Time For Pakistan To Get in Gear

When he took over the country in a bloodless coup in October 1999 by overthrowing the government of then-prime minister Nawaz, he was welcomed by a large majority of the people of Pakistan, who delightedly distributed sweets and congratulated each other. When he relinquished power on 18 August after a spell of almost nine years, they distributed sweets again, and thanked the almighty that he is no longer the President of Pakistan.

Former General and Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Armed Forces, who remained president for almost nine years resigned to the delight of the political parties and media who had been lobbying and campaigning for his ouster shortly after the 18 February general elections ‑ that brought to the fore the current coalition federal government of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz, and the Awami National Party (ANP) from the North West Frontier Province (NWFP).

Musharraf’s resignation may have closed a controversial chapter in Pakistan’s political history, but it has also opened up a new Pandora’s Box full of challenges big and small that require urgent and immediate attention of the elected government in Islamabad, as well as the four provincial governments. The list of pressing challenges is painfully long.

Rising poverty, shortages and run away prices of food and energy have broken the back of Pakistan’s economy. The lingering power crisis has cut productivity by half. Hundreds of thousands of businesses and SMEs have gone bankrupt and have been shut down. Pakistan’s economy been bleeding since late 2007 and a rising number of people are finding it impossible to make ends meet and feed their families.

More than 80 per cent of Pakistanis live under $2 per day, and almost half of them depend on daily wages. In the absence of any industries or workplaces to go to, hundreds of thousands of people have no work and income. According to the Lahore-based Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, the number of suicides from June 26-July 25 rose to 285 across the country due to poverty and inability of people to feed children and families. There were 197 cases of attempted suicide, which could increase further if the economy does not move out of a state of inertia towards growth and productivity.

The most powerful gift of successful democracies around the world – governments of the people; by the people; and for the people; is the provision of opportunities to sustain an honest, just, safe, secure and productive human existence. The current democratic set up in Pakistan presents a golden opportunity to the ruling parties to deliver their manifestos in the form of tangible results that have a positive impact on the lives of people of Pakistan.

Political consensus, tolerance and commitment to overcoming the most pressing challenges top the national agenda. The ruling political parties in Pakistan have had their due share of trouble and trauma in the last decade. Their bitter and sweet experiences must have matured them to rise above self and work for collective national development.

The ruling coalition of the two leading political parties in Pakistan has an opportunity to show maturity and method in tacking the socio-economic challenges that have given rise to resentment, anger and helpless rage. For things to get better in Pakistan, the government needs to shake off the state of economic inertia and ensure that its policy and decision makers get in gear before it is too late.

ENDS