How can we
proclaim a mere one percent increase in GDP as an earth-shattering achievement? How does he claim to have doubled the GDP of Pakistan? Moreover one must also put into perspective the rough time being given to the civilians with frequent dismissals during the 90s — thrice in eight years — which destabilised the entire political set up. Besides this the constant intervention and interference by the military and its bureaucrat president never allowed the two political parties to pursue policies of their choice. One cannot also forget the sanctions and aid cutoff due to our going nuclear in 1998 and its massive impact on the economy. In contrast, the General’s decision to sell our national interests and join the US war in Afghanistan after 9/11 in 2001 brought about the end of sanctions, restructuring of foreign loans and US aid as the price paid by the west for purchasing Pakistan’s support. The first three years of Musharraf’s rule, 2000-2002, the GDP mean was a mere 3 percent. It was only after the US’s blessings flowed in that the GDP began to rise. When General Zia sold our interests for similar personal ambitions in 1981 and the US threw a few morsels to us, Pakistan’s GDP grew at a mean rate of 6.5 percent from 1981 to 1988. So why do we need to be beholden to this General for a one percent increase? Actually his government underperformed. The GDP should have risen to at least 7.0 percent on average with western support. See what India achieved—a mean rate of 8.5 percent during a similar period or China’s over 10 percent. These are miracles of management and vision. One is not denying that the economic performance was not better, but the opportunity was clearly there for the economy to perform at much higher levels of growth provided the managers possessed vision.
The good General does not recall that he left behind the worst energy crisis the country has ever known and high inflation. It was found that no planning and investments had been made to meet the energy needs and the whole country has suffered since with the people, industry, the agricultural sector all going through agonising shortages of electricity for as much as 12-18 hours a day. Imagine the impact on the economy. This is tantamount to criminal neglect. It is true that Zardari and his allies mismanaged all aspects of government including the economy and will go down as one of the worst performers on all counts, but the acute power shortages dealt a very severe blow to the economy. Therefore their poor economic performance must be viewed keeping in mind this factor. The GDP fell to a dismal 3.18 percent mean during 2008-2012. I wonder whether the impact of shortages has been quantified or not but a guesstimate of 0.5-0.75 percent would not be too wild.
Before he usurped power there was no terrorism nor was there the scourge of suicide bombings. As a result of General Musharraf’s misplaced policies, which only suited his ambitions to stay in power, Pakistan was unnecessarily dragged into the US’s war and therefore all of their enemies became our enemies. The result is the Pakistani people and the army have become cannon fodder and more than 40,000 have been killed till now. Our economy is shattered due to the destabilisation and insecurity. Musharraf gave our bases to the US and permission to operate drones, tantamount to a license to kill Pakistanis also. Did he and his colleagues not realise, particularly after the first entanglement of the 1980s in Afghanistan, the ramifications of their reckless decision? Has he come to save Pakistan or do we need to save Pakistan from him is the real question.
He talks of clean government, easily forgetting the kind of people and parties whose support he solicited to prop up his illegitimate regime. The General, and many more of us criticize Zardari for his devious ways but they both have many common political partners. Unfortunately in order to retain power Musharraf had to compromise national interests by supporting the US and domestically align himself with ill-reputed opportunists to legitimise his regime. Better to retain the seat of power, rather than uphold principles.
The return of Musharraf is most probably engineered by the establishment and other vested interests that usually align themselves with dictators with the aim of derailing the democratic process. This used product in poor wrapping cannot be marketed unless outright unconstitutional methods are used. A cruel joke should not be played with the people. Once and for all we must learn to accept that ultimately the people will prevail. Democracy and freedom, equal opportunity and justice are essential for progress and prosperity. Their universal acclaim and success are proven. Our journey on the road to democracy must not be blocked time and again as it will lead to losing our way for good.
(Concluded)
The writer is a businessman and a former chairman of the National Textile Foundation. He can be reached at [email protected]