The other Pakistan

Far from the eyes of the media, but not far from bitter realities, there exists another Pakistan, where the hopes and dreams are not created by hyperbole, abusive or absurd speeches, but by the ground realities that are neither glamorous nor provocative. The news in this other Pakistan does not break, but the reality surely shatters the hopes of hundreds of millions.



Arguably, the future of the new or the nearly new Pakistan, depends on its capacity to develop. At a most basic level, we need to think about our present, immediate and the long-term future. So one can argue, that productivity and innovation on the one hand for the immediate and the near term, and primary education for the long term are two of the most basic factors that cannot be ignored by anyone who cares deeply about the future. Yet, this week alone, far from the noise from the capital and low quality analysis by the media, there are two highly troubling developments on both of these fronts.

First, the Pakistan Council for Industrial and Scientific Research (PCISR), the premier research institution in the public sector and the backbone of industrial research in the country, is nearing collapse. The fact that many of our readers may not even know what the PCISR is is a tragedy in itself. In the absence of any quality discussion on science in the country, the dearth of any programme on science or research on any of the countless TV channels, this is unfortunate but not surprising. But that is a discussion for some other time. The fact is that a government agency, that has been in operation since 1951, and has been the centre of research and development activity in the country, is now unable to pay its research staff for months, conduct routine capacity building activities and not have the resources to do testing and analysis necessary for establishing quality control in our research and development sector. While the immediate consequences are unfortunate, the long-term impact of allowing an agency like the PCISR is nothing short of disastrous not only for our nascent R&D sector but also for public safety.

The second story, that also emerged earlier this week, deals with the future generation of our country. According to a recent report, nearly two-thirds of girls under the age of 10 in Sindh and one-third of the total population in the province is completely illiterate. The report is part of the larger study looking at educational programmes in Sindh and the inability of the government to reach its said targets of education and creation of schools despite a grant of $155 million dollars. The poor performance of the government, while not surprising, is extremely sad, but the bigger problem is the future of our children. With more than four million children, between the ages of five and 12 in Sindh alone out of school, the future does not look particularly bright for these children, for their families and for the society as a whole.

It is neither the fault of the PCSIR nor of the vulnerable children that they operate in a system where no one cares about them or their future. What we often forget is that it is not the future of just an organisation or that of poor children in a province, it is the future of the entire nation that is at stake. Those who sit in Islamabad (or other centres of power) and others who call for sit-ins only seem to be concerned about strategies to grab power or to retain it at all costs. Our national discourse is stuck in a container with thick curtains to block any rays of reality.

Perhaps, a fitting campaign slogan for the next elections, whenever they may be, would be “My promise: Ego over Education”.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 28^th, 2014.