Inflation, price hike, electricity load shedding and the extreme energy
crisis all seem to be worsening day by day but, unfortunately, the media is
too busy with cricket and a debate over the legitimacy of the release of
Raymond Davis, utterly ignoring issues faced by the poor masses
As part of the volatile political scenario in Pakistan of late, we have
witnessed a growing number of protests by the masses, especially by specific
organisations, demanding the implementation of different promises and
pledges committed by the coalition government in Islamabad in general and
Sindh in particular.
The protesters have been demanding an increase in minimum wages, as
announced by the federal government, e.g. for the lady health workers (LHV),
implementation of agreed negotiations for the Sindh Professors and
Lecturers' Association (SPLA) and an increase in wages for the lower staff
of the education department. These protests have, unfortunately, been
responded to with violence, baton charging, tear gas and mass arrests. The
provincial governments in Sindh and Punjab are crushing every agitation and
registering cases against the peaceful protesters under the Terrorism Act.
They might be afraid of the revolutions being led by the people in the Arab
world. Hunger strikes in front of the press clubs in big cities are the
order of the day. Bankers associations and the families of missing persons
dominate the screen. However, all that hue and cry seems to be falling on
deaf ears.
The SPLA demands a time scale at par with other provinces as negotiated
and agreed to by the Chief Secretary of Sindh, Mr Ghulam Ali Pasha, and Ms
Sharmila Farooqi, who was then the advisor to the chief minister of Sindh,
on November 11, 2010. However, the government reportedly backed out. The
SPLA was compelled to press for the demand peacefully but the government
crushed their protests with water guns, injured senior male and female
professors, arrested 36 professors and vengefully transferred 412 professors
to far-flung areas. The lower staff in the education department met with a
similar fate. The teaching community blames the minister for education who
they cite as being stubborn and involved in malpractices. The teachers'
demands seem to be parked at the Secretariat due to the wrangling between
the secretary and minister for education.
Lady health workers demanding minimum wages were brutally treated and
baton charged, and 180 of them were arrested. Surprisingly, one coach full
of lady health workers and their innocent children was hijacked by police on
March 25 and directly taken to Sukkur Central Jail instead of some women's
police station.
On the other hand, the law and order situation has become abysmal in the
interior as well as urban centres. The writ of the state seems to be
nowhere. Only during March, 190 people fell victim to the latest wave of
target killings in Karachi. In Balochistan, target-killing victims are
common people, the central command of Baloch nationalist parties and young
students, specifically from the Balochistan National Party, which is the
Mengal group. The people's government has shocked people by adopting the
violent and oppressive tactics they themselves suffered during dictatorial
regimes.
Inflation, price hike, electricity load shedding and the extreme energy
crisis all seem to be worsening day by day but, unfortunately, the media is
too busy with cricket and a debate over the legitimacy of the release of
Raymond Davis, utterly ignoring issues faced by the poor masses. Despite
having a few major and macro political achievements like the NFC Award, end
of the 17th Amendment and introduction of the 18th Amendment, the people's
government seems to have failed in delivering on micro-economic issues.
The PPP leadership used to complain that, in the past, they were not given
enough time to deliver on their promises and were ousted after the
completion of just two years. In the beginning of their current tenure, they
kept imploring the people to wait and allow some time to the government for
sustainable development. What should the public expect after the completion
of three years of their current tenure?
Dr Marvin Weinbaum, Scholar-in-Residence at the Middle East Institute, a
think-tank based in Washington, and an expert on Pakistan, opines that the
coalition government in Pakistan is not addressing public issues. This
supports the arguments of the pro-military school of thought, which says
that democracy in Pakistan cannot deliver and that the naïve politicians
waste time and resources either by internecine conflicts or fall prey to the
artful bureaucracy. He does not believe in the negotiations made among
coalition partners to continue with the process until and unless they
address the overriding issues, as without this the whole process seems
worthless. He bemoans that, apart from Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah,
there has been no collectively acceptable leadership in Pakistan. For a
brief period, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto appeared as a leader but, after him, our
leaders have a limited pocket following; as a whole, the Pakistani public
seems leaderless. He argues that the people reaching the power corridors in
Pakistan, from Ayub Khan to Yahya, Zulfikar Bhutto to Generals Zia and
Musharraf, all start believing that they are indispensable. He warns of grim
consequences in case democracy fails to deliver. He does not support any
rapid change being invoked by some sectors, impressed by the political
upheavals in the Middle East. He says that because of different
circumstances, the situation can very easily be hijacked by illiberal
elements in Pakistan. He recommends choosing competent people who enjoy the
support of the masses, and that they be made accountable to the same public.
Three years are enough proof and the public craves the fulfilment of the
thousands of promises and rosy pictures that were presented to them during
the election process.
We need to support the democratic process, we need to make it accountable
and address the macro and micro issues of public relevance for the literal
survival of the citizenry. A namesake democracy breeds only new generations
of dictators who might already be waiting in the wings.
The writer holds a master's degree in social sciences and is a
professional trainer, researcher and peace activist. He may be contacted at
nizambaloch@gmail.com
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