Here is a speech I would like to hear from my next Prime Minister. ‘My dear countrymen, I come to you as a candidate for Prime Minister. My political party will contest these elections on a platform of truth. I promise you that under no circumstances will I lie to the people of Pakistan. The first problem I wish to address is that of corruption. Corruption is now an integral part of our national fabric and afflicts all levels of our society and every branch of government. As such, I must admit that it is going to be impossible for me, even if I become the Prime Minister of Pakistan, to eradicate corruption. An extension of this aspect of corruption is the unwillingness of most Pakistanis to pay taxes. The man who sells biryani from a hand-driven cart a hundred feet away from my office makes close to half a million rupees a month but not only is he not willing to pay any income tax, he, as a matter of fact, would find the very idea insulting. I cannot imagine how I can force him and many others like him to pay their taxes. So, the national exchequer will never receive the taxes it needs to run the government. This will force my government, as all previous governments, to depend on foreign remittances, external loans and internal borrowing to keep the government solvent. Unfortunately, we have never supported our local businessmen to develop an internal infrastructure that can pull Pakistan out of its poverty. As a country we will have to decide whether we support those who get rich by building things or if we are against anybody who seems to be acquiring wealth through business and industry. Another important aspect of corruption is the recent Supreme Court decision about the NRO where the honourable court reiterated the following about members of parliament, according to the Constitution of Pakistan: “He has adequate knowledge of Islamic teachings and practices obligatory duties prescribed by Islam as well as abstains from major sins.”“He is sagacious, righteous and non-profligate and honest and ameen”. I have searched far and wide for such people to represent my party and contest the elections. Sadly, I could not find many people who fit into those parameters. A few men and a dozen or so women of aforementioned qualities were indeed sighted. But, when approached, they all refused to contest the elections. Their point was simple; they were not thieves and women of questionable morals, so why should they debase themselves by becoming politicians?So, my countrymen, in all truthfulness, I must admit that I will be forced to induct people as prospective parliamentarians, people who do not fulfil the constitutional requirements for members of parliament, not because I do not want to do so but because, among the people of Pakistan, such people either do not exist or else are well hidden. Then my dear countrymen, I would like to remind you all that Pakistan is a poor country. The last major dam we built to harness our water resources was almost forty years ago. I do realise that Balochistan has more copper and Sindh more coal than many other countries, but I also realise that we as a country just do not have the money to exploit these natural resources without borrowing money from international aid agencies or other countries. And this brings me to foreign aid and investment. The law and order situation in the country is so bad that no foreign country is willing to invest in Pakistan. Why are things so bad in Pakistan? We as Muslims are fighting with each other for reasons that, at least I find difficult to understand. So my dear countrymen, it is not possible for me to reconcile varying religious points of view even if I become the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Therefore, even if I run the government, such infighting will continue. And if the killing goes on, foreign investment will stay clear of the country. Now about foreign affairs: as far as India is concerned, we have fought a couple of serious wars with India and have lost them badly. Clearly we in Pakistan cannot, under any acceptable scenario, either conquer Kashmir or wave the Pakistani flag on the Red Fort in Delhi. If once we accept these facts, then we can perhaps divert some of our limited national resources away from our army towards national development. I believe that our nuclear deterrent will keep us safe from any external aggression. As far as our relationship with the US is concerned, it is primarily about Afghanistan. We had a good innings in Afghanistan but now we are not unlike the Pakistan cricket team and its recent performance in Australia: spirited, but losing all the time. We have had considerable success fighting against the terrorists within Pakistan, and that is what our army should become the defender of our national integrity within our borders. We are a nation of functionally illiterate people who are entirely beholden to archaic values. Our greatest challenge is education. Our schools, colleges and universities, with a few exceptions, are the worst in the world. We do not teach inquiry and rational thought but only pass on received wisdom, if it can be called wisdom anymore. But even if I run the government I do not think that I can change our educational system. The madrassas are beyond reach and the formal schools and colleges are so overwrought by corruption that bringing back a semblance of proper education is going to be virtually impossible. Of course there are a few exceptions and perhaps we can try and emulate them for starters. So then you ask, why do I want to contest this election? Perhaps because I still believe that Pakistan has a future. And even if those in government are not entirely honest, as long as they do their jobs honestly, we might as a country make progress.’ Syed Mansoor Hussain has practised and taught medicine in the US. He can be reached at smhmbbs70@yahoo.com