Pakistan - Internal and External Problems - Phase 2

MOHAJAR AND MUQAMI

1. This is another unpleasant reality that has destabilised certain areas of Pakistan; especially the commercial and industrial city of Karachi. At one stage in the 1990s the Mohajar Quami Movement were demanding the whole of Sindh Province as a separate state for the Mohajar. This in turn resulted in un-necessary blood shed and loss of lives of Mohajars, locals; army and police personnel. It is regrettable that after sixty years, the rift between the locals and Mohajars and their descendants has widened instead narrowing.
2. This problem came to Pakistan with the Urdu speaking Mohajars from Delhi, Lucknow, UP and CP in India. The Urdu speaking Muslims were better educated and as such had gained access to higher grade jobs in the civil service before the partition of India. For the infant state of Pakistan, those experienced, senior civil servants were needed to put the country on her feet. Majority of those Urdu speaking civil servants were decent and good people- dedicated to their profession and keen to establish an efficient and honest civil service in Pakistan. However, there was a tiny minority, who tended to treat Punjabis, Pathans, Sindhis and Bulochis with contempt. This minority had their own agenda and they set up a trend of closed shop, whereby the top civil service jobs were to be reserved for their family members and friends to the exclusion of other linguistic groups. This active marginalising of the vast majority of the population created resentment and rivalry, which did not do any good to the unity in the country.
3. Times were changing. Young men from all four provinces and East Pakistan (Bangladesh since 1971) had started to receive university education and took PCS (Pakistan Civil Service) examinations and qualified for top civil service jobs. The near monopoly of Urdu speaking community in the civil service was broken and this was one of the negative factors that gave rise to the formation of Mohajar Quami Movement (MQM), which later on became Mutheda Quami Movement. It is a pity that even after the passage of sixty years, the refugee problem has not been fully resolved. All parties i.e. locals, refugees and successive governments must accept their share of the blame for this unsettled environment in the country.

LACK OF EDUCATION

1. Pakistan has the lowest ratio of literacy in the region. The education system inherited from the colonial masters was, at best, designed to produce clerks or pen pushers. There was no structure for technical education apart from medicine, civil engineering and law. However, those fields were only open to the children of rich and well to do. The middle and lower classes could educate their children up to High School level and no further. There were no technical
2. Schools, in the part that became Pakistan, to educate and train carpenters, plumbers and builders. After the passage of sixty one (61) years, the education system in Pakistan is still not well settled. The main reason for this state of affairs is the difference between the haves and the have-nots. Lot of hard work and investment are needed to bring the level of education of the ordinary people of Pakistan to an acceptable standard. 
3. Successive civil and military governments have done little to further the cause of education of the ordinary people of Pakistan. The higher sectors of the society including politicians in power have been too busy educating their own children with the government bursaries and stipends. Those children of the rich and affluent have received education in the UK, USA, Germany and Russia to name a few diverse systems. In turn, this has created so many anomalies that to list those would require a great deal of time, space and effort. To put it mildly, there is no basic education system in any of the four provinces of Pakistan. This is due to the double standard of living of the people. The rich send their children to American and English style schools operating in Pakistan because they can afford to pay thousands of rupees in monthly fees. The middle and lower middle classes and the poor can, at best, hope to get their children into a local school with little facilities and teachers who are not properly qualified. From an early age the Pakistani children are learning the difference between the poor and the rich. The children of the rich learn or are taught by their parents to treat less well off with contempt and show their arrogance from an early age. In majority of cases, those rich children receive education in foreign countries and on return to Pakistan are given top jobs in the government and the commercial services. These young men and ladies tend to treat ordinary Pakistanis as colonial subjects, who can be bullied and ill treated at will. This contemptuous attitude has created permanent division and disunity in the Pakistani society, which is not exactly enhancing the prospects of peace and stability in the country! The whole educational infrastructure in Pakistan needs close scrutiny and monitoring for the next decade.
4. I respectfully suggest that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf should set up an international study and research group to develop a uniform educational system from primary to high school level as phase one. The base of this group should be in Pakistan, with persons of Pakistani origin residing abroad contributing new ideas on the internet or by post as well as making some financial contribution for the running of this study group. At the same time adult literacy classes should be actively encouraged and developed in the deprived areas. A minimum literacy standard should be set at the ability to read daily Urdu newspaper; to write a simple letter and understanding of news and current affairs programmes on radio and television. Those individuals showing promise should be encouraged to learn English and become computer literate.
5. The ways and means of advancing the higher education system should also be considered along with the above exercise. To undertake this project funds will be needed and all possible sources as listed below should be investigated for availability of finance:-

1. Ministries of Education and Human Resources of Pakistan.
2. United Nations funding for developing countries.
3.  Voluntary international bodies.
4. Donations from individual Pakistanis living in Pakistan and abroad that would be willing to help.
5. Help should also be sought from Trainee Teachers. This scheme should be used to give practical experience to those teachers who are nearing the final part of their Teachers’ Training Course.

I can go on writing more material but feel that I have pointed out what needs to be done. The rest would be up to who ever would undertake the project.

HEALTH, HYGIENE AND MEDICAL CARE

1. This is a very complicated issue and over the last sixty years various governments in Pakistan have paid lip service to the health and medical care problems. Unfortunately, the tune ends on the ever popular note of “HAVES and HAVE NOTS”! The rich can, at the drop of a hat, fly to USA, UK or any other Western European country for specialist medical treatment of their sick; while the poor are left at the mercy of the fate to depend upon almost dysfunctional medical facilities in Pakistan.
2. There are different branches of medicine being practised in Pakistan. The modern Aliphatic, Homeopathic and Tibe Unani. The basic problem is that majority of people in Pakistan cannot afford to pay for medical treatment. Over the last forty years, lots of charities have been collecting funds from all over the world and opening up charitable hospitals and clinics. However, the charity appeals tend to become ineffective after a while and the inflow of funds slows down. This type of help is only a short term solution and much more effort and funds are needed for long term, viable functioning of a health service. The current scenario in the medical field of Pakistan is very disappointing. There are Civil (government) Hospitals in every city and big towns. Those hospitals were built during the British rule in united India and over the last sixty years, there has been little or no change in the buildings and functioning of the hospitals. Typically, the drugs are not available in the hospital pharmacy and patient’s relatives have to rush to the nearest private pharmacy in the town to purchase those urgently needed drugs. Many a time, the Surgeon Sahib is not available to operate on a badly injured road accident victim. The alternative is to rush the patient to a private hospital for an emergency operation costing the relatives a fortune. The poor man, who cannot afford to pay, stands a little or no chance of survival in those circumstances.
3. It is unfortunate that which ever segment of life we look into, corruption, mal-administration and apathy hit us in the face. The health and medical care problems cannot be sorted out over night. A lot of hard work, great deal of permanent allocation of government as well as private sector funds is urgently needed.   
4.  As Muslims, we learn from an early age, to keep ourselves clean and maintain a good standard of personal hygiene. The acute shortage of clean water in different regions of the country is making it very difficult for an ordinary person to observe an acceptable standard of personal hygiene. The environment in the inner city areas; coupled with the open sewage system does not make for healthy living. It is a shame that after sixty one years of independence the governments of different political parties have failed to provide basic sanitation facilities for the public in Pakistan. Water borne sanitation could cut down the incidence of epidemics of cholera, typhoid and other ailments related to the stomach. What is needed is the promotion of health and hygiene awareness at grass root level. The residents of streets and Mohallas can form action committees to ensure that all the residents of the area comply with very basic rules of cleanliness. The residents should be encouraged to collect their household rubbish in tie up plastic bags and the local authority or the City Council to provide regular refuse collection and disposal service. Simple steps like these would help to improve the health of the people living in those areas. The resident committees could also draw up a weekly rota for sweeping the area and pouring disinfectant in the sewers.

FINANCIAL MISMANGEMENT

1. It is a well established fact that, at least for the last fifty (50) years, many Pakistanis have emigrated to different currency zones; such as the UK, USA, Canada and the Middle Eastern Countries. Those Pakistanis have remitted billions of US and Canadian dollars, pounds sterling and other foreign currencies to Pakistan. Had those remittances been managed properly, Pakistan would not have been in so much debt. Successive governments have mercilessly squandered valuable foreign exchange. The Ministers and top civil servants have taken full advantage of the corruption and maladministration to build up personal, large bank balances in UK, USA, Canada and other Western European countries. The discredited politicians (some of whom are back in power) have purchased properties and set up businesses in Dubai, UK and the USA. One can see those former Ministers and their close relatives living it up when on a visit to London and New York. The remittances from abroad do not cost Pakistan a single grain of rice, wheat or a cotton bud. Those remittances, over the last fifty years, would have kept the national debt at a minimum and manageable level at the same time helping with the import of much needed machinery and other equipment for the development of the country.
2. I am afraid that at the pain of repeating myself, I must point out that more than 75% of the financial problems of Pakistan are corruption related. The black economy is thriving and big businesses and other rich people who ought to pay income tax do not pay. Instead, the Revenue officials of various grades are given annual bribes to escape tax liability. Similar practice is quite common in the Customs and Excise department. People should realise that governments do not have any money of their own. The government of the day collects various taxes and then finances the payment of civil service, military and police salaries as well as fund development projects. The alternative is to borrow heavily from the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and foreign countries at an extortionate rate of interest. I am afraid, successive governments have followed this unwise alternative over the last fifty years and the result is that the country is in debt up to its eyeballs!  
3. We see glossy advertisements on the television encouraging Pakistanis living abroad to send money to their relatives through so called Money exchange companies operating in the UK, USA, Canada and other European countries. If we try to trace the ownership of those Money Exchange Companies, we will find that the Pakistani politicians and or their close relatives living abroad are behind this operation. The foreign currency stays in the country of its origin and Pakistan as a country does not get any benefit from remittances sent through this method. Why doesn’t the Government of Pakistan pass a law and stop this illegal business? The Pakistani banks should be encouraged to open up more branches in the foreign countries to handle the remittances to Pakistan. This move will benefit the economy of Pakistan and create more jobs in the banking sector. The banks’ business customers would be able to purchase the much needed machinery from abroad and the overseas branches of the banks would use the foreign exchange for the benefit of the country as a whole and not just the few top families of Pakistan! The only progress that has been made in the last fifty years is that during the reign of General Ayub Khan it was reputed that the total wealth of Pakistan was confined within twenty-two (22) families- that number has increased to fifty seven (57) families. The ordinary Pakistani citizen is worse off than he was sixty years ago.
4. The Ministry of Finance and State Bank of Pakistan can play a vital role in the financial recovery of the country. The State Bank of Pakistan should be allowed to function in accordance with its terms of reference and without interference from the politicians and the top civil servants. The Governor of State Bank should have powers to control and regulate the remittances coming into Pakistan from various currency zones. The State Bank should submit a weekly and a monthly return to the Ministry of Finance, detailing amounts of foreign exchange held to the credit of Pakistan in the different currency zones. This would help in long term planning and ordering of machinery and other equipment needed for various development projects in the country. No one should be allowed to use the foreign exchange for personal luxury whoever that person may be. In the past, the politicians in office; top ranking civil servants and the army generals have mercilessly squandered the foreign exchange for their personal benefit and put back the development of the country by decades.                                                               

ECONOMIC CHAOS

1. Pakistan is basically an agricultural country and more than 70% of its population lives in the rural areas. The large cities like Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Quetta and Peshawar have their own attraction for the rural population to move to those cities. This unplanned migration has caused numerous problems for the cities as well as the villages. Creation of ghettos in the city areas does not help anyone, least of all those who leave their villages in the hope of finding employment and good fortune. While people should be free to move about in their own country, someone along the line should do some long term planning and give guidance to those intending to move to the larger cities. The government of the day should create schemes and opportunities for the development of agriculture and employment in the rural areas of Pakistan. It is a serious indictment against the present government that the province of Punjab, which was once known as the “Bread Basket” of the British Empire, is suffering shortage of wheat and wheat flour (ATTA).  The only explanation for this situation is the inability of provincial and central governments to confront the hoarders and black marketers, who are taking full advantage of the fact that the political parties supported by them are in office and no government official will dare touch them. For media consumption, some poor man trying to make a living is arrested, ill treated and locked up on a trumped up charge of hoarding. No one in government even thinks of tackling those running multi million rupees wheat and flour milling businesses, because they are the supporters of the current government.
2. When we look at the export of agricultural, textile, hosiery and other products, the picture is equally disappointing. Despite the Export Promotion Bureau, Chambers of Commerce, the Pakistani products has acquired ill reputation in the international market place. The modus operandi is that excellent quality samples are submitted and a very high standard is maintained for the first few consignments sent abroad. Once a connection is established, the quality starts to decline and manufacturing standards are then neglected. The result is that after the first few consignments, the foreign importers start calling a halt to the importation of Pakistani manufactured goods. In comparison our neighbour India is dominating the world markets because of its continuous high standard of manufacturing good quality products and not accepting any compromises in the shipping schedules. It is no good calling “Sour grapes”, but our manufacturers, exporters and governmental agencies need to take stock of the serious situation and do something towards improving our standards. This would go a long way towards enhancing the reputation of Pakistan in the commercial world. The golden rule of business is less profit more turnover. It is a pity that Pakistani merchants, for the last sixty years, have been working to become “rich over night” but have not succeeded in their quest for quick riches. Greed leads to dishonesty, which then becomes a second nature. I am afraid, this is what has happened in the Pakistani business world and if we are to succeed as an economy we will have to shed this image of being dishonest in our dealings with other nations. 
3. Stock markets are new phenomena as far as the Pakistani economy is concerned. Speculation in stocks and shares may be very exciting to start with but when the markets crash, as has happened in 2008, the consequences can be very tragic. A multi millionaire could become a pauper over night if the value of his shares drops dramatically. Well known multi national and national companies float their shares in the market with a view to raising additional business capital. The speculators take their chances and some do become wealthy in a very short span of time. However, this can be classed as a form of legal gambling introduced by the western capitalist system into the world. In the short term, this type of business does create jobs and a lot of money passes through the hands of Stock brokers. The long term effects are that only a few people become wealthy and the benefits of extra wealth so created do not filter down to the people at the lowest economic level. I am not advocating total abolition of the Stock and Share markets. My suggestion is that the relevant authority in Pakistan should exercise stricter control on the Stock and Share markets and what goes on in those markets. Efforts should be made for the creation of a system which would benefit the whole population and not just a few individuals. I suggest formation of a “think tank”, based in Pakistan to develop the future economic strategy. This think tank should be assisted by the economists, financial experts and bankers in Pakistan and those Pakistanis living abroad and working in these fields. There is no quick fix and as the economic conditions have been allowed to deteriorate to the current level; a lot of hard work, research and investment will be needed to overcome the crisis that Pakistan is now facing.

ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE

1. The judicial system that Pakistan inherited at partition was part British and part remnant of the Mughal period. It is a well documented fact that the land management law introduced during the reign of Emperor Akbar was adopted and applied by the British during their rule in India without any material changes. Hindu and Muslim family laws were also added to the British Indian legal system, mainly to appease the more orthodox elements of those religious groups. The Indian Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code were adopted with the changed titles of Pakistan Penal Code and Pakistan Criminal Procedure Code. This is just a brief introduction to establish what issues are going to be discussed later on.
2. It may be that in view of the size of the country, the British rulers decided to establish a multi tier court system in India. Even after sixty one years of independence, the same court system is in force without any significant changes. There are at least nine different categories of courts in Pakistan. Starting at the lowest level is the Tehsildar, who is in charge of the administration of a sub district and has the powers of a second class magistrate. He can try, both, civil and criminal cases- impose fines and short prison sentences. The next higher official is the Deputy (district) commissioner, popularly known as DC SAHIB BAHADAR. He is over all in charge of a District with the powers of a first class magistrate. Although, the main function of the DC is the efficient administration of his district; he can try criminal and civil cases in his capacity as a first class magistrate. A DC is assisted by an Additional District Magistrate also known as ADM SAHIB. The fourth category is that of the professional magistrates, who are legally qualified and are appointed from amongst the members of various district bars. Their main function is to hear and determine criminal as well as civil cases. They also commit serious cases such as murder, rape, arson etc for trial by a Session judge. The session judge has powers to impose long prison sentences as well as death sentence in cases of murder. This is the fifth category of courts. The sixth category is the civil sub judge, who can only try civil matters. The seventh rung on the legal ladder is the Provincial High Courts in the four provinces of Pakistan. The High Court judges have unlimited powers, both, in civil as well as criminal cases. The High Court has dual functions of trying cases and hearing and determining appeals from the lower courts. The apex court in the country is the Supreme Court. The judges of Supreme Court are appointed from amongst the sitting High Court judges as well as long serving members of the bars.  The ninth category is that of the Shariah Courts created during the military regime of General Zia.  
3. The Shariah Court was established with a view to interpreting and applying the Islamic laws in the country. However, due to the incompetence of some individuals, the Shariah Courts have raised controversy and tarnished the name of Islam around the globe. After getting the unconstitutional and illegal amendment to the 1973 Constitution through the National Assembly to declare Ahmadiyya Jamaat as non-Muslims, late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto did not get enough time to progress his aims any further. The left over work of Bhutto was then undertaken by General Zia, which resulted in amendments to the Penal Code and creation of new offences to deal with the alleged blasphemy. Without getting involved into the rights and wrongs of what the National Assembly did in 1974, the fact remains that this particular Jamaat was denied justice and none of the High Court or Supreme Court judges had the courage to challenge the passing of an un-constitutional and illegal resolution by the National Assembly. Z.A.Bhutto had carried out this political stunt (Tamasha) to appease the extremist Mullahs and to get them off his own back; the Ulema were about to give a Fatwa against Bhutto because of his alcohol consumption and other un-Islamic practices. There have been incidents of violence against the Christian community. There was a particularly nasty one, involving a 13 year old; mentally retarded Christian youth, who was falsely accused of writing graffiti on the wall of a house insulting the Holy Prophet of Islam. The youth was sentenced to death by one of the Shariah Courts and it was timely intervention of the British Foreign Office that saved the life of that innocent boy. The human rights carried out an independent enquiry, which proved that the boy could not write his own name, let alone writing insults against the Holy Prophet of Islam. No record can be found of any action that was taken against those so called religious zealots, who made up the false case against the 13 year old boy. Another community which has been attacked on the incitement of the extremist Mullahs is the Shia Muslim sect.
4. Pakistan’s judiciary has always had interference from three quarters. The top civil servants; politicians in power and the big landlords and thirdly from the army generals, whenever there has been an army coup. The doctrine of necessity and the national interest have been put forward as valid excuses for legalising unlawful actions of the army Generals. People of Pakistan have not forgotten the 1998 incident in the Supreme Court in Islamabad. Mr Nawaz Sharif was the Prime Minister in office, who was cited for contempt of court by the then Chief Justice of Pakistan. It is on record that 1500 “Ghondas” were sent from Lahore; armed with sticks and stones. This unsavoury mob attacked the Supreme Court buildings and forced the Chief Justice and other Judges to take refuge in their chambers behind locked doors. It, therefore, sounds a bit rich from the lips of Mr Sharif that he wishes to re-instate the suspended Chief Justice Mr Justice Iftikhar Chaudary.  There is evidence that successive Prime Ministers, Presidents and Martial Law Administrators have always had a say in the appointment of High Court and Supreme Court judges, during the last sixty years. The present position is that neither the party in power nor the opposition are keen about an independent and strong judiciary. Every body is paying lip service to the cause and are happily fooling the nation by engaging in “shadow boxing” (NURA KUSHTI).”

    
These notes have been prepared by Khalid Rasheed and are to be continued.