Daily Times

The State Bank of Pakistan has calculated the damages done by extremists, since 2002, when the country had become a frontline state in the US-sponsored war on terror, to be $118.3 billion. The Coalition Support Fund alleviated this burden only to the extent of $14 billion. As economic growth slowed down, social sector development became a low priority subject. This crucial business of improving human indicators still remains unattended as civilian regimes spare only meagre funds for health, education, sanitation, and clean drinking water. Since social sector development remains a wanting area and a focus of international development agenda, governments have made the same as a pretext to secure short-term loans from domestic and foreign sources. A vicious debt cycle has developed, which is making socio-economic growth uncertain and ultimately undermining prospects of country’s stability.

The judiciary, which the ruling parties have earnestly pledged allegiance to for the sake of democracy and rule of law, has duly noted that the civilian regimes have become habitual in making the funds reserved for social sector development lapse or diverting them to the projects consuming tar and steel in abundance. The democratically elected governments are not interested, at all, in devolving power and resources to the local governments, which are the recognised means of delivering public goods. They have been delaying census–a means to assess the actual figures on poverty and deprivation of people–for two decades.

Now, the situation is quite worrisome. Economic managers have found foreign loans as an easy way to fund the social sector development but funds either remain non-utilised or are stashed away. The commoners, who fill the national exchequer by paying indirect taxes on energy goods and kitchen items, are just left high and dry at the times of announcing annual budgets, since a major chunk of revenues is consumed for the payment of markup on foreign debts.

Call it the absence of accountability mechanism or the irony of fate that democracy happens to serve the interests of the privileged part of the population; the beneficiary of the colonial era. The social structure cautiously designed to serve one to five percent of the population has a visible number of electables, which political parties strive to win over for electoral success. The police and revenue system have geared to protect their high position in the society while democracy has just become a plaything for them. They are not expected to pay taxes but are vested in making laws to shore up the revenues of the state. At whom the burden will be placed is not that mind-boggling of a puzzle.

Accountability is the key to striking a balance as economic inequalities tend to widen at an alarming pace. With free flow of information and the country being under a democratic spell, terror has emerged as the major weapon to deny people what they deserve: freedom of expression, an end to regressive taxation and enhancement of purchasing power. Unfortunately, the situation is getting worse on these subjects ever since democracy got a full chance in Pakistan in 2008. High GST, a skewed tax base, the demise of LG system and denying the eastern neighbour its MFN status speaks volumes of the bad luck affecting people of Pakistan.

How a democracy under the dark spell of National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) can be beneficial to the people? The corrupt and the criminals were not only pardoned but also provided with a chance to resume their businesses as politicians and bureaucrats. That they were made to feel guilty only made them excel in their ill-deeds. What emerged was the politics of reconciliation. All sharing power to save their skins; democracy has now become a laughing stock. Doors of accountability are closed while the ill-gotten money gets translated into offshore assets (thanks to Protection of Economic Reforms Act 1992); the country is, thus, left to the lust and greed of the wrongful.

Land reforms have become a closed chapter and the health sector has also been left to commercial interests. Who does not know that the major burden of disease comes through polluted waterways and the choked drainage system? Now bio-remediation technique to clean wastewater that does not require energy or steel input is being exported. Make its usage compulsory for all housing societies and municipalities and Pakistan would be green within a decade. It would mean both health and a sustainable economic growth. But take a pause and think about the mafias and the evil forces that have made political parties hostage to their vested interests and you would find judiciary as the only saviour.

The defence sector, which consumes the best of human and fiscal resources, cannot be sustainable while security threats keep growing and the tax base remains narrow. Border management is certainly the way out to discourage smugglers and drug barons from choking both economy and politics but improvements in civil-military relations is also the need of the hour. The key to this end is the strict accountability of political parties, which are meant to do necessary legislation on foreign and domestic policies of the state for the sake of security but are open to the influence of foreign lobbies protecting varied interests. Otherwise, there would remain a disconnection between the civilian regimes and the armed forces of the country. Economic managers will cater to the needs of defence sector but shift these costs to the marginalised sections of the society, which already suffer from preventable diseases, natural disasters, and man-made poverty.

The writer is an Islamabad-based veteran journalist and an independent researcher. He can be reached on Twitter @riazmissen