Daily Times

The prime minister’s (PM’s) address to the nation was a dour and uninspiring exercise, which provided no confidence to a fearful and traumatised populace yearning to be reassured; there were hardly any straws to clutch at. The people were informed in great detail of what they already knew regarding terrorism and power shortages, as if they were the only serious problems that our unfortunate country faces. All in all a very disappointing speech, not the stuff one expects from the country’s leader in times of such serious crises and certainly not from a veteran, third-time PM.

Violence exists in myriad forms and it has been provided complete freedom to prosper. Besides terrorism, we have a variety of armed mafias — for gun running, drugs, extortion, target killings, smuggling, etc — who kill and coerce the people daily in cahoots with the law-enforcing agencies. Violence against women is rampant with the knowledge and support of the law enforcing agencies, and in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), they are not allowed to vote anymore. Politicians, political parties and feudals perpetuate violence to achieve and maintain control in their areas. Fascist extremists like the Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Sipah-e-Sahaba spread sectarian violence at will; the PML-N is said to provide sanctuary to them in Punjab in return for peace in their own province, a symbiotic knot from the Zia years. Instead of continuing to keep its distance from parties who have ruled Karachi for more than a decade, a period when the worst crimes have been perpetrated on the city’s people, the ruling party decided to reward them with an alliance, thereby declaring their complete disdain and lack of support for Karachites. All those words of sympathy expressed a few weeks ago now ring so hollow.

Is all this violence not devouring the entrails of the country? The PM should have informed us of how his government would deal with these issues. His interior minister talks of beefing up the agencies and providing them with fancy gadgetry, which like the CCTV cameras in Karachi will never be put to use. Rampant corruption from top to bottom, politicisation, a culture of apathy and an oppressive mindset cannot be changed by simply increasing the numbers or providing them with expensive toys. Reform and replacement is required, radical steps are wanted, no change is possible with the kid gloves approach; those days are gone. Each time the law enforcing agencies are under scrutiny, the issue of raising their morale is brought up as they are ‘a demoralised force’. Those who constantly fleece the people, demand and receive bribes from the rich and poor, oppress the downtrodden, commit all kinds of crimes for profit, aid and abet criminals, then claim to be demoralised. Those in power who buy this argument do so only if they themselves are compromised.

There was not a word on education; an area of the greatest importance to this country is being ignored on the pretext that it is a provincial subject. The PM does not have a national policy on education! Since Punjab is already ahead in the field and is somewhat aware, we shall see further development there and within five years the gap between Punjab and the rest will widen.

We have already witnessed a clear tilt towards Punjab in terms of cabinet positions, where a justifiable excuse exists that since the PML-N has been elected largely from Punjab, its cabinet would be drawn from Punjab. However, this is not the norm; it does and will have repercussions. Besides this, it seems that the chief minister (CM) of Punjab is the only CM who is seen with the PM in various forums, for instance ISI briefings. During the China visit, the most visible and actively involved in signing and negotiating projects for Punjab was Shahbaz Sharif. May we ask why the PM’s state visit to China was being utilised for achieving the business of one province only? A similar tilt has been perceived in various important appointments; the PM is reminded that other provinces also have some outstanding and capable persons who deserve consideration.

Some people, including this writer, have pointed out after the elections that the tendency of favouring Punjab was clearly evident in the PML’s previous two governments and it was expected that given the country’s circumstances, the party would be more even-handed, but unfortunately, that advice is being ignored. Today, we have one province demanding separation, five years later the seeds of separation could spread further as the development gap increases and disparities become starker. Do not forget that East Pakistan was also lost to widening political and economic disparities.

Time and again the PM mentions his magnanimity in allowing the PTI to form the government in KP and allowing the BNP to take the chief minister’s slot in Balochistan. We hope he realises that there was no certainty in forming a government in KP, as the PTI would have the best chance of doing so with the largest numbers. As far as Balochistan is concerned, he should realise that due to such a low turnout at the elections, the people of that province have rejected the elections. The situation of that so-called coalition government is that it is paralysed. The correct thing would have been to declare these elections null and void, negotiate a solution with the rebellious forces, and hold fresh elections. That would have been statesmanship.

Grandiose schemes of motorways and high-speed railways need to be put on hold for at least the next two years. We first need to put our house in order. Resolve the terrorism issue, sort out the various internal violence and enormous law and order issues, get internal reform going and bring the power sector on track. This is already more than enough for any government to handle; do not dissipate your energies and your meagre resources. Motorways in themselves do not create economic prosperity; economic activity creates the need for motorways. Let us first provide the stability so that investments take place and enough economic activity is created to justify the aspiration for motorways.

Half-measures and lip service are the hallmarks of our policies; petty considerations and a lack of vision are quite evident in most things we do. Take the so-called ‘new’ national security setup announced recently. Except for a new name, there is nothing new about it. Four or five uninformed and inexperienced civilians who do not have knowledge of what national security entails sit across the table with four armed forces chiefs whose careers have been spent in learning, discussing and formulating security policies. How unequal a match. There are various dimensions of a national security policy: defence, intelligence, financial, internal, economic, foreign affairs, and communications. There could be more. Experts in these fields need to be trained for the purpose; the best minds need to be brought together who should have a plan for any and every eventuality and the ability to make changes at short notice.

A major part of our terrorism problem stems from the Afghan war where besides the NATO forces India is also involved. Unfortunately, each time we want peace with India some incident derails it. Both sides either know why or if they do not then they need to find the reasons for losing out on the possibility of such momentous decisions. Peace dividends are enormous; the two PMs should control the warmongers on their respective sides and achieve a pragmatic peace with honour. The question is, do the two sides really want peace? India may like to pickle us in the soup of our making and our establishment may be lukewarm on the subject. Whatever it may be, leadership qualities are required to take courageous and statesmen-like decisions.

Granted Mian Sahib inherited a rudderless ship, but he is not proving to be the helmsman who can take control. The steps taken so far and the body language exhibited by this government are shortsighted and wanting. It seems past mistakes and remaining in the wilderness for so long has taught the party and its leadership only a few superficial lessons in politics and management.

The writer is a businessman and a former chairman of the National Textile Foundation. He can be reached at fsumar@cyber.net.pk