SINCE its inception, Pakistan has lurched from crisis to crisis. The poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz was once asked what the future held in store for the country. He is said to have replied: “It will just go on and on like this”. And it has. In the current phase, a new factor has emerged: the loss of humanity. This ensures that living conditions won’t get any better for the impoverished majority.
The real problem is the breakdown of the moral fibre of society and the erosion of social conscience. As a result, our values, such as respect for social justice, egalitarianism and integrity, have vanished. What is worse is the stratification of society, with the haves robbing the have-nots of their dignity and self-esteem.
The masses — the real victims — lack the strength to fight their oppressors. They have, after all, been systematically handicapped by being denied the benefits of good education. Today, 30 million children are out of school in Pakistan. Most of those enrolled resort to rote learning as that is what they are taught. The rapidly growing population earmarks another failure of the rulers that has worked against the underprivileged. With insufficient access to birth control counselling and contraceptives, the poor are generally burdened with large families, making it impossible for them to improve their lives. Finally, the increasing trend towards indoctrinating people through the distorted interpretation of ideology and faith makes them submissive and unable to think rationally.
Pakistan’s situation today should be seen against the backdrop of the observation that one per cent of the population (elite) controls the destiny of 99pc (underprivileged). The political parties’ lack of unity of purpose has allowed the military establishment to adopt a strategy of divide and rule. Force is used only against select individuals and groups of opponents who threaten to upset the applecart.
The masses lack the strength to fight their oppressors.
The haves do not make a cohesive block, and that makes it easier to divide them. They comprise such diverse interests that they can be appeased by using a variety of methods. Thus, there are members of the armed forces, the bureaucracy, the judiciary, the legislatures, the executive branch, the guardians of law and order, the corporate sector, the landowners and builders, transporters, and professionals who have emerged as power groups and have a say in policymaking.
Many government departments might have modest budgets, but their staff is affluent, having acquired ill-gotten wealth through their public dealings including in sectors such as education, taxation, customs and police. There are others who have flourished because they have never been brought into the tax net, though legally they should have been taxed. They constitute the ‘taxation expenditure’, that is, what the state is losing because of the exemptions and concessions granted to them. These amounted to Rs2.24 trillion in 2022-23 according to the Federal Board of Revenue, ie, a third of the federal revenue collected by the centre that year. The provinces have their own stories.
This sector is also internally stratified. There is a wide gap between its top officers and the rank and file. The administration is structured in such a way that opportunities exist to grant perks and concessions arbitrarily to favour any power group that needs to be won over.
What happens to the masses? They also have their share of unscrupulous elements who cheat and exploit. Given their limited capacity, the harm they inflict is relatively small, but violence is more visible.
What would have been an impossible situation is contained by a massive amount of philanthropy, which is generated by individuals seeking their salvation in the hereafter. According to the Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy, individuals collectively donate Rs240 billion every year. The corporate sector generates Rs16.4bn. The most significant fact is that the bulk of the philanthropy goes towards feeding the poor. Transformative giving forms a smaller proportion of philanthropy in the country. The government itself helps many organisations in aiding those in need. In any case, philanthropy keeps starvation at bay. In Karachi, the sight of meals being served to people is common. There is no danger of people dying of hunger. They may be malnourished but their stomachs are not empty.
This is not a wise way of running a country of 241m people. Living on charity is self-demeaning. For rulers who have no qualms about picking up the begging bowl to collect funds for the treasury, it may be a normal thing. But how would they justify the violation of human rights and the breach of social justice that IMF dole-outs do not atone for?
Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2024
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