Pakistan’s future seems uncertain, especially in these volatile times when the threat of an economic wipeout is looming on the horizon. The most worrying part in this sordid tale of incompetence, corruption, nepotism, black marketeering, cartelisation, monopolies is that Pakistanis seem to have a 10-second memory span. It’s very easy to wipeout our memory. Suicide blast in Lahore kills 30; memory wipes out in one week. Policemen gang rape a woman for months; memory wipes out in two days. Load shedding making lives miserable, memory wipes out as soon as load shedding stops. We are an indifferent nation. There will be no revolution in Pakistan; we all have the collective memory span of a gold fish.
So if any of you feel the Arab spring will come to Pakistan, you’re mistaken; because just four days ago, on 23rd October 2011, a father of two burnt himself alive in front of the parliament. Raja Khan from Sindh doused himself with kerosene and set himself alight. He was taken to the hospital with 95 per cent burns and died on Monday. He left a letter that said he was responsible for his death; he had taken this decision because he was fed up with his financial condition, he wrote that he was leaving behind two children and the government should take care of them. Surprisingly though, the day after his death was not declared a public holiday. On closer inspection I found out that he did not have the Bhutto DNA in his bloodstream, or even if he did, he did not carry the name. Had his name been Raja Khan Bhutto, the next day would have been declared a public holiday. Why, you ask? Well, because we can.
I don’t know how Bhutto, the man who came to power campaigning for workers rights, championing their cause, must have felt in his grave when a man killed himself because a democratic government which came to power on his legacy failed to provide their workers sustenance. Sustenance you ask? I’m sure a daily wage earner can survive on boiled rocks for breakfast, lunch and supper when the government declares a public holiday.
All is well. We are embarking on a path of prosperity where each and every one of us will be able to promise a bright future to our coming generations. We hear this rhetoric day in and day out from our worthy politicians. All will be well I’m sure, if these same policy makers instead of continuing with their vulgar borrowing binge from the State Bank of Pakistan introduce some tax reforms by widening the tax base. That makes more sense. It’s the logical way to raise money; through taxes. It will ensure that the rupee remains stable. All will be well, if instead of distributing Rs40 billion through Benazir income support programme, a paltry amount by our government’s standards is allocated to create employment opportunities for the people of Pakistan, for promoting industry, for attracting investment. Maybe, just maybe, today Raja Khan would have lived had the powers that be, instead of patronising their vote bank by distributing cash cheques worked on creating employment for the youth.
In the last four years Pakistan’s public debt has increased by more than Rs5.7 trillion – it took 60 years for it to reach Rs4.8 trillion – capita income growth rate is 0.3 per cent, a reason why investment has decreased to its lowest level in the last 40 years. Economic mismanagement and inflation, coupled with minimal employment opportunities, is strangulating our middle class.
We are on a path to oblivion while our innocent people continue with their lives of indifference, waiting for a revolution to take place, as they sip on their cups of tea while the screams of people like Raja are buried deep within the ashes of our own sins, our own apathy.
The writer is News Editor, Profit
Very sad, very disturbing facts.
Part of me believes everything that is going wrong with Pakistan is precisely because of this very indifference.
The reason we forget so quickly our problems, is because greater ones come. Its been a long long journey for us, one filled with horrible incidences one after the other. There will be no revolution, for we have become accustomed to what goes around us. For Tunisia, a man setting himself on fire was the turning point, God knows what it will be for us, if there ever will be before its too late.
Well said..We do have a memory of a gold fish. Widen the tax base is part solution, what we need to improve is the system of tax collection-ensure All income earners pay and not just the 2 percent who do!
The bhutto-isation of Pakistan has taken place at such a phenomenal pace, I wonder why they even bother calling it Pakistan anymore. The saddest part is that this man, Raja, kept sitting for many days outside the parliament waiting for someone to take notice, to pay attention. He would be driven away by the police. He was so embittered by circumstance, that he killed himself just so maybe someone would pay attention and his children could get a better life. Really sad.
It does truly seem that Pakistanis are an indifferent and forgetful population. But is this true of all Pakistanis? I used to the think the Pakistani people were completely deluded; they kept electing the same parties, disregarding the corruption, inefficiency and general stupidity that had been trademarks of the latter's time in power.
But if we consider that the average Pakistani, is poor, uneducated, in debt, and has more children than he can look after, casting a vote that will bring a short-term benefit is not delusional, it is necessary for his survival.
So my question, I suppose, is whether having a long-term memory is beneficial to the average Pakistani? Does remembering all the wrongs and injustice change anything? Can we really expect him to look past his own survival and to the needs of the country? The very fact that we are reading this newspaper tells me that we are not in a position to make that kind of demand.
As to the suggestion of widening the tax base, the principle is certainly sound. But knowing the corruption that is prevalent at every single level of government, can we realistically expect these funds to be reinvested in the country? We have examples of collected zakat, sitting in bank accounts, as officials twiddle their thumbs, and people commit suicide from fear of starvation. We have examples of millions of rupees worth of aid not being distributed because of bureaucratic red-tape. In a system like this, will simply collecting more tax make a difference?
not only are we indifferent , we are a dead nation. this is what happens when generation after generation you live under dictatorial regimes which are either in the form of the army or in the form of some democratic government manipulated into our system by our western "caretakers" . And yes taxes are the logical answer but unfortunately not very a convenient for our government, where people like Rehman Malik have paid Rs. 64 for their tax liability for the year 2006, 2007 and 2008.
p.s: cant wait to see a bhutto on a rupee note !…i am sure the day is somewhere around the corner..
PPP and PML-N take turns to loot and plunder – im scared that it is possible that one of these parties would win the next election – simply because we have goldfish memory – i agree with you 110%!!!
As long as each of us keeps pointing fingers at others and relishing in the blame game, this will continue…. The day each one of us becomes a person to contend with, that day this country's fate will change. Each one of us has to start self reflection. If we can't make a difference to all, at least we can make a difference in our own lives, to share our blessings with the poor people living near us. At least let us vow to speak to poor people living in our vicinities, to help them become independant. To show them ways to make sure of their resources. To educate them. To treat them with kindness and fairness. Each one of us is responsible for the sheer hopelessness that the man felt. We are also to blame. Let us begin to reflect 'where did I go wrong, that such a thing happened?.
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