0 évaluation0% ont trouvé ce document utile (0 vote)
22 vues3 pages
The article is about the key "Es" problems of Pakistan. I have tried to elaborate the current circumstances of the country which requires an attention from policy makers.
The article is about the key "Es" problems of Pakistan. I have tried to elaborate the current circumstances of the country which requires an attention from policy makers.
The article is about the key "Es" problems of Pakistan. I have tried to elaborate the current circumstances of the country which requires an attention from policy makers.
Published in Weekly Pulse Dated. May 12, 2014 Two months ago, I was given a chance by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) to visit the USA and meet some American renowned scholars like Stephen Philip Cohen and other senior journalists. After having brief discussions on various issues related to US-Pak relationship, I came to the conclusion that USA wants Pakistan now to be independent both politically and economically in its decisions and plans. There are some challenges the country needs to address in order to put a new step towards development. These challenges or five Es include; Extremism, Economy, Energy, Education and Establishment. Pakistan has to make some important decisions or design some policies to address these challenges. The country is still going through the toughest time of its history. However, there have been some major positive developments in last couple of months by the democratic government, but the main challenges are yet to be addressed. Here I will like to highlight these five Es that have become main hurdles in the progress and development of my country. Extremism After 9/11, extremism is not a new phenomenon for any country around the globe. In fact, extremism re-connected entire globe to address the issue in a proper manner with its full sprit. Pakistan is ranked amongst the most insecure countries where in spite of the constitutional right of freedom of expression, some journalists have lost their lives while some are still getting the life threats. The suicide bombings in Pakistan started in 1995, when some militant groups hired a suicide bomber to attack the Egypt embassy in Islamabad. Since then, the suicide attacks in the country are not end yet. As per survey by a non-governmental organization, there have been 21989 civilian causalities in various suicide/planted bomb attacks till March 2014 and 4994 causalities in drone strikes. The situation is still understandable that who is killing whom. The Pakistan Army itself is doing its best job, but the situation is still seemed to be more difficult than in past.
The NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan has started, the forces are rolling back their military equipment and many corners in Afghanistan are being vacated. Some troops will remain in Afghanistan, (if the BSA is signed) but would not be affective against terrorists, as the remaining NATO troops in Afghanistan would be trainers, not attackers and their security responsibility will lie at the shoulders of the Afghan government. On other side of the border, Pakistan itself cannot afford its troops to be remained at the Durand line as growing clashes on its eastern side (India) will lead the army to focus more than to its western border. This situation, will, somehow, create trouble for Pakistan; if the ongoing talks with the Taliban and other militant groups fail. Therefore dealing with growing extremism within Pakistan is one of the greatest challenges for todays democratic government. Economy The economy of Pakistan has been passing through its worst period of history. The economy of Pakistan is partially dependent upon the financial assistance that is being provided in the form grant. USA wants Pakistan now to be a bit independent economically as aid in the form of grant is now annoying a big proportion of public as they dont want to pay huge taxes to be used for development of any other country. According to a recent report of International Monetary fund (IMF), Macroeconomic imbalances and longstanding structural impediments to growth have prevented full realization of Pakistans potential. Problems in the energy sector, security concerns, and a difficult investment climate have combined with adverse shocks to undermine economic performance in the past decade. As a result, GDP growth has only averaged 3 percent over the past few years, well below what is needed to provide jobs for the rising labor force and to reduce poverty. This statement of the Monetary Fund clearly shows that if the same economic situation persists, it would economically be even more difficult for the country to reach even 7% of GDP growth in next two decades. Energy Pakistan is facing the energy crises for the last more than one decade. According to the official statistics, the government has paid the circular debt of 506 billion rupees to the IPPs while it has to pay more than 300billion rupees more. The electricity shortfall has reached 6000 MW while long-term projects like construction of dams, will ultimately reach its completion somewhere near to 2020, when the public demand could be higher than todays scenario. Pakistan, recently has borrowed 100 million Euros from a EU private bank for the construction of Keyal Khwar Hydropower project plant, which will create 122 Megawatts of electricity. The project is expected to be completed by 2016. Due to this energy crisis, foreign investors are reluctant to invest in Pakistan. Education Unfortunately, Education is one of those sectors that have always been ignored in Pakistan, As per Pakistans constitution 1973, Article 25 A, Right to education which clearly says that: The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of five to sixteen years in such manner as may be determined by law. Pakistans first ever education census was conducted in 2005/06 by the ministry of education and the Statistics Division. According to the consensus, there are 245,682 educational institutions around the country, which include religious madrassas (Religious education in masques), schools, colleges and universities. Various reports state that 20% population is considered to be educated whereas more than 13% out of these 20% is having just the primary education. This means, the 13% boys/girls can read and write their names. Remaining 7% students are either graduates (Bachelor) or have completed their masters degrees. As per Pakistans last budget 2013/14, presented in the parliament, education sector is allocated only 8 percent of the total budgetary allocation. According to the UNDP Human Development Report 2013, only seven developing countries in the world spend less on education than Pakistan.
Establishment Most of the Pakistani consider Establishment a term that is used to define Army and Intelligence agencies while in fact, it means the government machinery. Unfortunately, the governments in Pakistan had always been lacking the political will. Except the last democratic government of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), none of the previous governments enjoyed their tenure for full five years. Lack of political stability led to the poor management of government institutions. That in the long run failed to uproot the seeds of terrorism from its soil. The recent attacks on journalists especially attack on senior journalist Hamid Mir had led common people to talk more about role of establishment ISI in Pakistan. On one hand, the ambiguous civil- military relationship in the country has made the people uncertain and a bit scared about their future while on the other hand, the people of Pakistan feel that any sudden interruption in the existing democratic system would be totally un-acceptable. But one thing is sure that the role of Establishment in the overall development of the country cannot be ignored at as most of the policies of the country including the National Security Policy are designed with the consent of the Establishment. ENDS