Poverty is globally acknowledged as a curse because of its destructive potential for societies. It has been rightly said that islands of affluence cannot exist in oceans of poverty. It implies that if in a society the wealth is concentrated in a few hands and the rest of the people do not even have the means to ensure reasonable living, or if a system of governance is decidedly tuned to serve the interests of the elite at the expense of the poor masses, then the chances of that society surviving for a long time are very slim. Poverty provides fertile ground for social disorders and revolutions which are usually marked by violence and rebellion against the elite classes by the poor.
According to the World Bank poverty in Pakistan stands at 39.3 percent and out of that 22 percent even live below the poverty line. Is it not a shame that after more than 75 years of independence a big chunk of the society is living in abject poverty? The situation is undoubtedly a sequel to the ruling elites building their own fortunes taking advantage of the inbuilt avenues of corruption in the system of governance.
As they say, there is a limit to everything. The poor no longer seem to take it lying down and one can smell the coming of a revolution if the things are not set in the right direction. The people that we see on the streets throughout Pakistan protesting against unbearable enhancement in the rates of electricity and petroleum products to meet the conditions of IMF are surely a premonition for worse things to follow. Their lives have become miserable due to the hydra-headed inflation set in train in the backdrop of the arrangement agreed with the IMF, under which the government is bound to end subsidies and increase prices of the utilities. My hunch is that we are going to see more increases in the days to come to come up to the expectations of the IMF unless in view of the threatening situation at the moment the agency realizing the dilemma faced by the caretaker government agrees to a package of relief to the people to assuage their anger. The government reportedly has approached the IMF in this regard but the problem is that ephemeral steps and relief are not going to resolve the problem. A durable and permanent solution needs to be found to put the country on the road to progress and change the economic profile of the masses.
The situation confronting the country at the moment is a cumulative outcome of the anti-people policies pursued by successive governments and no one government can be singled out for being responsible in regards to the prevailing tragic situation. The reality is that all the governments, whether by political parties or by the military dictators, remained criminally insensitive to the problems of the poor masses and have been making false claims about development which is adequately belied by the fact that almost all of them invariably sought bail-out packages from the IMF. As per record Pakistan has availed 23 such bail-outs. If the country had been progressing as claimed by them then they would not have resorted to seeking bail-out packages.
Unfortunately the country has been run contrary to the vision of the founding father. He was a visionary leader and knew that peace and progress depended on ameliorating the lot of the poor masses. While addressing the constituent assembly on 11 August 1947 he said “Now if we want to make this great State of Pakistan happy and prosperous, we should wholly and solely concentrate on the well-being of the people, and especially of the masses and the poor. If you will work in cooperation, forgetting the past, burying the hatchet, you are bound to succeed. If you change your past and work together in a spirit that every one of you, no matter to what community he belongs, no matter what relations he had with you in the past, no matter what is his colour, caste or creed, is first, second and last a citizen of this State with equal rights, privileges, and obligations, there will be no end to the progress you will make.”
Our salvation and progress lies in changing the system of governance and formulation of a charter of economy through collective wisdom of all the stakeholders, which besides ensuring economic progress, also guarantees fair distribution of the produced wealth. The phenomenal progress achieved by our friend China undoubtedly owes itself to elimination of poverty. We can at least take a leaf from its history.
Identifying other ills afflicting the polity he observed “The first duty of the state is to maintain law and order so that the life, property and the beliefs of the subjects are fully protected. Bribery and corruption are really a poison and need to be put down with an iron hand. Black-marketing, nepotism and jobbery are other ills afflicting the society which have to be eliminated.”
It is regrettable to note that as a nation we have failed to tread the path envisioned by the founder of Pakistan and implement the priorities outlined by him. All the ills identified by him have made deep inroads into the social fiber. We have taken a detour from the path envisioned by him. Our civilian and military rulers both have worked to perpetuate the archaic colonial system of governance.
Their machinations have promoted an elitist culture in the country leaving the masses in abject poverty. This has not only hindered socio-economic development of the country but has also led to emergence of host of social fault lines, marring national integration and unity. The detour from the vision of the architect of Pakistan has brought the country at the cross-roads. Our survival as a respectable and vibrant nation surely hinges on path-correction on priority basis by going back to the drawing board to rediscover our national ethos and the way we were supposed to follow in regards to consolidation of gains of independence and economic prosperity.
Our salvation and progress lies in changing the system of governance and formulation of a charter of economy through collective wisdom of all the stakeholders, which besides ensuring economic progress, also guarantees fair distribution of the produced wealth. The phenomenal progress achieved by our friend China undoubtedly owes itself to elimination of poverty. We can at least take a leaf from its history. The time is running out for those who have been wielding power and enjoying privileges unchallenged.
