PTI and promises unfulfilled

Obvious areas of concern ride over the inability of the government to put the country on track of stability

For long years and indeed since the inception of Pakistan, millions of poor, unprivileged and impoverished citizens have waited for a system that would usher in creating more job opportunities, reduce the level and quantum of poverty, ensure quality education and healthcare and put the country on track for sustainable growth and prosperity. Every time there is a change of rule, hopes for a more egalitarian society and a fairer system that delivers expeditious justice grow. However, disappointment follows soon enough.

This failure has resulted in a state of despondency.

While the bulk of the population has lived in abject poverty, rulers whether military or civilians have, by and large, shown an inclination to put across to the people such lofty ideals as pursuing a policy of confrontation with India, bringing peace and stability, punishing the corrupt and promoting pluralism and democracy.

Beyond these grandiose statements of taking the country forward on way to stability and prosperity, not much has happened in the lives of most of the people. There has been notable progress in some sectors.

In this background, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) made a commitment to make a new beginning and change the face of Pakistan. There was huge enthusiasm for the pledges the party made, and ordinary citizens as well as the privileged classes of the society, to an extent, lent support to the party. While doing so most pro-PTI voters also wanted to break the two-party monopoly over power and give a chance to those who promised a change in the lives of ordinary people.

To be fair to the party, one would not expect any substantial improvement in a span of just eight months. Reforms, delivery systems, planning, formulation and execution of schemes and programmes take years to show results.

But signs of the macro picture that lies ahead become visible if one were to be guided by the direction the factors are heading to, its goals and priorities and the level and quantum of experience of those who take control of vital decision-making.

In passing a judgment on the performance of the government, one must however be mindful about the strategic space that is available to it, considering that there are many power centres in Pakistan. One must also concede that there are forbidden zones where decisions can only be taken when ‘all’ stakeholders are on board.

That being said, there are obvious areas of concern over the inability of the government to put the country on track of stability, economic growth and egalitarianism.

For one thing, achieving the grandiose goals of creating ten million jobs and five million housing units require not only resources but also a high degree of professionalism and expertise. The PTI government regrettably lacks such level of competence, experience and commitment. Lacking these traits would remain the PTI’s nightmare for its full term in office.

Water scarcity would assume alarming proportions in the days to come. If no remedial measures are taken now the country is likely to face drought, displacement of population, urban growth and rising levels of poverty.

Agriculture does not figure prominently in the government’s priorities. That is unfortunate, given the sector’s crucial relevance in an agrarian economy. The problems of soil erosion, pollution, shrinking land holdings, rising cost of fertilisers, pesticides, lack of adequate irrigation water – have cumulatively impacted the incomes for farmers and agricultural produce.

Problems of investors, importers, exporters, farm workers, traders, students, teachers, and local councillors have not received any attention.

The rising cost of living has cast doubts over the ability of the government to understand or address the issue and its negative fallout on lives of the poor.

There is so much emphasis on creating more educational institutions, more universities or hospitals. But no thought is being given to the quality of education and the quality of health delivery systems. No mechanisms are being created to monitor and evaluate the output of such institutions and the quality of services they provide and the type of manpower that is employed or any yardstick for measuring their performance.

Surprisingly there is no eagerness to fast-track work on mineral exploration and exploitation. This is an area that deserved to be at top of the agenda because the untapped mineral wealth alone could help lift millions out of poverty. There should have been a comprehensive policy, including the use of latest technology, satellite images, ground survey, laboratory tests, involvement of the private sector, plans to utilise the minerals internally and seek avenues for export. But such ideas seem to have been lost to political expediency!

Other than rhetoric, there has been no concrete move or initiative to take a fresh look at the whole spectrum of relations with India. The example of China – often referred to as ‘all weather friend’ does not seem to have been followed. China has problems with India over the border with Arunachal Pradesh, Dalai Lama, and in the wider South China Sea region. But despite these disputes, the bilateral trade between the two countries has risen to $80 billion.

The World Bank estimates that bilateral trade between India and Pakistan would be of the value of $37 billion. One can imagine the net losses amounting to billions of dollars that the two countries are sustaining on a yearly basis because of non-resolution of disputes.

The inability to comprehend the dynamics of the Afghan conflict continues to haunt Pakistan’s policymakers. The naive belief that with improvement of relations between Kabul and Islamabad, the situation would improve still persists. Secondly, Islamabad reveals its ignorance of the whole raison d’etre of the resistance movement when it advocates an unconditional peace dialogue, and a ceasefire as a ceasefire, the Taliban argue, would irretrievably damage their movement for a number of reasons.

The gross social and economic inequalities and issues of socio-economic emancipation of hundreds of millions of people in Pakistan are tied to normalisation of relations with India. That objective must not be lost sight of because of certain vested interests operating to block reconciliation. There is not much concern or anxiety on this issue of critical importance.

The rising population, the diminishing returns in the farming sector, the withering away of precious natural resources, the menace of pollution, the melting of glaciers, the anticipated frequency of floods and long period of droughts are issues of no grave concern to the rulers. Instead, there is a misplaced stress on political point-scoring, on opposing the opposition for the sake of opposition on needless spats over insignificant issues. The bigger picture of the march to progress and prosperity are seldom debated or emphasised.

Rulers must take stock of the grim picture unfolding and seize control of it before it is too late.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 9^th, 2019.

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