In the backdrop of elections
The leaders of the developed world always watch State of the Union address keenly. I am attempting to set up a similar format for the federal government (in-waiting) and intend to update it regularly, preferably on the first weekend of every month. We have to draw an agenda for actions, break it down on annual, monthly, weekly and daily basis. Pakistan used to have five-year plans; all of them were conceded to have failed. They were substituted by no-plan periods. That caused more problems than solving any. It was like shooting in the dark. The GOP later opted for 10, 15, 20 years plans whose contents are hiding in voluminous reports that no person has ever seen.
Herculean promises were made by all parties in the backdrop of greed, empty kitty, massive energy problems, shut down industry, massive corruption, growing poverty, deteriorating law and order. Ideally all politicians must work in unison for the interests of the nation. Any error in the polity can trigger uncontrollable situations. Leaders of PML-N have grown relatively sober after suffering a massive blow to their majority when Gen Musharaf sent them to jail and then abroad.
The State of Union today is miserable and no level of optimism can help in doing away with the past history of Pakistan. Massive energy and economic problems created by known entities and the people Nawaz Sharif does not want to touch will make it difficult to come out of problems during the foreseeable time. The risk factors include differential role of Armed Forces in Balochistan and Northern Areas, unchecked violence and massive unemployment among the youth. Wrong and delayed actions can incite players including civil and military bureaucracies to damage democratic institutions.
Pakistan has become one of the most corrupt countries with extremely poor masses. It is generally because the lessons learnt during 1970s were soon forgotten. The federal governments never accepted the freedom of provinces to let them make their own decisions. The innocent people in Balochistan and KPK are bombarded by air force jet fighters. The political leaderships from all provinces are jailed on false charges. Successive martial laws made the development of fraternity impossible and fortified corruption. There is distrust between federal and provincial governments, between political parties within a province, between provinces and districts. Three prime ministers of Pakistan were murdered, all in Rawalpindi. People played politics over dead bodies to get power.
The State of Union among various provinces and groups is very alarming and depressing. Sunnis are killing Shias, they both are killing Qadianis, Baloch are killing Punjabis, Pathans are killing Sindhis and Punjabis, and Muhajirs are killing Pathans, Baloch and Sindhis. Civil servants with domicile of one province are not comfortable getting posted in other provinces. No politician has tried to reduce hatred and polarisation and integrate the society. Almost 90 percent bureaucrats and politicians live and/or send their children abroad to study and settle. Everyone wants to keep their wealth abroad. The country has, therefore, become poor and extremely polarised.
Looking at provinces, KP has a long and porous border with Afghanistan where different tribes with different religious sects are settled on both sides of the border. The tribal belt has its own laws, traditions and method of administering justice and managing peace. Many a tribe is fighting with one another since generations. Most of the adults are jobless but armed. Can a new party, PTI, under the leadership of Imran Khan, change the culture and help bring prosperity?
Masses are generally poor but some of the country’s richest people live in this province. Drugs and arms are manufactured, traded and marketed from the province. People are not in favour of educating girls. Elders are confused and helpless. There is no tolerance and collective wisdom in the province to solve even small problems. The issues have given birth to a “get-rich-quick” culture. Imran Khan and his team have to play a tough innings if they want to change anything.
The situation in Balochistan is not poor due to a design of divinity. It was probably this realisation that one of the former chief ministers had to make a public statement, saying, “If there are any constitutional difficulties for facilitating the development of Balochistan, let us change the constitution.” The governments during the last over six decades have failed without fear of accountability.
People of Balochistan are angry because Gen Musharaf killed Nawab Akbar Bugti, who was a good Pakistani, well educated and had been the governor and chief minister of Balochistan. The only demand he was making was to guarantee jobs for the youth of the province because the industry and kitchens of the whole country were running on natural gas found in Sui area of the province. As a compulsive optimist, I believe Balochistan is relative easy to make a Model Province of Pakistan. If the government of Balochistan decides to help common people to become prosperous, it shall take only a little time to achieve its objectives of throwing away the shackles of poverty in comparison to any other region in the country. The national leadership must come forward to help the province. The leaders have to understand that anything good for Balochistan is good for Pakistan. This is a recipe for a prosperous, stronger and united Pakistan.
The youth of Balochistan today are asking for their rights. They are crying without tears. The leaders with vision can probably see the tears and sense the anger. The youth have changed the fate and systems of many nations and regions, including China and Japan in the past few decades.
Who in Pakistan does not know about the corruption of politicians, generals, bureaucrats and their wives? They all get angry when people ask for rights. Majority of youth in Balochistan are angry, armed, unemployed and violent. They ask more questions than the people in governments can answer. The province is currently not governable due to a number of complex reasons. But political government has to talk to all stakeholders and implement solutions.
I intend to discuss Punjab, Sindh, energy crisis and possible solutions in another piece soon.
The writer specialises in energy, water resources, environment and economic development. He can be contacted at: sbarq@yahoo.com