A nation lost in transition

Ali Ashraf Khan

While Pakistan seems to have been ‘lost in transition’ from a newly founded, under developed country into either an Islamic welfare state or a democracy during the last 65 years without much success in either direction life outside Pakistan has been going on and the world has changed a lot during those 65 years.

My foreign travels started first when I was a college student and since then I have not only traveled East and West and met many dignitaries in those countries like in China during Mao-Tse Tung’s lifetime when Chou en Lai was known for its human resource management and making wonders, one such was the re-construction of Silk Road by the Chinese and it was then that I happened to experience their hospitality extended to Prime Minister Bhutto in Friendship and Brotherhood Camps visit alongside KKH on the Pakistani side. A Barter trading syndicate for trade by road between Gilgit & Kashghar was also established by China and Pakistan in the seventies.

But a recent business trip to Hong Kong and China made me painfully aware of the fact that the center of gravity has shifted to the East while the Western world and its allies are getting close to another all time record great recession that might plunge the dollar regime into history. Today’s China is a world class country; to me even Europe looked to have been left far behind. Hong Kong is a Chinese exclave and has since developed into an economic giant, though until recently it was a British colony but the change after that is on the surface, business and prosperity is booming around and in my opinion after Tokyo Hong Kong is the second most expensive city for tourist.

The fact is that its closeness to China made it a convenient location for world businesses during the cold war period that did not want to or were not allowed to go directly to China. That is why despite its limited territory it has developed a thriving industry and business climate supported by first class infrastructure and communication lines.

An even larger economic wonder is China; within thirty years it has changed from a mainly peasant society to a thriving industrial nation. That development has come for a price, no doubt about that, but China today has the means and the confidence to face the challenges that are coming from globalization and Hong Kong is a true reflection of that myth.

My friend and business associate Shah also arrived in Hong Kong from Frankfurt the same day and next day we left for Shenzhen in China, Shenzhen and Guandou both are thriving business cities in mainland China and one thing that impressed me was all the Chinese people especially the present three generations are no less then citizen in any European country, workaholic, and they are all busy with their jobs of innovation, we were lucky to have with us two studios young ladies well versed with the art of business requirements, Katherine was our local representative, she impressed us with her business acumen and knowledge, she made everything possible in our short stay and one thing that impressed most was their straight forwardness we had booked orders for Jewelry without Nichol finish, but the whole sellers later when we had returned after confirming from the manufacturer that it can’t be produced by them told us openly, if they had shipped those with Nichol we would have suffered but this is their honesty in business.

Then we returned to Hong Kong to attend Fashion Access Exhibition, which is an exhibition of world class. Pakistani leather products were in demand but Consulate had failed as usual to provide basic information about the Pakistani participants. On my return to Karachi a leading business tycoon surprised me that he was among Pakistani participants and we could not meet there.

I was all the time scratching my head thinking about reasons for our failure, I recall my student days in Lahore, where students from many developed countries used to come for studies, we had foreign student hostels for them and even Girl students from Saudi Arabia in large number use to come for Medical degree, Iran & Turkey students were there in every branch of study, Malaysia, Jordan/Palestinian, Arabs and Sri Lankan were also there. Now all types of people from the West are coming to adventure in this very sensitive field concerning our nation’s future, if Education received due attention, which it has not during all this time, where would we stand today.

Whatever we had at the time of partition has been thrown to the winds. Infrastructure development with increase in Industrial productivity has been neglected, so has been energy production.

Ayub Khan era was known as an era of decade of reforms, when our country was progressing, which was not liked by the so called progressive elements who use to call East is Red and on coming into power with this slogan they soon changed their skin and Asia became Green for them and this appears to have been designed to push Pakistan into bondage, which we are now.

It is unfortunate that all the miseries that afflict Pakistan are manmade and our own contribution, we cannot blame others for our many failure, the Debacle of East Pakistan should have opened our eyes but alas!

The following four decades were marred with mediocrity, adhocracy leading to bankruptcy of leadership in every walk of life be it political, civil and military bureaucracy and business leadership, the dilemma is we debate our ideology and great scholars take pride in questioning our ideology, now talk everywhere goes that we are not a nation, one thing that other nations have protected the most for attaining self respect in the comity of nation.

With this assessment of our bright past one wonders what have we been doing all these years in last four decades? When we look back at our history it has always been a struggle for power among the different parts of the country and their ruling elites, whose only aim was to achieve power by hook or crook so a compromised leadership emerged on the screen to ruin the silver lining appearing on Pakistan’s horizon. Economy has been neglected most of the time. Interestingly, it was under military rule when our economy did a bit better as it was the case under Ayub Khan, when he had 5 year economic development plans. Alongside there was a 20 years perspective plan, and a country like Korea was one country that had borrowed our five year plans as an example of successful economic development. Where are they today and where are we? The following civilian governments seem to have regarded it as their first and foremost aim to undo whatever had been achieved.

That was the case under Z. A. Bhutto who nationalized upcoming industries and placed them under PPP stalwarts without any knowledge in business and management for their persona plunder. He also took care of the civil service where he destroyed the frame that the British had given to it and politicized it and introduced corruption. Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif were saddled two times each to work on the dotted lines of troika of power known as establishment.

Benazir IPP’s worked as last nail in our economic coffin, while Nawaz Sharif claimed largest mandate, coined a new terminology “Qaraz Uttaro Muluk Sanwaro, which was overwhelmingly supported but nobody knows where all those dollars went? He also called a national convention of business leaders on the very first day and formed over a dozen committees to introduce reforms to jump start the ailing economy, one committee was for Export revamping, where I was also a member and I have been protesting all through that period that not a single suggestion of this report was implemented.

The same was the fate of other committee reports. National interest was compromised with the personal interest of the rulers.
Then came General Musharraf after a coup, which had a built-in complex to obtain US support instead of that of the people of Pakistan, who are supposed to be the real fountain of power.
He proved spineless and submitted to US demands to become a frontline state in their proxy war on terror, Turkey refused to provide air bases on the strength of parliamentary resolution, in 2003-4 we fell victim on nuclear proliferation allegation and Dr. Qadeer Khan was badly humiliated on foreign desire, later even Benazir Bhutto agreed to provide access to Dr. Qadeer and for inspection of our nuclear assets that led to drafting of infamous NRO, which was scrapped by the Apex court but the damage has been done.

The same can be said about the recent PPP government that has undermined and made irrelevant whatever was left of former institutions like parliament, NAB, ministries, autonomous bodies and corporations and other institutions.

The decade from 1988 till 1999 is called by economic analysts ‘a lost decade’. And the era from 1999 to 2013 can be called the final ruin of the post-colonial national project of Pakistan. During this period the sovereignty and national interest of Pakistan was finally sold for money and weaponry to the US and Pakistan became a US proxy in the war in Afghanistan.

And when we are looking at the parties and candidates that are applying to run in the next elections one is at a loss to understand how they would do any good to the country. None of the parties has a program for economic development worth mentioning.

The need for National reconciliation and strengthening the solidarity in Pakistan without foreign intervention, article 62 and 63 have now become laughing stock for all and sundry, caretakers are nothing less than chair takers. The change the nation was aspiring to get is no where in sight.

Neither meaningful poverty alleviation nor new foreign policy on independent can substitute our slavery to the US with good-neighbourly relations with China, Iran and Russia. This kind of elections will bring no change and no democracy. Why can’t we learn this lesson finally after such a long time? God bless! Pakistan.


http://www.thefrontierpost.com/category/40/