Pakistan,
a third-world country where the economy is moth-eaten, an inflationary storm
strike-en country, a country where officialdom is corrupt, a country where
never-ending penury prevails, a country where literacy rate remains stagnant, a
country where unemployment/underemployment is alarming, a country where gender
equality is disturbing, a country where education and health are amongst the
worst hit, a country where food insecurity is agitating and what not is turning
my beloved but poor Pakistan, dry.
Even
after 74 years, we live in a beloved Pakistan that clusters around the themes
of poverty, corruption, illiteracy, unemployment, child labor, crime, child
marriage, inflation, discrimination, smuggling, food and water crisis, health
issues, religious conflicts, gender inequality, sanitation and cleanliness that
are shaping it other than political cataclysm.
Pakistan
is celebrating it is Platinum Jubilee this August, but its crippling economy is
putting it in a quagmire. The founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali
Jinnah, sees Pakistan as the greatest nation in the Muslim world and world.
Even after over seven decades, Pakistan remains vague, and vagueness lies in
strength and weakness as there are still no defined parameters. In the first
winters of Pakistan, he was aware of the danger that Pakistan would be facing
in the coming years, but unfortunately, those issues are engraved in the
pillars of Pakistan and have become grave concerns to be addressed as a
priority and turning Pakistan dry.
Poison
of corruption, nepotism, mismanagement, inefficiency, weak governance,
cataclysm, shadow economy, social instability, and blight public faith in state
institutions is shaping the reality of Pakistan. Political parties illustrate
the primacy of personalism over the organization. This scenario is seen in the
progeny of political parties. The borrowed growth and feudal-dominated
political culture resulted in a chronic social crisis.
The
grave social challenges also revolve around corruption. There is no doubt that
much of officialdom is corrupt, but so are the citizens. Opportunities provided
due to enormous discretionary powers vested with bureaucracy are the primary
cause of corruption. High inequality leads to more significant incentives for
corruption. Pakistan ranks 140 out of 180 countries in terms of corruption, and
alas! Corruption has reached every organ of the state due to lack of
accountability, low salaries, monopoly of power, lack of transparency, power of
influential people, red-tapism, and others. Accountability, transparency, power
justice, and enforcement of the law is easy to prescribe but hard to enforce in
Pakistan, where bribe serves as an incentive for government employees.
Non-adherence to rules and regulations weakens the government's writ and
promotes malpractices.
Moreover,
some of the significant constraints identified in the supply of safe water are
water scarcity, intermittent water supply, improperly designed water supply
schemes, cross-contamination caused by the closely laid water supply and sewage
pipelines, disposal of untreated sewage and industrial effluents, and
inadequate technical capacity of the service providers. Moreover, unsustainable
and unrestricted groundwater abstraction policies, lack of strict enforcement
of groundwater laws, and poor governance have placed immense stress on the
groundwater quality and quantity in the country, thus risking the lives of
citizens.
Talking
about poverty, The World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that approximately 43pc
of Pakistanis are food insecure, and 18pc of those have acute food insecurity
as affordability is the most significant barrier to achieving a nutritious
diet. Here, girls have a comparatively low social status, remain marginalized,
and cannot avail opportunities restricting their socio-economic empowerment,
thus remaining a neglected target group for health and nutrition interventions.
Likewise,
Pakistan has the world's second-highest number of out-of-school children
(OOSC), with an estimated 22.8 million children aged 5-16 not attending school,
representing 44 percent of the total population in this age group, but our
capable politicians are busy playing a blame game. Unemployment/underemployment
is also a factor in elevating poverty. Who is responsible for creating opportunities
for youth by crafting and supporting the aiding circumstances? Because our
politicians are busy filling the coffers and enjoying the power game, you, me,
and us. The enabling conditions are based on economy, society, politics,
equality, right to life, and right to information, as seen in the cases of
Nigeria, Southwestern Ontario, the United States, African countries, and
Zimbabwe. Pakistan is the fifth largest country in the world, with an estimated
63% of its population comprising of youth. Pakistan is home to about 40 million
adolescents (aged 10-19), equivalent to 23% of the total population, but still,
we are not investing in them and ironically naming them "our future."
A
large number of Pakistanis lack basic amenities, some of which are unsure of
food, clothing, and housing—concluding this piece of writing with a question
raised by Sadat Hassan Manto, why is Pakistan ignorant despite being poor?
Hadiqa Tariq, one of our contributors at the School of Literature, produced this article. Join SOL Team here.
