THERE can be no bigger recipe for disaster for a country like Pakistan, which nature and geography had made ideal for an agriculture-based economy, than the greed-infected diminishing fertile green pastures.
This becomes more critical with an uncontrolled population explosion. Pakistan had the capacity to produce enough to feed its population and export surplus. Today, it has been reduced to a country importing all basic essential food items. This is a recipe for disaster, internal unrest, making the country prone to undue pressure from foreign countries, whose financial bailouts have become a regular feature. Coupled with this is institutionalized corruption, as revealed by the Federal Interior Minister about the flight of over $300 billion over the past few years to the Gulf, etc. This poses a threat to our national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Quaid-e-Azam, while addressing the First Constituent Assembly on 11 August 1947, warned that “one of the biggest curses which (British) India is suffering is bribery and corruption. We must put that down with an iron hand. That really is a poison.” He also stated that “black-marketing is another curse.” He suggested that we “have to tackle this monster, which today is a colossal crime against society, in our distressed conditions, when we constantly face shortages of food and other essential commodities of life. A citizen who does black-marketing commits, I think, a greater crime than the biggest and most grievous of crimes. —They undermine the entire system of control and regulation of foodstuffs and essential commodities and cause wholesale starvation and want and even death.”
Nature has provided an abundance of fertile lands in Pakistan. Converting fertile green pastures into concrete jungles for housing societies is, as per MAJ, a “grievous crime” because it creates food shortages. We live in times when “drip agriculture systems” have been evolved, which have transformed barren deserts into fertile agricultural-producing islands. Despite the obvious threats to our agricultural economy, hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile land on the periphery of every major city, which once produced enough to supply essential vegetables and fruits to citizens, have been converted into concrete jungles. These housing societies, if needed, should have been permitted on barren land. Whatever may be the projected aim of these projects, the fact is that these projects, patronized by the bureaucracy and political elite, have created food scarcity and price escalation of essential food items. It is an established fact that black money is parked in real estate projects. Pakistan has a unique system where real estate projects exist only on paper, without any land allotted to build them and these transactions are referred to as “files.”
Pakistan was under colonial occupation and British colonialists created a class among the natives, buying their loyalties with lands and titles. For them, the likes of Tipu Sultan were a thorn in their scheme, whilst men like Mir Jaffer were an asset. With their help, they managed to plunder British India of its wealth and assets and transferred them back to London. When Clive Lloyd landed on the shores of India, its GDP constituted more than 25% of the global economy and by the time they departed in 1947, it had shrunk to under 3%. They managed to achieve this by creating a class of an “elite group,” housing them in segregated gated housing colonies, surrounded by a sea of people living in utter despair. MAJ referred to them when he mentioned the curse of corruption which we inherited from the colonial Raj. The loyalty of government servants is of primary importance. Allowing them to pledge loyalty to another state and its constitution, whilst holding public offices of importance, was bound to result in the organized flight of capital and framing of policies which are detrimental to the interests of citizens. Loyalty to a nation and faith in one religion cannot be duplicated or shared. Individuals die for either faith or defending the territorial integrity of their country.
Pakistan needs to stop institutionalized corruption practiced by a few, hostage to their conflicts of interest. One such policy is the guaranteed capacity payments to IPPs, even at a time when the basic supply of furnace oil, LNG, etc., has been stopped due to the Iran crisis and blockage of the Strait of Hormuz. This was an ideal time to enforce the force majeure clause and renegotiate or cancel these agreements. The irony is that power generated by most IPPs cannot be distributed to other parts of the country because the distribution system does not exist. This was criminal negligence or mala fide—call it whatever you want—but Pakistan has suffered whilst a few individuals have benefited. If this was not enough, alternate power generation based on solar energy is being discriminated against. Pakistan needs to be saved from this elite capture by a few who have vested interests, yet manage to hold power and occupy important public offices.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Lahore.
