Cause for thought

Another dreary year is coming to an end. And the future of this country looks as bleak as ever. Mr Faisal Subzwari, who is high up in the pecking order of the MQM, announced earlier this week that members of his party were resigning from ‘impotent’ ministries. Perhaps he meant ‘inept’ ministries because when it comes to spending money, they are unusually fertile. The resignation was not at all unexpected, what with the ongoing verbal sparring with the Sindh home minister. But what did take the city’s resident cynic by surprise was the rather terse news item published a fortnight ago about a delegation from the MQM calling on Pir Pagara to discuss — amazing as it may seem — the situation in the country!

Was the visit fired by an irresistible urge to ferret out the conservative mind, or a mawkish, let’s cock-a-snook intrusion into a camp that represents the quintessence of political retrogression? Or was it just an attempt to secure an ally against an intrepid foe? The pir radiates influence saturated with instant punditry. He is also the spiritual head of the Hurr tribe and is regarded as a fountain of wisdom by politicians of every persuasion. But as he represents the crystallised thinking of the feudal aristocracy, he can’t possibly speak for the poor peasants as the MQM purports to do.

This writer is not privy to what was discussed in the meeting, but it is most unlikely that the two parties touched on the real issues afflicting the country. These were identified in an excellent editorial which appeared in one of the country’s newspapers, bits and pieces of which are being reproduced from memory.

“Does a man who cannot feed his wife and children really care whether or not Mr Pervez Musharraf is tried for treason? Is a mother whose child has died of gastroenteritis likely to give much thought to the fact that American drones are killing civilians in Waziristan ?... Food inflation is forcing parents to pull their children out of school...Street crime is rampant in a country where human life is worth less than the cost of a cell phone. Yet our political leaders appear oblivious to the misery that is everywhere. They seem to have no perspective, no grip on reality...They are more concerned with political alliances than the welfare of the people.”

If the late Deng Hsaio Ping, architect of modern China, or Mr Lee Kwan Yew, father of modern Singapore, had written the editorial, they would most certainly have added that the economy in Pakistan is also up the spout. A glance at recent State Bank reports will indicate that, except for remittances from abroad, there is hardly any indicator that is showing signs of improvement. So far, there doesn’t appear to be a light at the end of the tunnel.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 30^th, 2010.