fatman17
PDF THINK TANK: CONSULTANT
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2007
- Messages
- 32,563
- Reaction score
- 98
- Country
- Location
A walk down the hill
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Kamila Hyat
The writer is a freelance columnist and former newspaper editor
Most pupils even those who fare consistently poorly in the disciplines that make up life at school have at least some areas of strength.
There are those who excel in sport, others who are creative artists of one kind or the other or persons who simply stand out on the basis of their integrity, generosity or their degree of concern for others. It is rare to come across an individual who fails on each and every front. Nature appears to have set in place a system that ensures some virtues, and some vices, for everyone. But if countries were to receive ratings each term, as do school children, Pakistan would figure among the few who are unable to exhibit any striking qualities and appear to flounder no matter what they do.
There is a long list of bad news. Transparency International has reported a whopping rise in corruption from Rs195 billion to Rs223 billion over a single year. Most in the country perceive that the previous regime was less dishonest than the government which today holds office. According to the US State Departments Global Peace Index, Pakistan is ranked the fifth most instable nation in the world with only Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan and Sudan in that order finishing behind it. Every other nation in the region has fared better. Pakistan has been able to hold its position and not slip farther down the ladder chiefly because of the improvement in relations with countries in the neighbourhood. Otherwise suicide bombings, political turmoil and economic decay would almost certainly have resulted in a still worse showing.
There is even ill to tell. Astoundingly, according to figures from the Economic Survey of Pakistan, infant mortality for the current fiscal year has been put at 73 per 1000 live births. For the previous year it stood at 68. The backward slide could continue with health spending brought down from 0.6 per cent of GDP to 0.5 per cent. The decline in a figure which depicts the situation in which so many people in the country live and die is quite terrifying; worse still is the fact that even as tiny children perish as a result of hunger, unsafe water and the other conditions of their lives our prime minister thinks nothing of consuming a meal reported to be worth 25,000 euros during his trip to Brussels. We can only wonder how many people he entertained or what the menu featured.
The immorality of this situation appears not to move our government at any level. There has been no visible effort to cut expenditures, to slice away at an administrative budget that caters for limousines, luxury hotels and frequent travel. The austerity measures once introduced by Muhammad Khan Junejo appear removed by a time light years away. It seems almost impossible to see them happening now. Perhaps then it is not surprising that Pakistanis along with Russians and Croats have also been rated as among the surliest people in the world, least likely to smile from behind shop counters. They, after all, have little to be happy about.
The review of performance as far as the country goes would be enough to daunt even the proudest of parents. No matter with how much blind devotion one looks at the picture, there is little to offer much cheer. Things seem likely to get worse with inflation continuing to climb and other statistics refusing to show anything resembling an upturn. Indeed there is evidence that many of the statistics have been fudged. Doubts for instance persist on the literacy rate and whether the numbers claimed are in any way accurate. It seems likely that far fewer than 50 per cent of the population is literate; vast disparities on the basis of region and gender add to the complications. In tribal areas, less than one per cent of women are able to read or write.
There is really only limited point in mulling over our difficulties. We all know what these are. It does not really take a US government report to tell us there is a deep-lying sense of angst and despair in the country. Surveys suggest most people believe things are becoming worse. The 'ethnic killings in Balochistan, the targeted sectarian killings in Karachi simply add to the many kinds of violence which rips apart flesh everywhere. The question is if, and how, matters can be resolved or at least partially improved. It is no longer easy to make suggestions or come up with remedies. While tiny improvements take place every now and then, they really mean nothing given the churning sea that makes up the bigger picture, swallowing up the small boats that set out on their missions.
The primary problem though is one of commitment. Rulers seem to care nothing for people or indeed the country as a whole. They must after all see some of the statistics, some of the reports that come in. In most cases these are ignored or dismissed; the findings denied. The detailed documentation of the situation in northern areas by Amnesty International and its account of four million people still living under Taliban rule is the latest example of this. The revelations do not gel with the version of events told by authorities and the tales of triumph over the militants. The report has therefore been dismissed. This has happened in other cases too. Leaders would have us believe that, for some mysterious reason, the world is pitched against us and bent on spending its time conjuring up defamatory material. The conspiratorial mindset continues to hold sway.
The first step in any attempt to tackle problems is to admit they exist. This happens only rarely. The second step is to find the commitment needed to bring change. This is clearly not there. In its absence, it is hard to see an improvement in the tables that mark progress or any upward swing in the graphs that record national performance in so many different spheres.
Email: kamilahyat@hotmail.com
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Kamila Hyat
The writer is a freelance columnist and former newspaper editor
Most pupils even those who fare consistently poorly in the disciplines that make up life at school have at least some areas of strength.
There are those who excel in sport, others who are creative artists of one kind or the other or persons who simply stand out on the basis of their integrity, generosity or their degree of concern for others. It is rare to come across an individual who fails on each and every front. Nature appears to have set in place a system that ensures some virtues, and some vices, for everyone. But if countries were to receive ratings each term, as do school children, Pakistan would figure among the few who are unable to exhibit any striking qualities and appear to flounder no matter what they do.
There is a long list of bad news. Transparency International has reported a whopping rise in corruption from Rs195 billion to Rs223 billion over a single year. Most in the country perceive that the previous regime was less dishonest than the government which today holds office. According to the US State Departments Global Peace Index, Pakistan is ranked the fifth most instable nation in the world with only Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan and Sudan in that order finishing behind it. Every other nation in the region has fared better. Pakistan has been able to hold its position and not slip farther down the ladder chiefly because of the improvement in relations with countries in the neighbourhood. Otherwise suicide bombings, political turmoil and economic decay would almost certainly have resulted in a still worse showing.
There is even ill to tell. Astoundingly, according to figures from the Economic Survey of Pakistan, infant mortality for the current fiscal year has been put at 73 per 1000 live births. For the previous year it stood at 68. The backward slide could continue with health spending brought down from 0.6 per cent of GDP to 0.5 per cent. The decline in a figure which depicts the situation in which so many people in the country live and die is quite terrifying; worse still is the fact that even as tiny children perish as a result of hunger, unsafe water and the other conditions of their lives our prime minister thinks nothing of consuming a meal reported to be worth 25,000 euros during his trip to Brussels. We can only wonder how many people he entertained or what the menu featured.
The immorality of this situation appears not to move our government at any level. There has been no visible effort to cut expenditures, to slice away at an administrative budget that caters for limousines, luxury hotels and frequent travel. The austerity measures once introduced by Muhammad Khan Junejo appear removed by a time light years away. It seems almost impossible to see them happening now. Perhaps then it is not surprising that Pakistanis along with Russians and Croats have also been rated as among the surliest people in the world, least likely to smile from behind shop counters. They, after all, have little to be happy about.
The review of performance as far as the country goes would be enough to daunt even the proudest of parents. No matter with how much blind devotion one looks at the picture, there is little to offer much cheer. Things seem likely to get worse with inflation continuing to climb and other statistics refusing to show anything resembling an upturn. Indeed there is evidence that many of the statistics have been fudged. Doubts for instance persist on the literacy rate and whether the numbers claimed are in any way accurate. It seems likely that far fewer than 50 per cent of the population is literate; vast disparities on the basis of region and gender add to the complications. In tribal areas, less than one per cent of women are able to read or write.
There is really only limited point in mulling over our difficulties. We all know what these are. It does not really take a US government report to tell us there is a deep-lying sense of angst and despair in the country. Surveys suggest most people believe things are becoming worse. The 'ethnic killings in Balochistan, the targeted sectarian killings in Karachi simply add to the many kinds of violence which rips apart flesh everywhere. The question is if, and how, matters can be resolved or at least partially improved. It is no longer easy to make suggestions or come up with remedies. While tiny improvements take place every now and then, they really mean nothing given the churning sea that makes up the bigger picture, swallowing up the small boats that set out on their missions.
The primary problem though is one of commitment. Rulers seem to care nothing for people or indeed the country as a whole. They must after all see some of the statistics, some of the reports that come in. In most cases these are ignored or dismissed; the findings denied. The detailed documentation of the situation in northern areas by Amnesty International and its account of four million people still living under Taliban rule is the latest example of this. The revelations do not gel with the version of events told by authorities and the tales of triumph over the militants. The report has therefore been dismissed. This has happened in other cases too. Leaders would have us believe that, for some mysterious reason, the world is pitched against us and bent on spending its time conjuring up defamatory material. The conspiratorial mindset continues to hold sway.
The first step in any attempt to tackle problems is to admit they exist. This happens only rarely. The second step is to find the commitment needed to bring change. This is clearly not there. In its absence, it is hard to see an improvement in the tables that mark progress or any upward swing in the graphs that record national performance in so many different spheres.
Email: kamilahyat@hotmail.com
