How Pakistan descended into poverty

[Solomon2]

Do you even read what you post or just get excited that it is rubbish?

I included a part of the article comment thread because - as anyone can read - the article author wrote that he considered it "valuable input".

 

[Dubious]

To answer the title:

How Pakistan descended into poverty?!

Answer is simple: Corruption- large scale corruption on every level in every dept! The whole system has been made porous via corruption....with it supporting more corruption instead of highlighting and stopping it! Almost EVERY POLITICIAN has managed to double and some made 10 folds profits by being a politician!

Another answer would be growing poverty margin and mismanagement.

Evading or whining about tax...The top cream refuses tax or cries everytime they can be taxed while the middle class has to run the country by paying taxes!

The lower class is illiterate and the politicians had kept them that way for DECADES! Illiteracy comes with its own problems!

I dont think it is a difficult scenario as the article and the comment by @Solomon2 have made it sound!

I included a part of the article comment thread because - as anyone can read - the article author wrote that he considered it "valuable input".

Ahh you mean in the comments...Why didnt you put the reply as well?

Malik Atta
Sir, thank you for your valuable input which was quite educative. I left the obvious, poverty , I simply meant the mountain of debt over $ 95 billion dollars and Pakistan current inability to handle balance of payments

 

[nahtanbob]

no, it is not
point is that Pakistan poverty is imposed, it is not natural
Pakistan keeps trying to trade with India but keeps getting rebuffed

Trading with Iran would be an immense loss for Pakistan, firstly US would sanction it, secondly there will be no project undertaken by UAE in FATA, there would have been no rebuilding aid for azad Kashmir from UK after the earthquakes, there would be no $30 billion rescue package from UAE and KSA

you cannot takes dictates from outsiders. your major competitive advantage is your neighbors. it is a competitive world.
something tells me your army is restricting trade with India

 

[pak-marine]

Op has opened a pandora box good luck figuring this the thread will be trolled the fck out out by the boys

 

[Dubious]

Op has opened a pandora box good luck figuring this the thread will be trolled the fck out out by the boys

I agree...But I will allow some discussion ...if it goes out of hand, hit the report button!

@doorstar

 

[Pan-Islamic-Pakistan]

"Hindustan, through threats, coercion and invasions, occupied seven princely states that officially opted for Pakistan, including Hyderabad (Deccan), Junagadh and Manavadar. Pakistan was dismembered in 1971 by India. Even today Pakistan is bleeding due to Indian-sponsored terrorists in Baluchistan and the FATA. More than 50,000 people – both soldiers, innocent civilians – have died in the past decade in a bloody war on terror."

"Pakistan is comparatively safer than its neighbor Afghanistan due to its well-oiled military machine. However, international players meddle in the domestic politics of Pakistan and bribe, coerce and threaten the political elite to get them to accommodate foreign powers. Unfortunately, Western-style democracy in developing countries makes it both legal and convenient to fund activities of opposition parties, local media and international NGOs that work against the ruling government."

"Pakistan has vast natural resources and hard-working people. Pakistan’s poverty, therefore, is an unnatural outcome. The primary reason Pakistan has financial difficulties is that a corrupt political oligarchy is laundering money on a massive scale, which has been encouraged and aided by foreign manipulators."

How Pakistan descended into poverty

By Atta Rasool Malik January 23, 2019 5:32 AM (UTC+8)
http://www.atimes.com/how-pakistan-descended-into-poverty/

Anyone with a little interest in the ancient history of South Asia knows that the people of the land called “Pakistan” have not been poor since time immemorial. Indus Valley Civilization (present-day Pakistan) sprouted on fertile plains of the River Indus and reached a climax of advancement and prosperity between 2500 and 2000 BC. It was home to the highly developed cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro and had a well-planned village system. However, the great civilization was immensely stressed in 1500 BC, and its bustling cities fell into decline and were eventually abandoned.

How could the people of the fertile Indus Valley, which had an abundance of water and was situated at the crossroad of the most significant trade route at the time, become poor and desert their bustling cities?

The most coherent explanation for the decline of the Indus Valley Civilization is attributed to the invasion of the Aryans and the changing course of the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra rivers. The people of the Indus Valley were militarily exhausted and deprived of their share of water.

The Aryan invaders had emerged from what is now Iran and brought with them polytheism and a cruel caste system. These people finally settled in northern India and formed the Ganges civilization. The Aryans also enslaved the Dravidian people of southern India and pushed them into a lower social position.

The people of the Ganges civilization (India) and the Indus Valley civilization (Pakistan) never lived under one government for thousands of years, except briefly under the British and Mughal empires. The people of Hind and Sind have never been the same, as Aitzaz Ahsan puts it in his excellent book: The Indus Saga and the Making of Pakistan.

Once again, the people of the Indus Valley civilization (Pakistan) became poor due to proxy wars and the transformation of fertile land into desert when the water of the Indus was blocked.

Pakistan enjoys an excellent geographical disposition. The country is situated on a crossroad of important trade routes, close to the most significant mass of land and people – China and India. Vast natural reservoirs of oil and gas are located nearby in the Middle East and Central Asia. Therefore, international political players continuously endeavor to coerce and persuade the political leadership of Pakistan to submit to their will and conform to their agenda.

Pakistan is comparatively safer than its neighbor Afghanistan due to its well-oiled military machine. However, international players meddle in the domestic politics of Pakistan and bribe, coerce and threaten the political elite to get them to accommodate foreign powers. Unfortunately, Western-style democracy in developing countries makes it both legal and convenient to fund activities of opposition parties, local media and international NGOs that work against the ruling government.

Pakistan’s insecurity is also not, as liberals claim, just something that is imagined. It has strong roots in history. India’s animosity toward Pakistan is vividly apparent. It is the clash of monotheist Buddhist and Muslim liberal social values versus a caste-based social system of Brahman exploitation. The antipathy felt by Hindus stems from Muslim (Mughal) rule of India and, more recently, the establishment of Pakistan, which is not the cause but the product of the Hindus’ ill-treatment and marginalization of its minorities.

As per the partition plan, around 514 princely states joined India and 21 states formally opted for Pakistan. Hindustan, through threats, coercion and invasions, occupied seven princely states that officially opted for Pakistan, including Hyderabad (Deccan), Junagadh and Manavadar. Pakistan was dismembered in 1971 by India. Even today Pakistan is bleeding due to Indian-sponsored terrorists in Baluchistan and the FATA. More than 50,000 people – both soldiers, innocent civilians – have died in the past decade in a bloody war on terror.

General Election-2018 has been a benchmark in the history of Pakistan. A majority of Pakistanis have rejected dynastic politics. The people have put their trust in the leadership of Imran Khan. The Pakistani prime minister is looked upon all over the world as an upright, honest and capable political leader. He has embarked upon a crusade against financial corruption and money laundering.

As expected, the corrupt politicians under scrutiny are fighting back with all their might and dirty tricks

As expected, the corrupt politicians under scrutiny are fighting back with all their might and dirty tricks. Whispering defamation campaigns against Khan, the judiciary and the military on social and mainstream media are in full swing. Intellectually dishonest and misleading reports are being published. Unfortunately, the international media is also supporting the infamous corrupt politicians of Pakistan. Sadly, capitalism has put everything on sale – including truth and ethics.

Nothing is more ridiculous than campaigns that claim the Pakistani army promotes extremism. It is very well known that large numbers of serving general officers of the Pakistani army have laid down their lives while fighting religious extremism. Lieutenant General Shahid Ullah Baig, Major General Javed Sultan Khan Niazi, Major General Sana Ullah Khan Niazi and Major General Bilal are a few names we remember. Lieutenant General Masood Aslam lost his only son in this mad game of religious extremism against Pakistan. Qamar Javed Bajwa, the current chief of army staff, is personally a victim of religious extremism. He was called an Ahmadi a few months back by religious fanatics aiming to discredit him in the eyes of some members of society.

I am not defending military rule, but it is a bitter truth that everything worthwhile achieved by Pakistan in the past 70 years has been during military regimes. The construction of dams and the establishment of Pakistan’s industrial base occurred during the General Mohammad Ayub Khan era. General Zia ul Haque through Ghulam Ishaque Khan ensured the successful completion of the Pakistani nuclear program. Every political party of Pakistan may claim the CPEC and Gawader port, but it was the vision of General Pervez Musharaf that persuaded Chinese leader Xi Jinping to invest in the port. NADRA and Rescue 1122 are projects of military regimes that are immensely important and highly efficient.

Seventeen years ago, in the financial year 2001-02, the allocation for defense amounted to 4.6% of GDP. In 2003-04, the defense budget dropped to 3.9% of GDP. Budget 2018-19 has allocated Rs 1.1 trillion for ‘Defence Affairs and Services’ which is 3.2% of our Rs 34 trillion GDP.

Pakistan’s defense budget has remained almost frozen for the last decade, despite ongoing operations in the northwestern provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtun Khaw (KPK). India, on the other hand, has increased its defense budget substantially, which has caused a serious imbalance of power in South Asia. Pakistan’s leadership has wisely avoided an expensive arms race in the region by benefiting from the deterrence of nuclear weapons.

When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his army chief were threatening “surgical strikes” against Pakistan, Qamar Javed Bajwa, Pakistan’s army chief, in an unprecedented speech, called upon India to fight poverty, disease and religious extremism. Then Pakistan launched an army-led initiative, the Kartarpur peace corridor, for the benefit of the Sikh community of India, in order to mitigate the hostility and distrust between two countries.

Pakistan has vast natural resources and hard-working people. Pakistan’s poverty, therefore, is an unnatural outcome. The primary reason Pakistan has financial difficulties is that a corrupt political oligarchy is laundering money on a massive scale, which has been encouraged and aided by foreign manipulators.

Special thanks to well-known Pakistani veteran Brigadier General Tariq Izaz (Retd) for his valuable input for this article.

MOD edited...please put the source: http://www.atimes.com/how-pakistan-descended-into-poverty/

Great post. I agree 100%.

This article comes off as ridiculously one sided, not just against the usual suspects, but against those in Pakistan too.

This is the prevailing mood on the Pakistani street. This sentiment is what propelled PTI.

 

[doorstar]

I agree...But I will allow some discussion ...if it goes out of hand, hit the report button!

@doorstar

elaborate, please!

Op has opened a pandora box good luck figuring this the thread will be trolled the fck out out by the boys

that would just confirm the truth of the OP, if it were not the truth anti-Pakistanis would not be in such pain to go as far as to distort your religion to disprove the OP article!

 

[nahtanbob]

First, the entire premise of this thread title is flawed. Poverty in Pakistan is atypical of South Asia. It's not like India, Nepal, Afghanistan, Bangladesh are drowning in milk and honey. The differance between GDP per capita is negligible. Meaning Pakistan is in the same league as it's neighbours.

Cut off all largess from USA and Gulf states. you will see a marked difference between Pakistan and rather poor neighbors

 

[Dubious]

considered it "valuable input".

It is a polite way of saying thank you for replying to my article (which I dont find amusing at all)

 

[Pan-Islamic-Pakistan]

From the comments thread:

Syed Fazal Abbas
Mr. Malik repeats the standard narrative:
.
1. Pakistan was developing fast till Ayub, then downhill
2. Paks remain poor, an unnatural outcome.
3. Why? Bad politics, India competition, proxy wars, military expense, foreign interference.
4. CPEC, less corruption, shall make Pak rich, overnight.

Analysis demands that we define terms we use. Has the writer assumed poverty to mean "development" - material goods, energy consumption, GDP per capita, nominal or PPP, measures used by West and Pak's West-aping elites? If so, that shows an insufficient or superficial knowledge of poverty dynamics, laws of Evolution, and above all Islam.

Let us scientifically examine poverty, see whether it is important, and then chart out a scenario for Pakistan.

1. Primal Question of Existence
Systems Theory's measure of success is Survival, Growth, Evolution (SGE). For humans this means ability to last three scores and ten years, leave a large progeny, and one with a wider gene pool and better immune system. To evolve, you must grow.

The developed, knowledgeable, rich, powerful West is below replenishment today. The poor always have more children; the meek inherit the earth said Jesus.

2. Development and Evolution
The "highly developed" Indus Valley Civilization could not sustain itself just as the West can not do today. Material poverty assures survival neither, let alone evolution.

3. Islam
Christians pray for their daily bread, but a Muslim is guaranteed his sustenance. Believers are asked to seek blessings not bread.

Quran asks believers to spend, not save (eschew wealth). Islam's greats chose to be poor even if they did not have to. Being poor is not a sin, nay a goal.

Why does Islam chooses poverty over wealth? Because poverty helps Evolution. Gene pool enlargement is unaffected by stunted growth, disease, short lifespan.

4. Laws of Evolution.
Nature wants evolution, and for that growth is a must. Societies begin to "Develop" only after saturation when they can no longer grow or evolve.

Development in Europe, China, India, Bangladesh only when their rapid population growth ended naturally. Thereafter, accumulation of knowledge and skills is needed for survival. Pakistan has not yet reached saturation likely at 400 Million. Then it will need to develop itself for survival.

In 1960s Ayub was taking Pakistan to "development" stage too soon. Paks rebelled and rightly so, and CHOSE to be poor. Even today Paks are NOT ready to make the sacrifice of evolution as the West, China, Korea, and Japan West have done - all below replenishment today.

So Paks, go forth and multiply till you can no longer. There is no exception to the Law of Evolution. You can not fight nature and god. CPEC will not make you rich, not yet anyways.
Like · Reply · 1 · 16h

Malik Atta
Sir, thank you for your valuable input which was quite educative. I left the obvious, poverty , I simply meant the mountain of debt over $ 95 billion dollars and Pakistan current inability to handle balance of payments​

The incoherent rambles of an aged Pakistani uncle. Nothing else.

 

[Dubious]

elaborate, please!

Everyone has their own opinion...and our neighbours dont share ours...Threads like this usually causes trouble! I am sure you have been long enough on PDF to notice

 

[Pan-Islamic-Pakistan]

Pakistan has vast natural resources and hard-working people. Pakistan’s poverty, therefore, is an unnatural outcome. The primary reason Pakistan has financial difficulties is that a corrupt political oligarchy is laundering money on a massive scale, which has been encouraged and aided by foreign manipulators.

Best line of this article.

 

[Dubious]

Cut off all largess from USA and Gulf states. you will see a marked difference between Pakistan and rather poor neighbors

Well if we cut it off, I think to make it a fair game, poor neighbours also would need to cut off ....I mean how would it be fair that we cut off while the neighbours dont?

 

[doorstar]

Everyone has their own opinion...and our neighbours dont share ours...Threads like this usually causes trouble! I am sure you have been long enough on PDF to notice

yeah! seems anything posted in favor of Pakistan causes immeasurable amount of pain to PDF members

 

[Solomon2]

It is a polite way of saying thank you for replying to my article (which I dont find amusing at all)

Ah. See, if I was Pakistani I might have recognized this as politeness rather than endorsement.

Now that you've explained it, will you accept that I was ignorant about what was meant?