Daily Times

First, it was the prime minister shamelessly insisting on touring the UK in the midst of being convicted for contempt of court. Now it is the president merrily packing his bags to go gallivanting to the Chicago summit when some segments of the country are aghast at the government relenting to open NATO supplies, despite the US refusal to cut down on drone attacks or take action on the Salala tragedy. The competition is on between the two top positions on who roams the most at the expense of a bankrupt economy. The president actually has a knack of making these merry rounds at a moment of grave crisis in the country. Who can forget his European trip while parts of the country were almost washed away by devastating floods a couple of years ago. More recently, who can forget the tragic Siachen avalanche, burying 150 soldiers under tons of ice, while the president went on his holy trip to India showering a million dollars on the Ajmer Sharif shrine.

Pakistan-US relations have always been suspect. The US has always drooled over countries like Pakistan. Their supremacy is confirmed by their continuous devastation in countries that are ready to aid and abet them in their desire to control nations lacking leaders with moral and psychological self-esteem. The price for moral slavery is a few billion dollars and this cheap labour is then used to sustain the title of a superpower. If you consider the few billion dollars received from the IMF, the World Bank, and the fact that many of the US multinationals have a turnover of $ 100 billion and more, one understands the concept of how minuscule countries like Pakistan may seem and how easy it is to mortgage their independence against a pittance of money. Military governments make ideal prey for the US. They are illegitimate and war hungry. From Ayub Khan to Ziaul Haq, the US sponsored military tyrants in return for carrying out their nefarious designs in Afghanistan. In General Musharraf, they found another great ally for devastation in Afghanistan as his desire for sustaining his position was thoroughly exploited by the US government, completely obsessed with taking control of oil-producing, corrupt states. The US will only exploit those who want to be exploited. Democratic governments in Pakistan should have been confident of their legitimacy but they are so greedy that they would lap up the US’s aid as if their whole existence depended on it. The financial mess created by the present government is unprecedented. With three finance ministers and as many state bank governors changing in four years, one can imagine how unmanageable the economy is due to the massive greed of the government. The US foreign policy has tried to subjugate Iran into submission but has failed and despite all sorts of sanctions on Iran, they have managed to survive better than us. Similarly, other nations like China and Malaysia have defied all US threats and become examples of becoming strong without US support. The reason being a leadership that is unwilling to sell off national interests in return for financial deals.

The US has now become so confident of having governments in its pocket that it has openly declared that it will not accede to any wishes of Pakistan but will force Pakistan to open NATO supplies. They have refused to apologise or stop drone attacks. While the Pakistani government is saying that parliament will decide about NATO supplies, the foreign minister by saying that we need to apply closure to the Salala tragedy has once again toed the US line. The casual way in which the foreign minister dismissed such violations of national sovereignty and the tragedy of unprovoked killing of 24 soldiers is unpardonable. The sad part is that it is all for a million dollars per day compensation. Imagine that for a pittance of $ 360 million a year, we are willing to sell our self-esteem and self-respect. Such nations are held hostage by the US so that it can then bully them on all counts. The money factor is so supreme for the government that it is in desperate search for sources. The state of bankruptcy is so prevalent that it has no money to pay off any bills. The energy crisis is a result of non-payment to many suppliers and the issue of circular debt has now become almost unsolvable. In the economic committee meeting a few days earlier where the finance minister was discussing the dire straits of the economy and trying to seek solutions, the prime minister very nonchalantly ordered that more currency notes should be printed to fill up the gap between income and expenditure. When he was told of the inflationary consequences of such a measure, he dismissed it by saying it will be balanced in a few years. Such is the sagacity and capacity of our leaders to deal with the mounting crisis in the country.

As election time approaches, the need for more money goes up. We see massive expenditures on TV and print advertising by both parties. Additionally, the urge to show some performance has resulted in the start of many schemes like roads and bus transits, etc. These projects need massive funding as they are going to be over-invoiced to accommodate all sorts of kickbacks and commissions. As both the federal and provincial governments are in huge debt, the options of receiving money for NATO supplies, no matter how nominal, seems attractive. Another reason may be that many people in these parties know that this may be their last chance in power, so they say, let us make the most of it.

The sad part of this greedy gold rush is that the image of our country as an independent and self-respecting entity has really suffered serious damage. The last interview of Prime Minister Gilani with an American journalist insolently asking him to look eye to eye was perhaps indicative of the value that is placed on Pakistan and its leadership. The courage required to take bold decisions only comes from the confidence of believing in your own capability to deliver and having a clean slate of performance. Since both parties are defaulting on these accounts, it is but natural that moral bankruptcy is leading to financial bankruptcy.

The writer is an analyst, consultant and information Secretary of PTI Punjab and can be reached at andleeb.abbas1@gmail.com