Facing the window, looking out at the hills in this Spa town in Southern Germany, the fading, dawn moon on the horizon, birds chirping and the intense greenery of the expanse I am absorbing the full energy of my environment. It’s a mixture of fact and fantasy; surreal you can say. Fact because its right here, fantasy because it’s a world I aspire to and am grateful that I am able touch it, perhaps not as often as I wish.
I had a very interesting conversation with a Canadian Pakistani while traveling from Karachi to Dubai. The coincidence was that we had met on a flight from Dhaka two days before. The ten years he has spent in Canada coordinating with family business in Pakistan came under discussion but interestingly his current investment in expanding business is in Bangladesh.
We discussed expansion; growth and comparisons began to dominate. His reasons for investing in Bangladesh made good economic sense. The duty relaxations, a competitive environment in terms of costs and opportunity and, importantly, an investment friendly environment make BD a natural. Remember, not a bulb of cotton is grown locally but BD cotton exports are $14 Billion plus.
Being in Germany and having Japan’s current plight in mind, I am drawn to thinking about Pakistan’s creation at a time when both these countries were totally devastated by WW2. Look where they are sixty plus years hence and look at us. I’m thinking positively don’t worry; I’ll come to the point.
The deep infrastructure in Germany had deliberately been targeted and destroyed by the Allied forces. Japan had its infrastructure annihilated by nuclear bombardment. Immediately after the war, they began to rebuild and by the sixties were already on the world scene, and soon become economic behemoths. There was huge commitment, sacrifice and hard work by the people.
Perhaps they began to even think like machines, so strong was the dedication. And this dedication continues. Do you hear the Japanese whimpering after this recent disaster? No, no complaints, they are quietly working to rebuild. Every statement is positive. It is unbelievable, and so courageous.
But there was a common denominator that was the catalyst to this growth. This was the massive investment by the United States into both countries. Yes credit goes to the individual country for taking up the challenge, for having knowledge and the expertise of where and what to rebuild. The achievements have been monumental, there is no denying this, but the opportunity provided by genuine investment is equally undeniable. It worked beautifully; America pumped in the money and the countries pumped in the sweat and blood.
This brings me to innumerable discussions over the last decade with the movers and shakers in Pakistan. We decided to be “with us” in the war on terror more than a decade ago. Perhaps it was thought then that the engagement would be short and sweet. The options were limited; we saved our skins to be perfectly frank. Slowly but surely we were sucked into the core of the battle and inputs in terms of manpower, equipment and intelligence increased. Very soon the theatre of war shifted to our border areas and then into our towns and homes. We heard cries of “do more” and occasionally a pat on the back. As time passes, the “do more” vastly outnumbers the pats. When we go into a sulk, after a suitable time delegations arrive in Islamabad to appease us. Ok, so we have begun to live with this.
But let me ask a question, and I am one of many who ask it. What substantial investment has the United States made in Pakistan other than that which is commonly known? In the ten plus years that we’ve been the “closest ally”, do you know that not a single MW of power was added? We still have no world-class hospital in Pakistan and we do not have a world-class university. So where is this opportunity for growth going to come from?
Hillary Clinton made a moving speech; I admire her intellect and her sincerity, that US investment in Pakistan’s infrastructure would be a cornerstone of the current sustainable relationship. Pakistan should be asking the US to build both these institutions and arrange to man them until such time as they are able to be self-sustaining. It may take a decade, maybe more.
Unfortunately, we are not seeing this happen. Pakistani students are having great difficulties getting admissions and visas to overseas universities. If we had one such quality institution in country it would be a huge boon. Medical facilities in country are average, but why, if we are partnering the US can we not be the beneficiary of the huge resources available in that country?
I’ve asked this question so many times that I feel like a needle stuck on a record, except they don’t have records anymore. All I get are nods and mumbles. I’m not daring to say Pakistan can be Germany or Japan, but certainly we can be given at least the basic opportunity. Can someone hear the bell ring?
The writer can be contacted at imranmhusain@me.com