Cowasjee Articles

'Bare Bones -Unrefuted'

6th October 1995

THE penultimate paragraph of my September 1 column, ‘The bare bones’, quoting a sane senior Pakistani international civil servant, read: “There is a risk that Pakistan will join the many countries in Africa and soon become one of the failed states. This risk draws closer every day. The real fear is that if things slide as they are doing, sometime early in the next century there may not be a State of Pakistan.”

The conclusion was that I shared his foreboding, and I asked those who disagreed to write in. The letters of 13 of those who did write to the editor of this newspaper have been printed. Others have rung, and some have written to me directly (one without naming himself “for reasons of security”!). Only one man has disagreed with the prognosis — Nazim Haji, of the CPLC who by virtue of his chosen voluntary vocation lives close to reality, misery, deprivation, coercion, torture, wanton destruction and all that goes with them.

“I disagree”, he wrote, “The way things are going, we will witness the disaster much earlier. We will be lucky to celebrate our 50th anniversary unless the silent majority (industrialists, traders, workers, professionals — lawyers, doctors, architects, etc — writers, enlightened politicians / civil servants / armed forces personnel, housewives, etc, etc) wakes up and, preferably jointly, fight for their rights.”

Mr Abdullah Memon, in his letter, reminded us all that “every dark night ends in a bright morning” and asked “If winter comes can spring be far behind?” But, I remind him, that we are now at a stage where philosophical clichés and pirs can no longer help us.

Corruption: continues unabated and is aided and abetted by the ‘higher-ups’ of the land. At a recent briefing of foreign Press correspondents, the question was asked of the prime minister whether she was aware that her country had been rated the third most corrupt country of the world. Rather than refute the rating, the prime minister held that some economists maintain that in developing countries corruption is a necessary evil that provides incentives for development. She may have picked up this idea from Joseph Nye, who accompanied US Defence Secretary William Perry on his visit to Pakistan. He once wrote that he thought that perhaps a little bit of corruption in developing countries, at a very low level, helped to push the file faster. By this, he did not mean institutionalised corruption at the topmost level that seeps all the way down to the bottom.

Accountability: Malik Mohammed Qasim, virtually the sole member of his party, the PML(Q), now in the PDF coalition, who heads the grand Federal Anti-Corruption Committee, goes after the helpless inconsequential and pursues those out of power. Should he not start in his own backyard, from atop his own ruling coalition, and move downwards. He keeps on complaining that the nationalised banks and DFIs are not cooperating with him. Does he not know who heads these institutions, and by whom these men were hand-picked? It is obvious that all talk of accountability is just a PR cover, a sheer pretence.

Exchange rate: When Jinnah made Pakistan, the US dollar was worth Rs 3.3. The politicians of those days had concern for the country, and the dollar remained at this level until 1955 when a dollar could be bought for Rs 4.76. Thereafter, because of fiscal mismanagement and bad governance, it has cost us more and more. Since the beginning of this fiscal year (July 1) the rupee has lost 66 paisa against the dollar. On October 3, the SBP spot buying and selling rates were declared to be Rs 31.62 and Rs 31.7781. There is no apparent factor that can reassure us that the value of the rupee will not tumble further.

Growth: There is no entertainment or sport available to the awam other than procreation. For those with more in their pockets, there are other limited sports, but their main entertainment, apart from procreation, seems to be eating and watching the mini-screen, with much consequent damage to their general health and looks. The main growth in our country is bodies. We are listed third in world corruption and we are listed somewhere around third in population growth. These are our two great strengths. The government has finally admitted that we are compounding at the rate of well over 3.5 per cent per year. The money that is coming in from abroad for the control of our population is not being spent for that particular purpose. Into whose pockets is it flowing?

Education: with the population growth we have, it is impossible for the literacy rate to even remain steady. It has to decrease, and it is decreasing at an alarming rate. Educational standards are appalling. Educationalist Hikmat Khaleeli related a discussion he had some months ago with Terry Allsop, then a member of the Department of Education at Oxford, who has made a study of the levels of education in various countries. In Asia, our level is comparative with that in Outer Mongolia. And in Africa, we are on a par with Ethiopia. Should Shahnaz Wazir Ali, the prime minister’s adviser on education, wish to increase her knowledge, she can contact Allsop, who now heads the African desk at the Overseas Development Authority in London.

The Iqra tax is variously and vigorously collected. The people, whether they like it or not, are taxed for education and pay as and where asked. Where does all this money go?

Health: If indeed there is a municipal health department in each city and town, the people are certainly not aware of them. Health officers there may be, who make money off their inspection of eating places and retailers of foodstuffs. Take Karachi — how many restaurants or snackbars approach the laid down standards of health and hygiene? We know of the deplorable conditions prevailing in government hospitals. We know of the shortage of life-saving drugs. As national health deteriorates, the demand for pharmaceutical products increases. Their quality and prices are controlled by the corrupt of the health ministry, the prices naturally covering the huge underhand outlays. Remember Kazmi, health minister of the first Benazir government. Is it true he is now living it up in Dallas?

Zakat: How much is arbitrarily deducted from the people’s bank accounts and from their various dividends? we do not know, and neither do we know where it all goes.

Taxes: Recently figures have been made public whereby it has been made amply evident that those that rule over us pay the least or no taxes at all. Much of the money collected is wasted on foreign junkets and ego trips for our ‘notables’, and much is used to maintain their inflated standard of living and playing. The sole point upon which the government and opposition are not at odds is the increase in their own salaries, allowances, and perks. A good deal is also siphoned through the various ‘secret accounts’, the spending and skimming from which are no secret from the enemy but only from us, the people. If the people cannot be told how their money is spent, these accounts should at least be listed with the names of their operators. At present, this ‘secret fund’ money is spent without any check, let alone a counter-check.

Environment: Any man with any sense, in or out of government, can, without fear of contradiction, hold that the first essential utility is potable water. Are our environmentalists in search of infinity aware of the percentage of the population that has no access to potable water? It is no use urging those who have no drinking water to plant and nurture trees.

Karachi: today, the most important factor. Panmunjong talks continue between the haves and the have-nots. The suffering of the underdog has not lessened at all. The prime minister, armed with her blunderbuss, seems to be convinced that the problem can be shot away and lost. Somewhat like East Pakistan?

Out of 273 days (from Jan 1 to Sep 30), Karachi remained closed for 108 days — 78 weekend closure, 14 holidays, 16 strikes (two of them government-inspired). Banks remained closed for 111 days (108 plus three: post-budget closing, yearly closing, and strike for Usman Ghani’s slaying). The Stock Exchange was closed for 118 days (108 plus 10: four Caliphs’ deaths, four members’ deaths, Shab-e-Barat, and Shab-e-Mairaj). The loss in GDP as a result of forced closures has been estimated at Rs 52 billion. (Source: Business Recorder, Oct 4).

Our taxes rise, our prices rise, inflation increases. Everything we get in return is on a continuing downslide, deteriorating in value and in standards. How long will it be before we are declared a ‘failed state’?

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