It is in reference to the editorial in your esteem paper Pakistan Today dated 14th October, 2010. Recent unprecedented flash flood inundated one-fifth of the area of Pakistan. Nearly 2000 people lost their precious lives and 20 million people were displaced. Standing crop, livestock and villages were wiped off. The World Bank and Asian Development Bank have estimated the loss to the tune of 9.7 billion dollars. The political leadership overwhelmingly belonging to the feudal elitist class not only failed to provide succor to the flood victims of their rural constituency, but indulged in despicable and condemnable act of demolishing protective bund to divert the flood water towards the land and villages of poor farmers to save their own standing crop and palatial farm houses.
Hats off to the MQM for moving the bill for land reforms at this juncture which needs support from all the political parties in the 2 houses of parliament to sail through. If the land reform bill is passed, it will bring about qualitative socio- economic change in the rural area of the country which is now over due. India is reaping the benefit of passing parliament act for land reform in 1948 which has enabled it to become self sufficient in agriculture produce despite its burgeoning population. Similarly Bangladesh passed the land reform bill in East Pakistan assembly in 1954.
It is high time we should show vision, sanity and political acumen to grasp this opportunity to undertake land reforms to put our agrarian economy on even keel. The land surrendered by feudals should be allotted to landless peasant which will boost the agriculture production. Those advocating income tax on the income from agriculture produce to my mind are not aware of the feudal influence in their rural fiefdoms to go scot free by fudging their income resulting in a minuscule contribution to the country exchequer.
IQBAL SHAH
Lahore.
