PAKISTANIS AND THEIR DELUSION OF GRANDEUR

It is better to embrace an ugly Truth - than to nd comfort in a beautiful lie.

Regrettably, our case is upside down. We dwell in delusion of grandeur, primarily
based on rhetoric and contradictory dogma. Collectively we have created a
functional niche, where ignorance seems to be a key prerequisite, along with denial.
We have surrendered our discernment, free will, personal authority and moral
integrity to a group of plunderers and blunderers. The paradigm has become a
nepotistic, closed loop, revolving door, three ring circus where nothing but
corruption trickles down and only scum can rise. From one administration to the
next, no matter what it is called, we are being led towards Totalitarian Dystopia but
we are in a state of normalcy bias, underestimating the probability as well as the
possible effects of the disaster. Ironically, the academia and the civil society is
indulged in intellectually dishonest attempts to justify the unjustiable, while the
corporate media, the tricksters, through effective trance induction, are constantly
humanizing the elite villains, blowing off steam, winning them sympathy of masses
and justifying status-quo. Within this process, our aggregate consciousness has
become erroneously attached to, and vicariously identied with our abusers, while
completely dissociated from reality.
Lets be realistic, putting aside the delusion of inflated self-signicance, all dominant
myths and think for a moment. Being the citizens of this country and a part of this
society, we hold a collective identity, through which we are recognized in the global
community. This identity is not just limited to few thousand elite oligarchs or few
hundred thousand well settled, well off opportunists or the diminishing middle class,
rather it includes all 180 million people who live in this country. The global
community sees us as a rogue nation in a state of decline, being led by the most
unmeritorious, devoid of any aspiration, and we have provided them every reason
to believe so. Some of us may feel offended by this statement but lets ignore the
resent for a while and check out the facts and gures.
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has placed Pakistan among
fragile states, due to extreme level of inequality, conflict of interest and rapid
growth of shadow economy, which has gone three times in size, as compared to
regular economy. According to UNDP-Human Development report (2013), we have
successfully managed to orchestrate the largest income inequality gap in the
country, where 49.4 percent Pakistanis live in multidimensional poverty while 11%
is at risk of being pushed into the category. 27.4 percent Pakistanis live in severe
poverty while 21 percent are below poverty line. Intensity of deprivation is 53.4
Percent and half of the countrys population has no access to basic sanitation,
healthcare and education.
UNICEF Annual report 2013 has provided some stunning and heart rending gures. It
says; 15 percent of children under ve suffer from acute malnutrition, which is

above the international emergency threshold. Nearly half of children suffer from
chronic under-nutrition which leads to stunted growth. Pakistan is one of nine
countries globally lagging behind in terms of access to education. An estimated 7

million children of primary age and 25 million of secondary age (lower and upper)
are out-of-school in Pakistan. Pakistan is also on top, in child and maternal mortality.
According to World Health Organization (WHO) report: 2013, 460 children died
in Punjab and 300 children died in Sind due to measles, a virus which is said to have
spread rapidly due to unhygienic and unhealthy living conditions in rural areas.
Recent reports from international media have conrmed at least 250 child deaths in
Tharparkar due to malnutrition and several children died in various hospitals of
Punjab due to non-availability of health facilities. Super floods hit the rural areas of
Pakistan, year after year, leaving behind millions of shelter less people, deprived of
basic amenities while nothing has been done so far, to prevent this from happening
in future.
The situation is so far gone, its beyond alarming, into surreal. While the oligarchs
are living in palatial mansions and travelling in their shiny SUVs, accompanied by
police squad cars, the deprived people, their entire families along with kids are
committing suicides due to poverty, hunger and joblessness. According to
newspaper and media reports, government had to ban rat-killer pills because many
people, particularly household women were using those pills as easy and cheap way
to end their life due to poverty. During past years, liberty tower (Minar-e-Pakistan) in
Lahore became favorite place for suicide committers and considering it as sheer
embarrassment, government had to stop the electric lift service of the tower to
decelerate this flow. This is clear example of shameless denial by the ruling elites as
well as the society itself. Recently, quite a few people have committed suicides,
being unable to pay the utility bills. The most alarming aspect of extreme
inequality and rising poverty is, that people living below poverty line, insecure,
devoid of all means and hope, becomes the prospect targets for recruitment by
Taliban and other jihadi elements. After all, this concept of recruitment is nothing
new for the country and its myopic ruling elites who, with their ill-thought policies,
have contributed the most in creating this ghost of terrorism that haunts the world
today.
It is ironic that inequality is not just limited to income and wealth, rather its
rampant in terms of human rights, law and security too. Extreme level of insecurity
and discrimination is quite apparent in our society, which has become highly
vulnerable to street crimes, extortion, illegal occupation, random shooting,
sectarian violence and terrorist activities. The poor citizens, being the victims of
street crimes, often fail, even to get the FIR registered. Law enforcement agencies,
instead of protecting citizens, are acting as hired mercenary force for the ruling
elites, riding in their squad cars or standing outside their palatial mansions.
Recruitment of police in Pakistan, has always been the prerogative for the ruling
class. Criminals and unmeritorious individuals, hired on the basis of political
affiliations are usually involved in criminal activities and the dirty work of harassing
and humiliating the opposition or at times in extra judicial killings. In this country,
common citizens get stopped, checked, inspected, humiliated, arrested, beaten, and
sometimes kidnapped by law enforcement agencies while the oligarchs break laws
and get saluted for it. Courts and judiciary, under extreme political pressure have

become more or less ineffective, in defending the civil and human rights violations
or providing justice to common citizens.
According to Human Rights Report 2013 by US Dept. of State, the most serious
human rights problems in Pakistan are extrajudicial and targeted killings, sectarian
violence, disappearances, and torture. Other human rights problems included poor
prison conditions, arbitrary detention, lengthy pre-trial detention, a weak criminal
justice system, lack of judicial independence in the lower courts, and infringement
on citizens privacy rights. Freedom of expression is restricted and right to
information unavailable in Pakistan. World Human Rights Watch Report 2013, has
pointed out attacks on civilians by militant groups, atrocities against minorities,
growing electricity shortages, rising food and fuel prices, and continued political
dominance of the military as major Human Right Issues in Pakistan. The report
particularly focused on abuses by Pakistani police, including extrajudicial killings,
throughout the country, target killing of Shia Muslims, especially Hazara community
by Islamist Militant groups and the most serious human rights violation in
Baluchistan including continued abuses, ongoing torture and ill-treatment of
criminal suspects, and unresolved enforced disappearances of terrorism suspects
and opponents. As per 2014 Global Slavery Index, our country is ranked third in
terms of proportion of the population that is enslaved.
The other side of the coin displays a completely different picture. While
more than two third of the population is living in extreme deprivation, Pakistan is
considered as one of the best clients by IMF and other international creditors. The
country has never disappointed its creditors, never stopped the debt servicing and
government has never requested any debt relief, even during worst human crisis.
According to period-wise gures released by the Economic Affairs Division (EAD)
and the Ministry of Finance at 2013 brieng to Special Committee on Debt; in last
28 years Pakistan economy has relied on reckless borrowing, which could not solve
the economic problems of the country. The current foreign debt stands at $63 billion
(As of June 2013) and the domestic debt is about $75 billion. During Gen Zia regime
from 1985-88, the total foreign assistance received by the country was $6.37 billion.
During Benazir Bhuttos rst regime, $4 billion was received from IMF. During the
rst regime of Nawaz Sharif 1990-93, a total of $7.5 billion was received. In Pervez
Musharrafs regime 1999-2008, a record total of $23 billion loans were received by
the country. During 2008-2013 the previous PPP government received total foreign
assistance of $14 billion. Public debt gures quoted by EAD are quite shocking.
Public debt is the government debt generated through borrowing from banks and
issuing bonds/bills, in short; printing money. According to the gures, successive
governments over the last 60 years accumulated Rs.6040 billion of public debts
while the previous PPP regime alone added Rs.8215 billion in just ve years. Where
did all that money go?
In September 2013 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved latest bailout
loan of $6.64billion under Extended Fund Facility. In exchange, strict austerity
measures were demanded from PML (N) regime, through IMFs Structural
Adjustment Program (SAP). Those measures were bound to further deteriorate the

living conditions of workers and the poor. The conditions imposed by IMF were; cut
down in subsidies causing increase in utility prices, devaluation of currency causing
subsequent expansion in volume of debt, and privatization of public assets. The
government has agreed to; increase electricity and gas prices for domestic users by
30 percent, devalue Rupee at an average of 110 rupees to one US dollar and
privatization of additional 30 state-run enterprises, apart from 35 already chosen.
The more our governments borrow on our behalf, the more indebted we get. A
question never asked to our governments or lenders. Why are objectives and
terms of loans taken in the name of the people, not debated with the people, and so
secretive? And where all this money has gone? A nuclear power, whose natural
resources including Gold, Copper and Concrete at Riko Diq alone are estimated at a
value of around $300 billion, which owns gold and copper at Saindak and 185 billion
tonnes of coal reserves at Sind, is borrowing from IMF in the name of people while
imposing strict conditions on the same people, forcing them to die of hunger,
diseases or suicide. It surely makes no sense at all!
Who is responsible for this situation? The answer is simple. We are responsible.
As Walter Kelly said; We have met the enemy and he is us. We have become
our own enemy. We are conned within a comfortable complacency and swallowing
dominant myths under the influence of intimidated brainwashing by worst of the
worst, insatiable opportunists, with no objective merits to lead. Corruption has
become a norm in our reality consensus. Whatever could be "legally" gotten away
with, has been tolerated. The latest report by Transparency International ranked
Pakistan among the top most countries where corruption has gone rampant and
right to information doesnt exist. The report expresses concern over how unaware
citizens are of their rights.
We need awareness. We need to examine reality and understand that
representation by a crime syndicate can never be an honest representation for the
victims of its malfeasances and atrocities. We will have to rebuke intimidation from
the criminal regimes and quit subservience to the ideologies, demanding our rights
as humans, citizens and individuals. The problem isnt the politicians or bureaucrats
or establishment, the problem is the system itself. A system that doesnt value life,
dignity, self-respect and well-being of the common man, a system that doesnt
provide justice, equality, equity, peace and security, cannot last for long and gets
obliterated.
There is no short term solution to the multidimensional problems we are
facing. Education and awareness are key prerequisite for the change, which can
only be achieved through a long term process. Instead of being selsh, turning blind
eye towards the unjust society, we will have to revive our faith in self-sacrice for
the common good. Instead of compromising with unequal educational system, we
will have to educate all the children, the next generation in this country, without
discrimination. Education doesnt mean reading, writing or getting a degree and
nding a job. It means learning to see through the faade of pretense. It means
attaining knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge to understand whats going on and
wisdom to change it. Lets give it a try and hope that our next generation, once

educated and enlightened, will stand against the injustice and inequality, showing
oligarchy, the exit door and replacing them with capable individuals in the decision
making process.