So I grew up in Pakistan in the 1990s. What one remembers most about that time is the absence of the fear of losing your life while going to any fair or large public gathering. People just got up and left if they felt like it. It was a time when our country was relatively safer. Large crowds were not uncommon or unheard of. Even international events on a large scale took place in our very own country and we were all treated with an influx of foreigners who were received warmly by all. Organising such events that invite foreigners generates revenues for local businesses. The major reason for the lack of such events being held today is the security situation in the country. With drone attacks in the north, sectarian and political violence in the far south, suicide bombings in the east and insurgent movements in the west, one can’t really be sure of his life anywhere. It is no surprise then, that this security situation, amongst other factors has plunged our economy into a never ending abyss of depression. We will, however not delve into these ‘other’ factors, but will be talking about how this worsening security situation in the country has affected our socio-economic welfare and existence.
Defining security
So firstly, how to best define the security situation? What do we mean when we say the security situation is worsening? Countrymen killing countrymen, foreigners killing our countrymen, fundamentalists killing themselves and our countrymen; everywhere, whatever it is, the security situation comes down to one thing: countrymen losing their lives. It has become almost impossible to organise or more so visit annual industrial exhibitions that were a popular attraction a few years back. Not only is this situation robbing today’s children of entertainment possibilities we had in our childhood, it is also robbing those poor fellows of their livelihoods who used to gear up to such events in order to make a living and feed their families. The various food stalls, games, circus shows were a major source of income for many who waited all year long for the golden time to earn revenues and generate profits, benefitting themselves, their families as well as the economy . Very few people, if any, would be kind enough to show up at such events, with large public gatherings and insignificant security measures. No wonder poor people continue to get poorer in our country, when such people, who have for generations worked in almost the same department, are suddenly robbed of any opportunity to sustain their earnings.
Sports and their
economic benefits
The terrorist attacks on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore were mourned globally. Pakistan was all over the news again, for all the wrong reasons. People stopped trusting Pakistan and its security anymore. But who would blame them? An international cricket team is like a team of ambassadors from another country and if you fail to protect them, it is definitely not a good sign of your security situation. Sports in Pakistan have not been the same since then. People think that this has only affected the level of sports in the country. With no team willing to come to Pakistan to play any sort of a fixture, we never really have the home advantage, and that does count for a lot. But this also has affected the economy of Pakistan very significantly. Pakistan was supposed to host a majority of matches of the ICC World Cup 2011, and was supposed to receive a very high number of tourists in this regard. When countries host sports events of international standards, the influx of foreigners generates huge revenues and profits for local transportation services, including cabs and buses. Hotels and restaurants greatly benefit financially from these ideal times and also support the economy. But after the attacks on the Sri Lankan team, ICC took away the rights of hosting the World Cup from Pakistan. Not only did the people of Pakistan lose a flurry of entertainment but they also lost a lot of profit that could have been theirs in the form of tickets, travel, accommodation, souvenirs etc. People do not realise that they not only took away from Pakistan the World Cup, but also a very large part of our economy, which may never be recovered for many years to come. All sporting events have thus been affected. International teams do not come for a tour to Pakistan, and we lose on the revenue we might have gained with ticket sales and the other sources mentioned before. Pakistan was even deprived of the SAF games, which are quite essentially the most important sporting event of South Asia.
Losing on cultural and economic fronts
Music, as we all know has been a very important part of Pakistan’s culture and entertainment industry. Singers and musicians from Pakistan have always been in the forefront internationally, with performances all over the world. Thus, it comes as no surprise that it is a major source of income for the entertainment industry in Pakistan. From record sales to concerts, music has always been a big earner. However, due to the prevailing lack of security, the number of concerts has drastically decreased. Not only are people robbed of their fair share of entertainment, the musicians, who professionally make music for a living, are deprived of an ample earning opportunities. And it is not just the singers or people in the forefront who are at a loss. There are vendors, sound technicians, stage managers; all people who greatly depend upon these events to earn their ‘roti, kapra and makaan’.
Security fears
shatter market confidence
Now that we’re done with the socio-economic effects of violence in our country, we will come to how violence directly affects the economy. It is common knowledge, that safety is an important feature of the stock exchange’s stability. When the events of 9/11 took place, stock prices in the United States declined dramatically, as people got scared and confidence in the market was lost. And that was just one event. Imagine facing such events almost every other day in your country. If that one event could cause fear in the world’s strongest economy, what do these every day events hold for such a fragile economy? Foreign investment in our country is as good as political scenario will remain the same. We can’t really blame them for not trusting us with their investment. We’ve really not been the safest place for foreigners to stay or work in with Chinese engineers being kidnapped and the white skinned ones being looked suspiciously upon. And it isn’t only the foreigners. Locals in Karachi, I am very sure, fear for their lives every day as they open up their shops and go to work. Karachi was completely shut down for a few days when the intensity of violence magnified. How do you suppose those vendors and their families feel when their shops are burnt down and the bread earners of the family are killed? What this piece intended to do was to show a different side of what is affecting the economy of Pakistan than the most explicit reasons. It is not only corruption in our country that is an obstacle to growth, but all these socio-economic effects and the security situation are playing their role as well.