OF RICKETY LITTLE STRUCTURES

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2018/10/01/of-rickety-little-structures/

DHA in Lahore is going through a massive restructuring, with underpasses and overpasses and bypasses, you name it. If these are considered crucial for the health and happiness of the nation, the sudden rash of little Minar-e-Pakistans at every crossing are definitely not. Having made a hash of honouring the real national monument which represents the Lahore Resolution written by Sir Zafarullah Khan – the Resolution that started the concept of Pakistan – one wonders what so many rickety models are supposed to represent, and such garish ones too, unless of course they are meant to be a satire.

The above may be a trifling example of squandering at the taxpayer’s expense but there are innumerable such examples, and numbers have a habit of adding up, as do grievances.

Pakistan has a crying need for many things. Rivers be dammed, we need education, and real, informed justice dispensed by rational minds. But right now, and most crucially it is Baluchistan that needs attention. For this every little bit counts.

Baluchistan has had a turbulent history, and even its present lacks the prosperity one would expect from a province as minerally rich as it is. Not only is Baluchistan the largest province in the country with reference to land area, it is immensely rich in mineral resources. Its coal, marble, limestone, and other minerals are all currently being mined, and there are further untapped reserves. Baluchistan’s greatest contribution though is the gas piped from Sui to the rest of the country. This makes the Baluch resentment completely valid, that the province itself does not benefit as it should from its own crucial resource. There is no law and order in Baluchistan and its people lack personal security. Any protest movements have dire consequences for people indulging in them, and the ghost population of the province is growing by the day.

Baluchistan remains Pakistan’s most poverty-stricken province, with the greatest human rights violations, political and sectarian. But now that poverty has taken a turn for the worse, because of drought which has been coming on for a couple of years or more. There was ample time for something to be done had matters at the top been less disorganised and less involved in sorting out power deals. The situation is now at the stage where the population is suffering from severe malnutrition, the highest in the country. Also the highest in the country is Baluchistan’s infant mortality. As a result, the growth – height and weight – of Baluch children is suffering.

A hundred and two luxury and other vehicles are to be auctioned. Up to a few days earlier sixty-one of these were sold. Just one of these cars, a Mercedes SUV, was sold for Rs14.5 million

Imran Khan did well to highlight the matter in his inaugural speech when he expressed his government’s commitment to tackle this and other issues — such as discrimination. The only thing is one is somewhat chary of laying much faith in such stated commitments following the Atif Mian episode where the PM reneged on his own promises of non-discrimination made so recently.

So, what is to be done?

Following the recent auctions of cars, cows and other property, it would be an idea to divert the proceeds towards helping the people of Baluchistan on an urgent basis. After all it is tough that the very province that provides the gas to cook the abundant niharis and gulab jamuns for the rest of the country should itself not have enough to eat. What could be more urgent than this, unless of course the government does another Atif Mian on this issue.

The auctions, a laudable move by the government, must have raised a great deal of money. They did after all raise Rs2,302,000 on just eight buffaloes belonging to the ex-PMs house. One of the buffaloes actually sold for Rs385,000 for which one must be grateful to NS and his daughter because the purchaser felt he would be somehow reminded of them by his purchase.

A hundred and two luxury and other vehicles are to be auctioned. Up to a few days earlier sixty-one of these were sold. Just one of these cars, a Mercedes SUV, was sold for Rs14.5 million, while a Land Cruiser was sold for Rs27.4 million. All this adds up to a great deal of money. Whatever this money is designated for should be determined by popular consent, officially determined. But Baluchistan must surely be the prime choice, although even these funds will not be sufficient. The uplift of an entire province from such poverty will require a great deal of ongoing effort. But it would be a crucial start.

Pakistan is one of the lowest spenders on health, specifically maternal and infant health in the world. It is one of the few countries where polio is yet to be eradicated. It contains some of the worst education in the world and one of the worst records of law and order. Yet a substantial percentage of its budget is spent on its military, which owns the DHAs dotted around the country where the rickety little structures mentioned before have been erected. One hopes that the governance of the country is in more stable hands. It remains to be seen.