Pakistan: Paradise Lost
By Saleem Khan • Jul 7th, 2008 • Category: Politics, Worth A Second Look • (3,698 views) • 11 CommentsAugust 14, 1947 is important because an independent and sovereign country called Pakistan was added to world atlas on that day. The creation of Pakistan was one of the best things that could have happened for a majority of the people living in this part of the sub-continent. One can weigh the pros and cons of whether independence was more desirable on religious, economic or socio-political grounds, or on none of these grounds. But following the theory of the ‘benefits of decentralization’, it can be safely said that decentralized, autonomous, and independent states have turned out to be more beneficial for people than living in united India could have been.
People who opted to become Pakistanis had very high hopes and expectations from the new country. They were keen to spend their lives in a system that was expected to be based on religious tolerance, equity and justice. They thought that becoming free from colonial rule would change their lives dramatically as they would be ruled by their own representatives. What happened to their expectations is for historians to judge but here it may suffice to say that the changes in their lives were far less spectacular their hopes.
Now that Pakistan has turned 59, an impact assessment process has begun to evaluate its post-independence performance. In this process, however, most analysts tend to ignore the multifaceted significance of two ideas: ‘freedom’ and ‘Pakistan’.
Geographic freedom does not always denote other types of freedoms, especially economic and geo-political ones. How free we are in economic terms is evident from the statements of various rulers who keep accusing their predecessors of accepting tough ‘conditionality’ imposed by the Breton Woods financial institutions, most significantly the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Once these accusers themselves become part of history, there is very little to substantiate their claims to have won back the economic sovereignty of the country. Their successors blame them for all the wrongdoings and the cycle goes on. Speaking of our geo-political freedom, it was totally compromised from the very beginning when Pakistan aligned itself with the United States during the Cold War.
An important methodological flaw in carrying out ‘Pakistan’s post-independence performance assessment’ is that we are not conceptually clear about the prime variables; that is, ‘Pakistan’ and ‘independence’. We have already faced the consequences of this conceptual ambiguity when, immediately after Independence, criticism of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML), then the ruling party, was considered to be criticism of Pakistan. Those who differed with the League leadership were considered at worst traitors and at least as unreliable. Loyalty to the ruling party and the rulers became one of the unwritten prerequisites to being a good Pakistani.
Geographic freedom does not always denote other types of freedoms, especially economic and geo-political ones.
This approach influenced the phenomenon of nation building from the earliest days of independence. Since a prerequisite of being a good Pakistani was to be a good Leaguer, old Muslim Leaguers like G. M. Syed and Hussain Shaheed Suharwardi were declared traitors when they dissented from the League high command and left the party. In the meantime, what had been the All India Muslim League until Independence began to split into various factions. The faction that happened to be in the government, by virtue of power, always declared itself as the ‘true and genuine Muslim League’. Thus Fatima Jinnah’s Council Muslim League was not genuine when it had to compete with Ayub Khan’s Convention Muslim League, which was ‘genuine’ simply because it enjoyed official blessing.
The nation-building process was amended so frequently that, after a certain period of time, there was no consensus on what constituted a binding force for Pakistanis. As Aziz Zafar Azad, says, “We got a country but could never build a nation”.
Following the rules of the game set by the Pakistan Muslim League of 1948, all successive governments (civil, military, semi-civil and semi-military) were - and are - of the opinion that allegiance to the government is the binding force for Pakistanis. A vast majority of Pakistanis think that religion is the binding force for them, while many others continue to believe that culture and ethnicity are their common bonds. Some people, like the late General Zia ul Haq, cleverly blended religious, cultural and ethnic forces to create a hybrid nation: one in which everyone suspected the other of not being a ‘true’ Pakistanis.
The creation of Bangladesh in 1971 is attributed mainly to socio-economic and socio-political disparities between East Pakistan and West Pakistan. The separation revealed, however, that there were some flaws in the earlier methodologies adopted to define and form a nation. It was also a major setback for those who advocated religion as the only force binding Pakistanis together as a nation.
In addition to the partition of Pakistan, the early 1970s also witnessed the phenomenon of mass emigration by unskilled Pakistanis, mainly on economic grounds. This was followed by a wave of economic emigration by skilled Pakistanis in the early 1990s, mainly through self-assessment schemes. Most of these emigrants opted for naturalization in the countries of their employment whenever this option was available. Many now enjoy dual or even triple nationality.
This phenomenon is also true of citizens of other developing countries, including Bangladesh, who are more than willing both to emigrate and to adopt their host country as their homeland. This puts paid to the theory of independence as a geographical phenomenon alone. As soon as Bangladesh became independent, its citizens started leaving in large numbers, almost all of them willing to trade their national identity for a better life in another country. The same applies to Pakistan and Pakistanis. People want to live in a sovereign, independent country, provided it offers them independence from want and deprivation, and from inequality and discrimination. In order to pass on the fruits of independence to the common people, independent states need to tackle the beast called poverty.
What does this trend mean in the context of globalization and economic liberalization? It seems that the socio-economic condition of a country is the weakest link of the chain that is called ‘nation’. This weakest link is likely to snap in the presence of socio-political disparities which force people to look outside their own countries to improve their socio-economic situation. In light of the above, I would argue that the best way to measure the impact of independence is to gauge whether it reduces socio-economic and socio-political disparities within a newly independent state.
Since its independence, Pakistan’s economic performance has reflected the profoundly inconsistent phenomenon of ‘boom and bust’. On the whole, however, Pakistan’s macro-economic indicators have improved over time. Unfortunately, the improvement has not resulted in progress at the micro level, and has created a skewed and highly-unequal income distribution across in Pakistani society.
In terms of socio-economic disparities, a considerable segment of the population is deprived of the basic necessities of life. Throughout the 59-year history of the country, successive governments have not been able to provide equal (if not ample) opportunities to their citizens, nor have there been effective social safety nets to meet people’s basic needs.
The gulf between the rich and poor is widening, which is leading to further socio-political disparities in which the marginalized and the poor are excluded from the political process. The result is a frustrated, angry and tense society where ‘VVIPs’ enjoy powers that even the Viceroy of United India could not have imagined. Colonial rule has turned into ‘Colonel’ rule.
Our successive governments, including the current one, should not ignore the weakest link in the chain of nation building: that is, across-the-board socio-economic development, if they are sincere in securing sovereignty and independence for this country and this nation in its true sense.
Source: Wikipedia, Dawn News, and guardian.co.uk.
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July 8th, 2008
Saleem Khan, tell the missing number here:
1947 + = 2008
Let me give you a tip it is not 59 (let me give you tip, take out your little calculator put 2008 in then substract 1947 and you will have the right number - you are welcome!)
July 8th, 2008
Saleem Khan, tell the missing number here:
1947 + = 2008
Let me give you a tip it is not 59 (let me give you another tip, take out your little calculator put 2008 in then substract 1947 and you will have the right number - you are welcome!)
July 9th, 2008
SHAME ON ZARDARI, NAWAZ SHARIF, SHAHBAZ SHARIF, ISHAQ DAR, NAVEED QAMAR AND THE PEOPLE OF PAKISTAN WHO SUPPORTED AND VOTED SUCH AN INCOMPETENT PEOPLE
THIS IS BANGLADESH (ONCE EAST PAKISTAN)
Bangladeshis abroad boost economy by $7.9bn: officials
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
DHAKA: Overseas Bangladeshis have pumped a record $7.9 billion back into their home economy in the past financial year, thanks to an increase in expatriate workers, officials said on Monday.
The amount, to the year ended June 30, 2008, grew by two billion dollars on the previous year, pushing the foreign exchange reserve to a comfortable six billion dollars, central bank governor Salehuddin Ahmed said.
“We’ve received a record $7.939 billion remittance in the outgoing fiscal year, which is up by more than 33 per cent on the previous fiscal year,” Bangladesh Bank general manager Nabagopal Bhowmik told AFP. “It’s the biggest increase we have ever seen since our people started going abroad with jobs.
If the trend continues, we will receive around $10 billion of remittance in the 2008-09 fiscal year,” he said. Bhowmik said that as well as a rise in the number of people working abroad, the introduction of strict anti-money laundering laws had also boosted the inflow of money through legitimate banking channels. The country’s overseas employment ministry said nearly 832,000 people got jobs abroad in 2007, almost double the number the previous year, mainly in oil-rich Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, and Southeast Asia. In the first six months of 2008, a record 489,312 people, up 43 per cent on the same period last year, got jobs abroad. Many of those were now working in new European destinations such as Romania, Poland and Russia, which were increasingly employing Bangladeshi workers, ministry director Salim Reza said. Officials count the number of Bangladeshis working and living abroad at five million, but unofficially the number is estimated to be eight million if those who have left through illegal channels are included.
Bangladesh, one of the poorest countries in the world with a population of 144 million, counts on the inflow of foreign exchange to fund its imports. The Bangladeshi economy grew by a healthy 6.2 per cent to the year ended June 30, 2008, despite a sluggish investment climate due to a state of emergency, severe flooding and a devastating cyclone.
THIS IS PAKISTAN
Economy nose-dives in 100 days
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Public debt swells by Rs373.5bn, foreign reserves dwindle by Rs2.1bn; inflation jumps to 19.2 pc
By Khalid Mustafa
ISLAMABAD: In the first 100 days of the coalition government, Pakistan’s economy nose-dived with massive fall in foreign reserves by $2.1 billion (15.8 per cent), huge downgrading of rupee by Rs8.3 against US dollar, which is deprecating currency in the world at the moment.
Owing to the enormous meltdown of rupee during the first 100 days of the new government, the public debt of the country has swelled by Rs373.5 billion, meaning that country’s debt has increased by Rs3.70 billion per day. These shocking disclosures based on hard facts were gathered after deep investigation by The News.
The external debt of the country stood at $45 billion on March 31, 2008, but rupee during March 31- July 7 of current year period depreciated by 11.7 per cent, which caused the massive increase in public debt by Rs373.5 billion.
According to the top official at Ministry of Finance, with depreciation of Pakistan currency by one rupee the public debt increases by Rs45 billion. Since the Pak currency melted down by Rs8.30 against one US dollar during the time under review, so the country would have to face extra financial burden of Rs373.5 billion in its debt regime.
The market capitalisation situation has also massively deteriorated during the said period showing that the country received financial jerk of Rs933 billion. The market capitalisation was at Rs4,623 billion by March 31, 2008, but it went down by Rs3,690 billion revealing that the country received a financial setback of Rs933 billion ($20.7 billion).
The stock exchange also went down by 3,248 points (21.5%), which stood at 15,126 points by March 31, but shed to 11,878 points just because of the non-availability of required political stability which guarantees economic activities in the country.
Food inflation has also massively increased up to 19.7 per cent, which was 14.1 per cent before the installation of the coalition government. In spite of many attempts The News failed to make contacts with Finance Minister Naveed Qamar and Secretary Finance Furrukh Qayyum to know their side of the story, as both the top men of the ministry did not respond to the calls of this correspondent.
However, the fast deteriorating economic indicators show that the economy is not on the radar screen of the government. This is quite evident from the fact that there is no resolve in corridors of power to provide stable, cohesive political environment to handle the current economic challenges the country is facing. Furthermore, there is total lack of desire from political leadership of coalition parties enjoying power in the country to face the challenges.
SHAME ON ZARDARI, NAWAZ SHARIF, SHAHBAZ SHARIF, ISHAQ DAR, NAVEED QAMAR AND THE PEOPLE OF PAKISTAN WHO SUPPORTED SUCH AN INCOMPETENT PEOPLE
I wish I was a Bangladeshi
July 9th, 2008
Aftab Bhai Thanks a lot again for pointing out mistake. I accept my mistake. It shows that you throughly reads posts. It is very good habit indeed. Otherwise few guys only comments without reading article.
July 9th, 2008
Dear Aashique of Musharraf,
Today, I agree with you on this…. “I wish I was a Bangladeshi”
Very well said after analyzing Pakistan and Bangladesh. They are no more poor, They are a NATION. If you want to see then visit Middle east. You will find them as a Nation but you will find Pakistanis as Heard of Sheep.
July 9th, 2008
Saleem Bhai, meray Sahib! of course I do read and find it all very interesting as well. That’s why I sincerely try to point out little short comings as well. Imagine us Pakistanis writing about Pakistan and make this blunder. Someone should update your source site, I would if knew how.
Let me assure you I feel special affinity with you, because I know that you are one of those Pakistanis who are great patriots and I like to be counted as one of you.
Affectionate regards.
July 9th, 2008
No, we are also people and can be as or better than most of these people. WE MUST BE ONE AND OUR MOTTO AND SLOGAN MUST BE - ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
You know, if we all including you, me, and politicians, public servants (from peon to top grade in uniforms or without) learn to tell ourselves every day that - ENOUGH IS ENOUGH - this will help us curb our demands on ourselves, our greeds, our need to subjugate others, abuse power and trust; we will learn to share what we have with those who don’t have anything or less. We must do it, each for herself / himself all of us. It will work, believe me it will.
July 9th, 2008
I agree with Aftab on the Motto, but then I feel ill at ease, when he exclude Musharraf from it.
July 9th, 2008
Imran, you missed it, “all including you, me, and politicians, public servants (from peon to top grade in uniforms or without)”
By the way thanks for agreeing with me for a change even if it is partial.
July 9th, 2008
As long as Dear Aftab you don’t hurl insults personally, I am willing to agree/disagree with you.
So Long !
July 9th, 2008
There we go again. Listen, when people, you and me and our friends and their cousins decide to get involved in a debate using a public forum (whatever it might be) then, Doctor Sahib, by implication, you have gone public with your thoughts, beliefs and opinion. And in any public domain, by defination, mine or your opinions and views are open to criticism and riddicule. Obviously it is unpleasant but then choice is ours. Of course I try my very very best to go after all those who I see as a hurdle in my way in reaching my audience my targetted readers and eventual supporters. This is basic principle of public debate and rhetorics. So, when I wish and choose to sound aggressive I am not trying to hurt you or any one it is the argument or stand. One has to be thick skinned to be butt of a joke or two, now and then. Remember, “Istrah to hota hai - Istrah ke kamon main”
You get my point?