Plain Words
Elections: Paradoxes aplenty
Will elections be held on February 18? Some say they will be, while many doubt whether the PML (Q) and the establishment, sensing defeat, would let the elections go through on the day. But, considering some international pressure and the fact that postponing it will cause an immediate uproar and will not help the retired General Pervez Musharraf to go ahead with his plans, sticking to the date may become necessary. Few are sure either way.
The paradox is that mainstream political leaders talk unendingly about democracy. But when they were in office, they continued old policies; these policies were the mainstay of all ruling parties.
Now, old policies have resulted in shortages of gas, electricity, atta, diesel, and almost everything else. How can old policies continue? The level of inflation is inflicting severe pain to a vast majority. The old policies, and the old politicians who pursued them, deserve no lease of fresh lives. They need to be sent home.
The real paradox is that people think and talk about democracy as a necessity. It is obvious that without democracy Pakistan will sink into endless civil wars that have, unfortunately, already started in the NWFP and Balochistan areas. It is annoying to have to argue for democracy.
There may be a few Islamic fanatics who want to live under a Caliph like Mulla Mohammad Umar in the 21st century, who would be a totalitarian dictator; and there is no other description for him. These people probably want to be ordered around or kicked around by one man. But a vast majority of people, Muslims and non-Muslims, want their fundamental rights guaranteed and enforced by an independent and strong judiciary.
True, many leaders are mealy-mouthed and less than audible in demanding restoration of the pre-November 3 judges and the ethos they had created. It is puzzling why leaders of democracy-chanting parties do not welcome the new leaders thrown up by the lawyers' movement. Why should Aitezaz Ahsan, Munir Malik et al be ignored, and politicians of indifferent quality continue to boss over parties?
Real leaders have been thrown up and have evoked genuine popular support; they should be in the centre of leadership of all parties. Why is Aitezaz Ahsan not PPP's nominee for the PM's office? One is not passing a judgement on anyone else, except that not accepting the superiority in intellect and political savvy of Aitezaz would harm PPP no end. Similarly, for other new leaders and other parties, men like Ali Ahmed Kurd, Justice Wajihuddin, and company, deserve to lead the country.
The biggest paradox is that no major political party is talking of actual programs through which they want to serve the people. Have they ascertained the main problems for the benefit of the people? Who does not know the unvarying problems concern disparities in income and opportunity? There is talk of poverty and inflation and shortages. It is about time they produced a well-thought out program that is credible to ordinary citizens and should make sense to economists.
The actual economic conditions of the vast majority, and current shortages (that are likely to continue for some years, thanks to the population growth), need to be purposefully studied. Every party's economic program should show how it would relieve the immediate pain of sky-high prices, and rest of it should be devoted to how will they tackle the long-term problem of poverty and underdevelopment.
Poverty is not a distant thing; all are aware of the poor people around and have some idea of what hardships they are going through. Poverty mainly takes the form of joblessness and lack of opportunities, either for self-employment or finding a job, due to lack of technological or vocational skills. They have to be provided jobs or equivalent assistance.
It is the state, as the manager of the economy, which has to ensure the direction in which the economy moves so that it provides jobs to the maximum possible number of people, or enables circumstances for self-employment.
In India, there is the so-called red menace in its "red corridor," that runs from India's border with Nepal down to Andhra Pardesh. It is actually a civil war that India's military might is keeping contained. One is not examining its chances, except to note what the current Indian government has done in this regard.
It would be news to the Pakistani rulers that India has had several rozgar schemes, but a significant one is currently being implemented: it concerns Employment Guarantee Scheme. It provides guaranteed jobs to one person of all families in all the districts of the country, for 70 days a year at a guaranteed minimum wage. That India, in its present position, can do much more is obvious. But that is not a matter in which anyone in Pakistan is in a position to comment; it is for Indians to think and do.
Another scheme about senior citizens is being discussed. Pakistani rulers can do worse than ignore what India is doing for its poor and senior citizens. The point of it all is that Pakistan cannot remain an island in an area where the poor are now revolting against traditional poverty.
Look at what happened in Nepal. Let's look seriously: are not Taliban and other Islamic extremists groups being fed by hopelessness and poverty? Even President Musharraf has adverted to this aspect of the problem.
It is, thus, necessary that each party's program give concrete guarantee to the people of what can they expect from it. General rhetoric about serving the people or doing airy-fairy things is neither here nor there. It is time that precise promises are made and kept. One is aware of what the mandarins and their bosses will say; that Pakistan is too poor to do that. But Pakistan is rich enough to splurge in expenditures that are not really necessary, and do nothing important to ensure that people have two square meals a day plus something for their children.
Pakistan has plenty of other problems. While talking of democracy, everybody knows the basic problem: It is to ensure that the military does remain out of politics, and General Ashfaq Kayani must be enabled to keep his troops under strict professional control and devoted to the job for which an army is created -- the defence of the realm -- and not to rule. Gen. Ashfaq Kayani himself has to be kept to the promises he is making that he would remain out of politics.
The other aspect of democracy, which has to be implemented, is that we cannot, now, have the same sort of governments that Ayub, Yahya, Zia and Musharraf had. We need a more real federation in which primacy goes to states and further down to what are district governments and union councils. Let the provincial and local governments be real governments, as real as the central one.
Pakistan has paid enough, and, in fact, is paying a high price, in the shape of insurgency in Balochistan; restiveness in Sindh requires political sympathy and not bribes. NWFP is already in the midst of a big insurgency, the roots of which also go down to general restiveness and dissatisfaction with the conditions in which tribesmen live, though the revolt has taken a religious form. They have heard only religious idiom. The roots of it remain in dissatisfaction and poverty. More rights, autonomy, jobs and democracy constitute the solution.
More autonomy to provinces will not hurt or harm Punjab. The same rights and privileges will be available to the people of Punjab, though some dilution is necessary in the advantage of overwhelming representation in the civil and military services.
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