I had been trying so hard not to cry, but my recent visit to Pakistan unfolded how the bespoke political instability has left Pakistan badly wounded. No regrets, others have spent more than seven decades judging who is more patriotic and who less is.
I am haunted by the notion of struggling parents in such distress that they wanted to take their own life. I think too of the state of our country, where the system should address such struggling families, but it is no longer there.
Two big questions will prey on the political discourse for many generations to come: how career liar politicians, the perpetrators of the present situation can change the fate of Pakistan, and why the government–that they all led–failed and failed again to change the society in the last seventy years? This is just not a blip, in fact, a symptom of a dysfunctional system.
Nevertheless, the culture war frame suits political leaders because of their self-claimed positions as custodians of the constitution. But it doesn’t fit the facts. Do the political parties have a policy on union, respect, openness, and good character? This is an important question which doesn’t have an obvious answer. We are the country of adventures, Jail bharo tehreek, long march, dharna, audio leaks and, now all of a sudden, the constitution of Pakistan has knocked on the door of the Supreme Court after more than a half-century. Everyone seems so determined to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Politicians have smashed the public trust so much that there’s little confidence about anyone doing better.
At each stage in this let-down saga, politicians appear like champions of a quick fix in talk shows and public rallies but are still far from ready to fix the country. Each specialises to distance themselves from any kind of responsibility which reveals the ugly truth about politics in Pakistan. Given the murky underworld of politicians, their policies are suffocating their voters.
But let’s not forget who the victims are here: as in all crises, it is the working class who suffers the most from our politicians’ malice and their decisions. Don’t be fooled by politicians’ fundamentalist persona – their policies on health, economy, education, accountability, rule of law, workers’ rights, disaster management, price control, rule of law, foreign investment, minorities rights and governance now pack a punch. Emerging testimonies suggest that a dysfunctional ruling class has not only misappropriated public funds but also misused their powers and prevented meaningful reforms to build Pakistan’s future to meet the imminent challenges.
Do you know families are in the midst of the biggest fall in living standards since the 1947s? An estimated 22.8 million children aged 5-16 are out-of-school. The state of democracy in Pakistan has deteriorated to a level where it sits just above countries described as authoritarian. Pakistan’s poverty rate has risen to 35.7 per cent and the prices of edibles have increased beyond the reach of many. Pakistan ranks 92nd out of 116th nations on the list of poverty index. Yet politicians seem to have little idea of how to reinforce policies to run the wheels of the economic and social engine. Vague promises, and flippant undertakings, to bring down energy prices and address the plethora of social issues do little to bring actual improvement to people’s lives.
Take the example of energy which is considered to be the lifeline of an economy and the most vital instrument of the socioeconomic development of a country. Unfortunately, Pakistan’s energy infrastructure is not well developed, rather it is considered to be underdeveloped.
None of the previous governments acted responsibly to advance or upscale the existing infrastructure that can effectively meet the future needs of the nation. Currently, the country is facing a severe energy crisis. For years, the question of balancing Pakistan’s supply against the electricity demand has remained a largely unresolved issue.
Similarly, World Justice Project (WJP), Pakistan is ranked 129 out of 140 in the rule of law index. Low public confidence in the system, unfair dispute resolution processes, weak law enforcement, backlog of cases in courts, delays in the justice system, high litigation costs, and corruption are the key factors to the anaemic rule of law. What’s stressing me out is endemic government corruption, depleted foreign reserves and crippling debt have fractured Pakistan’s economy beyond repair. Nevertheless, Pakistan’s economic situation is a direct reflection of misplaced priorities and policy paralysis for decades.
As a result of being mired in political and feudal corruption, Pakistan has now existed as a state that only lives on the generosity of the Saudis, China, and the U.S. But institutes like the World Bank and IMF have run out of patience. Pakistan is included amongst the list of ten countries that have “significantly declined” in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for 2022, hitting the lowest score since 2012, revealed a report by Transparency International (TI).
Far from fulfilling his promise to bring “stability and unity” to both the country and his party, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has done the opposite. A new era may have begun, but it’s not going well. Last month, the parliament descended into parody when it dropped another bombshell after approving another mini-budget.
“No power, no gas, no jobs, no food items people waiting in long lines for flour trucks, inflation higher than ever. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government had not only failed to solve the country’s social and economic problems but also failed to meet the basic needs of a large and impoverished nation.
The political scavengers have been circling the public for several years now. The frightening prospect of political chaos has sent the public – into a tailspin.
This suggests our politicians have been very determined in habit of keeping their trays empty. These issues were circling Pakistan for decades, but our leaders weren’t interested to resolve the problems that may paralyse the essential public services.
The list of the above failures echoes the chilling grim years of a failed political discourse, which arrogantly prevented functioning in the best interests of the nation. The politicians have smashed the public trust so much that there’s little confidence about anyone doing better.
It has become achingly clear that our future is broken. It’s the politicians misleading the public about the effects of their incompetence to run the country with accountability, openness, and good character. The growing body of evidence suggests most of the recent political projects in Pakistan carry within them the seeds of the destruction of public trust. The damage is everywhere.
The writer is based in UK, and has specialization in health informatics from Johns Hopkins University.