THE impact of rising petrol prices on our personal lives can be gauged from an announcement by Dr Inam-ul-Haq Javed. Dr Sahib is deeply devoted to literature and has made countless contributions to Urdu and Punjabi literature. During the past fifty-five years, many events have shaken Pakistan. He must have been disturbed by some of them, but never subscribed to a newspaper for current affairs. That tradition has now been broken: he has subscribed to one to know how much petrol prices will rise each morning. The people of Pakistan share Dr Sahib’s anxiety. It is also the reason behind Jamaat-e-Islami’s protests and sit-ins.
Pakistan is extremely busy these days. Some preoccupations are successes, others worries and pain. Among the successes is the extraordinary Makkah Pact. Respected Mujib-ur-Rehman Shami has described it as the voice of the Muslim Ummah’s heart. He is right. It fulfils an aspiration that remained unfulfilled for 107 years, eight months and 27 days. Muslim weakness began with the First World War, followed by more than a century of difficulties. Now Makkah has emerged as a political centre for Muslims, and Muslim countries are beginning to unite to safeguard the Holy Sanctuary. Pakistan’s contribution has been exceptional. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir have worked tirelessly towards this objective. Another concern is the one voiced by Mohsin Naqvi. After his startling statement, Pakistanis want to know whether new provinces will actually be created. The Pakistan Peoples Party has passed another resolution making it clear that they will not. Mohsin Naqvi, however, insists that this journey can no longer be stopped.
There is another kind of anxiety among those in Adiala. It has made them indifferent to the worries consuming the rest of the country, including the debate over new provinces and the Makkah defence alliance. Their only concern is Imran Khan. They want to meet him, want medical treatment for him, and want his release. The rest of the world may do whatever it likes. Even if petrol becomes unaffordable, that is not their problem. If PTI is indifferent to an issue as enormous as this, it cannot really be blamed, because this has been its tradition. In 2013, when Imran Khan came to Karachi to launch his party’s manifesto, I had the honour of interviewing him. Among other questions, I asked what his attitude would be towards violations of the Constitution if he came to power. “Which violation of the Constitution?” he asked.
His indifference to constitutional matters surprised me, but there was no time for surprise. I explained that General Musharraf had violated the Constitution twice and that my question concerned those violations. Khan immediately replied, “That is not my problem; it is Nawaz Sharif’s problem.” If a party raised in such an environment is indifferent to petrol prices touching the sky, why should anyone be surprised? This is a concern that suits Hafiz Naeem and Jamaat-e-Islami because it directly affects the public. Indeed, Jamaat-e-Islami is playing the role of society’s conscience on this issue. Could this struggle lead to electoral success? Nothing definite can be said. But the damage suffered over twenty-five to thirty years may begin to be repaired, and the party may regain a place in the political mainstream.
The important question is whether its protest can bring down the petroleum levy. A year ago, when Jamaat-e-Islami took to the streets, the result was a reduction in the exploitation associated with the IPPs. This time, it has focused on the petroleum levy. It demands abolition of the levy, not lower petrol prices. This shows that Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman and his colleagues have chosen their demand carefully. They understand that, given global circumstances, reducing petroleum prices may not be possible. If there is room for reduction, it is in the levy. What exactly is the levy? Is it related to the purchase price of petrol or its transportation? Not at all. It is linked to Pakistan’s fragile economy. The government imposes it to meet its expenditures. It burdens the public, although the government can sometimes reduce it when international prices rise sharply and thereby provide relief. The levy troubles both the public and the government, because every increase in petroleum prices delivers another shock.
How can we get rid of the levy? It is not easy. Government expenditure is not confined to a few items. The state’s complex structures are deeply embedded and their costs are sometimes difficult to identify. How can a struggling state abandon an easy source of revenue? There is no simple answer. That is why Ahsan Iqbal told Hafiz Sahib that if Jamaat-e-Islami presented a workable formula, the government would consider it. Jamaat-e-Islami has technocrats in its leadership, particularly Syed Firasat Shah, who has spent his professional life in the oil and gas sector. He has joined the government’s negotiating committee and can offer useful proposals. Yet the real difficulty lies beyond oil and gas. It concerns the economy and the state’s expenditures. It requires an understanding of state affairs and broad national consensus on reducing expenditure. This can only be achieved through changes in the NFC Award. The signs suggest that the country is now moving in that direction.
—This writer is former advisor to President, author & mass media theorist.
(farooq.adilbhuta@gmail,com)
