds held in India, but the Pakistani nation was not bothered because it had a will of a nation. Quaid-e-Azam himself refused to take any salary as the head of the state. People who were not sure of their next month salary worked day and night to build the infant state. This is how Pakistan started to work for progress and prosperity till the assassination of Liaqat Ali Khan who himself was a victim of political intrigues which had surfaced after the death of Quaid-e-Azam.
The biggest curse that we had borrowed is that our rulers and the rule have been depending on pomp and show and extravaganza to establish our place in the world in order to rubb shoulders with Presidents and Prime Ministers' glory with no consideration for the teeming millions dumb driven masses working to make the wheel of productivity move. The nation demurred because there was no education and the people in power declared that they can not afford this luxury to educate the masses which is supposed to be the prime responsibility of a government second to providing health facilities. Hence wars of succession started, the leaderless nation is still leaderless, continues to suffer from the corruption and greed of rulers who only make hey while the sun shines. The position of Pakistan on its 60th birthday is like a rudderless ship without a captain in the vast ocean of world diplomacy of exploitation through turmoil. Pakistan's unity has been put at risk again in this proxy war for Americans due to a failed foreign policy.
Pakistan is still Pakistan is still not clear as to what system they have to adopt in order to develop it into a truly welfare state, which is the hallmark of the prima facie of its people. Corruption has become the biggest row feudal lords have joined hands with the civil and military bureaucracy to perpetuate their own agenda for benefit in order to exploit the poor gullible and helpless masses. Out of 60 years of existence of Pakistan there have been 35 years of military rule and 25 years of "democracy" which too was under the patronage and surveillance of the military.
The emergence of Pakistan on the world map on 14 August 1947 was mainly due to exploitative policies persuaded by the Hindu Mahajans and Banias under the British Raj who never missed an opportunity to subjugate the poor Muslims residing in British India. So much so that in the province of Sindh Hindu landlords were the mortgagees of their Muslim tenants for a few thousand rupees which never got paid back and these girls were driven to India by the evacuating Hindu Zamindars from Sindh. Though during the Mughal era the Muslims of the subcontinent were much prosperous and happier and this very interesting fact can be seen from the fact that Lord Macauley travelled from one corner to another corner of India and he was surprised and taken aback not to have seen any robber and beggar. This observation was submitted by him to the British Parliament while giving his recommendation that a strategy be evolved to establish an educational system in India which would undermine Indian traditional values and culture. Unless British came with an alternative policy of education and cultural demoralization British would never succeed in their attempt to colonize India on which the Americans are now trying to build their "American Empire".
It appears that now Pakistan is heading for another kind of imperialism based on the American concepts and wishes by persuading the "war on Terrorism" in which they are killing their own people. Pakistan has been regarded as the bulwark of Islam but in reality it has turned out to be otherwise because of the wrong policies adopted by successive governments in Pakistan military as well as "democratic". While the government claims to be the well-wisher of its people the fact remains that its economic policies were not implemented in toto, rather they were made the basis of government propaganda which is continuing till today.
Independence should have provided the Pakistani population its due socio-economic rights, but regrettably this idea got lost in the process of waiting for any trickle down benefits to the poor. Because of our national apathy now a new class of exploiters has not only emerged but has overpowered the entire decision making powers of the government for their own selfish interest. Newspapers have published a list of 25 leading business houses of Pakistan who own approximately 70 to 80 per cent of the wealth of the country and many of them were nowhere in the 70ies era. They have thrived through manipulative mechanisms hand in glove with the civilian and military bureaucracy while the majority of the people find it difficult to secure two meals a day. Owing to constant monopolistic encouragement to the vested interest groups, like of Sugar, Cement, Wheat etc., formed their cartels and extracted benefits from government at the cost of miseries for the people of Pakistan.
On one hand the State Bank of Pakistan and Ministry of Finance claims to have tightened the " Monetary Policy " to contain the galloping inflation, but in fact it has miserably failed to provide relief to the common man from sky-rocketing prices for consumer goods. A leading English language newspaper enhanced the sale price of its Sunday newspaper from Rs15 to Rs18 from 5th August 2007 meaning an increase in price by 20%. Nestle Pakistan has increased the price of mineral water from Rs90 per 50 gallons to Rs110, an increase of 22%. The price of atta which was Rs6-7 in 1999 is now Rs15 -17 per kg. The prices of other daily eatable commodities have also risen considerably in the very recent past. KESC have also increased its tariff while the poor masses are obliged to bear 10 hours of daily load-shedding. The naked game of corruption was first seen in evacuee properties, claims and its allotments. Then came the import corruption culture in which wrong declarations manipulated with custom officials was common feature. Then export corruption culture was let loose; quota regime and GST loot and plunder with the connivance of the government authorities.
Periodical manipulation by the leading brokerage of stock exchange amassed billions of rupees by hoodwinking the unsuspecting and weak traders and investors in the stock market. To strengthen their favourites the government decided to drastically reduce the interest rates on investment made in the defence and saving certificates schemes and banks term deposits, which forced the small investors with few lakhs of rupees to go into the stock market trading. As of today with this kind of money one can not take any business venture because of the high cost of shops and offices and running of day-today business.
Land and property prices have shot up beyond one's imagination. A man of small means who constitutes about 65-70% of the population can not dream of owning a residential house through his lawful earning. The unprecedented increase in the value of urban and rural property has broken the backbone of the common man in Pakistan. Real estate is the most lucrative trade attracting investment while industrial units are being liquidated to make room for plot and plaza development. Defence societies and builders of plazas and malls with questionable foreign collaboration are mushrooming in large number in this melodrama while world's largest cooperative society's scandals have remained under the carpet due to the apathy of our rulers.
Thereafter the green pastures in the "land of the pure" were left open for the civil and military rulers; it became free for all and it remains free for all even today because Pakistan has been unlucky to find an honest, selfless and sincere leader after the death of its founder. Our unfortunate case has been that our civil and military bureaucracy in league with politicians groped in the dark for power and pelf wherever and whatever may be available to them and their sycophants. Our history is conspicuous of its lack of any process of accountability at any time while some wise man has rightly said as a piece of advice to Pakistani nation in their present hour of trial: Every second, minute, hour and day is very precious in the life of a nation and are those who have ruined our future shared not be trusted anymore. "Azmuda ra Azmudan jahal ast".
There is no royal road to success than "work, work and hard work" was the advice of Quaid-e Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah which we have conveniently forgotten and started the game of musical chair to perpetuate in power by hook or by crook without any consideration for the uplift of the wretched masses.
The main question arises when considering the saying of the founder of Pakistan who had said I will not have that kind of Pakistan where loot, plunder and exploitation is committed in his newly independent country". So from above consideration where is today the welfare state based on the concept of Islamic social justice even after 60 years of independence? Will the rulers come out with their justification of perusing of this kind of ill-conceived and detrimental policies in Pakistan which has made the unity and national security of the country a question mark.