S NAYYAR UDDIN AHMAD
The Pakistani intellectuals and government functionaries must realise that the world’s worst collective economic depression of its history is not ahead, but it has already happened. It is not for nothing that the latest title cover of the magazine “The Economist” chillingly states that it was a grim calculus (The stark choices between life, death and the economy).
The adverse impact of such an unprecedented economic slump on Pakistan can only be overcome with prudent and visionary policy decisions of rebuilding our economy inside out and not through an easy way of getting more loans from IMF and other lending agencies, for which Mr. Imran Khan has an opportunity of lifetime, and that it must be realised that the future of Pakistanis cannot be salvaged with business as usual.
The gravity of this economic crisis of Pakistan can be easily gauged with just one example of how Pakistan was plundered and left hollowed by the current system, owned and managed by (hardly five percent of population) the elite vultures, who turned Pakistan into a country only for the rich, of the rich by the rich; and in the process it (the elite class) ruthlessly plundered and badly crushed the middle class and pushed about 13 crore natives below the absolute poverty line, by the misuse of authority through SRO’s, wherein, a detailed study of losses caused by SRO’s for the Indus Consortium reckons that the cumulative losses caused by the SROs (exemptions, non-taxation of benefits given to the elite) during the last four decades could come up to over Rs 100 trillion.
Now again, the PM must not be misled by the schemes of dishing out Rs 12,000 (which is actually the cumulative payment of four months @Rs.3000/PM for an entire average family of about 7 persons) where private labs and hospitals are charging about Rs.8,000/- per person for a COVID19 test. Also please do not forget that the elite of Pakistan, running the private school systems, are so callous, greedy, insensitive, aloof and indifferent with the financial crisis of the masses that they are not ready to obey the orders of the government to even reduce the school fee by 20%, which under the magnitude of the financial crisis and true spirit of sacrifice, should and must have been reduced by 50%.
The purpose of the above example was to remind our existing rulers, the fact that even during their about two years of governance, nothing repeat nothing improved for the almost non existent middle class and ever increasing numbers of people living below the poverty line, mainly due to the massive currency devaluation’s adverse impact on prices of daily items, rising rates of utility bills, rapidly increasing unemployment and fast declining agricultural yields. As such, it is high time that Pakistan must make a sea change from its elitist economy to the economic model of Riasat-e-Madina, whose edifice must be built on the principles of meeting the basic needs (food, health, shelter and education) of the have-nots.
This aim can only be achieved, if our Prime Minister Mr. Imran Khan is ready to show the courage and boldness of “resetting” of our economic system which should be based on the cardinal principles of the poor first, for which PTI government immediately needs induction of a new team which can plan, work and deliver according to PTI’s election manifesto promise of rebuilding New Pakistan, on the guiding principles of Riasat-e-Madina, which goal can only be achieved with immediate imposition of a full-fledged all out emergency, for remodelling of State of Pakistan‘s political, judicial, administrative and economic system on governance model of Riasat-e-Madina.
In this regard, PM Imran Khan must have knowledge that his success over his crusade against the well entrenched (stronger than might of State) Mafia (s) wholly depends on his simultaneous, genuine (not like formation of Task Forces) and fast track actions for the change of system which must be beneficial for over 95% suppressed population of Pakistan.
—The writer is freelance columnist, based in Lahore.
