Abhorrent VIP Culture

The recent delay in release of salaries of public servants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) exhibits the alarming situation which the province might face in the coming months. KP outrightly failed in managing its expenses. On the one hand, the political class has its own patterns of behaviour, while, on the other, the senior bureaucracy seems to be interested in carving out more administrative units so that they may get new fiefdoms to rule over.
The chief interest of the bureaucracy lies in obtaining more perks and privileges out of an economy that is already struggling. The executive allowance is a glaring example of such benefits. The superior services were created by the imperial power to raise a class of natives that may help them in keeping the subjects under control. Even after a passage of 75 years, we dearly cherish their legacies that were only exploitative in nature. Things get worse owing to the bloated size of the government machinery which is becoming difficult to manage. Moreover, providing every officer with trappings, such as gas-guzzling SUVs and pickup trucks — or daalas in common parlance — along with heavily armed guards in full battle gear has already exacerbated the financial situation. Besides the administrative services, the provincial police department has a track record that can be easily rated way below zero. In my opinion, there is no need for the police department as half of the policemen are deployed around the families of the well-connected ones, while the other half is out there to extort money from law-abiding citizens.
In addition to these issues, the KP police department within a few years has raised new squads that have no role in the prevention of crime. These squads, which often have fancy names, can only be spotted in pickup trucks or security details of, again, the well-connected people.
The police department, in fact, should be disbanded to save the taxpayers’ precious money. These colourful security squads are nothing but a burden on the provincial treasury. Last but not least, the culture of disgusting government car number plates, which is a symbol of privilege in our society, also adds to discontent in what happens to be a highly fragmented society. We are already in a self-destruction mode. We still have a room to atone for our past’s ill-conceived decisions, which actually were decisions conceived without conscience. Otherwise, chaos and anarchy are knocking right at our doors and we are only a step away from system collapse.
HAIDER ALI
PESHAWAR