Socio Economic Problems of Pakistan --- A sample Essay

SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROBLEMS OF PAKISTAN --- A Sample Essay

Introduction:

            Linguistic and cultural diversity, economic disparity, divisions of class and caste, tribal and clan affiliations, and inherited differences of rank and privilege have profoundly conditioned Pakistani society and its responses to democracy and human rights. The most visible characteristic of this society is the dominance of a feudal and tribal social structure, with strong patriarchal and authoritarian trends. Social behavior is shaped by these trends, which are manifested in a culture of control and monopoly over power and resources.

REASONS OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROBLEMS OF PAKISTAN

1. The Problem of Feudal Structure:

            The pattern of colonial rule in undivided India had given rise to ruling elite drawn from feudal and tribal groups and the industrial bourgeoisie. Access to the State for the vast rural majority took place through the patron, who was the feudal landlord or the tribal chief. Power and privilege were negotiated with the colonial rulers by these elites. Patron-client networks had grown stronger during the period of colonial rule.

The grip of a landed oligarchy (government by a small group of people) in the Punjab and Sindh, and of tribal chiefs in Balochistan and NWFP, over the rural population continued to be a main cause of the growth of inequality in Pakistan. Control of political decision-making remained directly or indirectly in the hands of those who had a stake (interest) in maintaining the status-quo. Economic policies also accommodated those interests. A series of military regimes co-opted the same stake-holders to perpetuate the tradition of control over power and resources to the exclusion of the 'common man'. A more equitable redistribution of assets never became a part of any political or economic plan, and remained a rhetorical slogan of successive regimes. The social structure, therefore, persists (carry on) without serious challenges from either state policies or social movements.

            In Sindh, the feudal structure is stronger than in the Punjab, and at the same time the tribal system of NWFP is slightly less hierarchical than the Sardari Nizam of Balochistan. In Sindh and Punjab, particularly in Southern Punjab, power emanates from control over resources, i.e., land and its products. In tribal society, strong ties of clan and kinship impose the necessity to submit to the control of the tribal elite.

The feudal system operates by controlling all aspects of the subject's life. The landlord sees it as a right to command the labour of the peasant. If any terms are offered, these are extremely exploitative. Often peasants are subjected to forced and bonded labour. Social rights of the peasants are also subject to the will of the feudal. Education has been discouraged by the feudal class, which always felt that education would empower the peasantry sufficiently to challenge feudal control. Exploitation has often taken more serious forms of abuse and violence. Rape of women, illegal confinement of families to prevent their mobility, child labour, and cruel and inhuman punishment for defiance (challenge) of authority are common occurrences under the feudal system in rural Pakistan.

Failure to Implement Effective Land Reform:

Failure to implement effective land reform has resulted in the continuing prevalence of large land holdings. The first attempt at land reform in Pakistan was in 1959, the second in 1972, and the third in 1977. These attempts failed to bring about any significant reduction in the size of land holdings, and caused no loss of social or political power to the landlords. The major factor responsible for the failure of the land reforms was the ceiling on ownership.

The limit to the size of holdings was fixed on an individual, rather than a family, basis. This allowed most of the feudal landlords to circumvent (Evade, escape from) the reforms by effecting fictitious (imaginary, unreal.) or merely formal transfers of land. Many used other lacunas (a gap) in the scheme to retain land without declaring any land in excess of the ceiling. The failure of land reforms to achieve the objective of equitable distribution of land is evident in the following observations:

1.               Landlords were left with large land holdings even after declaring land in excess of the fixed ceilings;

2.               In 1959, only 35% (1.9 million acres) of the land declared in excess of the ceiling could be taken over by the government. In 1972, this was even less. The total amount of land taken over was 0.1 million acres.

3.               A major portion of the land taken over by government after the attempts at reform was uncultivated and needed considerable improvement before it could be cultivated. The recipient farmer not having access to credit or support services could, therefore draw neither economic nor social benefit from his new holdings.

With the "green revolution" in late 1960s, successive governments saw no need for land reform, as the argument that small farms had a higher yield than large farms could no longer be used to spur action by the government. The prospect for another attempt at more genuine land reform was finally eliminated by a decision of the Federal Shariat Court in 1989 declaring the Land Reforms Ordinance of 1972 to be non-Islamic thereby establishing the principle that the whole concept of land reform is non-Islamic.

Rights of Women in the Society:

            Regardless of class or urban/rural differences, women are subject to cultural practices that are repressive (oppressive) and discriminatory. Many of these practices reflect the status of women in society. They are perceived as having no independent existence or dignity. They are the repositories (storehouse) of family honour, and violation of their honour and dignity is not seen as injury to the women themselves but to the family honour. A common form of humiliation, often meted out (measure) to the defiant (openly disobedient) subject by the landlord, is publicly stripping (undress) women of the offender's family. On the other hand, any exercise of freedom of choice in marriage by women, whether in a feudal or tribal setting or in an urban environment, is also seen as blemishing the honour of the family, and results in extreme forms of violence exercised against women.

            Women from the peasant class suffer both as members of their social class as well as from denial of rights and status on the basis of gender. While women from the feudal class enjoy freedom from poverty, their status and rights are as vulnerable to feudal practices as those of peasant women. In some respects, the freedom of tribal women and those belonging to feudal families is more restricted than that of peasant women. Deprivation of most of their social rights, including education and health care, results not from poverty but from the strict rules of seclusion (privacy) imposed on them. No opportunities for economic independence are available. Although entitled to inheritance under the law, patriarchal trends have largely denied this right to women of the landed aristocracy. In order to prevent division of land-holding, only male heirs are allowed a share in landed property. Where title to land is transferred to women, either as a concession to the law, or to avoid land reform schemes, it is only formal and women have no control over the land. More often than not, they are not even aware that they hold this title. Patriarchal attitudes and value systems have denied women autonomy in all decision-making. The right of choice in marriage is totally denied. Women are bartered into marriage to forge (fabricate, invent) family alliances to strengthen the power base, or to protect interests in land-holdings.

2. War against Terrorism:

Most of Pakistan's socio-economic problems originate from the heavy emphasis on national defense and military spending. Pakistan's unconditional support for the US's "war against terrorism" after September 11, 2001 has augmented this lopsided (with one side lower) stress. The then President General Pervez Musharraf had been handed "an enduring rationale for continuing as president under Kelsen's law of necessity that has served all prior military rulers". He was less inclined to take any major initiatives to pursue peace with India. Military expenditure continued to absorb the lion's share of the government budget and no major overhaul of Pakistan's military organization is likely.

More harm than good has accrued when Musharraf short-sold Pakistan to the US. To prevent the "Islamic bomb" from falling into religious terrorist hands, the American 15th Marine Expeditionary unit is ready to "neutralize" Pakistan's weapons of mass destruction even at the cost of engaging Pakistani troops. The arrest of Pakistani nuclear scientists for passing know-how to Al-Qaeda was done to please the US Federal Bureau of Investigation. Changes in the Pakistan army high command and the Inter-Services Intelligence were carried out to curry favor with the Central Intelligence Agency. India has succeeded in throwing flashlights on terrorist training infrastructure in Pakistani Kashmir. The victory of the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan is a major setback to Pakistan due to the former's closeness to Iran and India. Pakistan's economy is deteriorating, with sliding per capita incomes lower than 1%, and foreign economic assistance evaporating after the Taliban were dislodged from Afghanistan.
 

Pakistan's nuclear program cost an estimated $10 billion up to 2001 and set back development indices by more than years. Post-nuclear US sanctions caused Pakistan's economy to suffer a gross domestic product fall of 2.9%. The exorbitant (extravagant) opportunity costs of Pakistan's nuclear white elephant have actually diminished the country's national security.

RETRENCHMENT STRATEGIES:

The solution to Pakistan's security deficit suggested by Faruqui is to balance its economic resources with strategic ambitions. What is needed is a "lean and mean military organization, without becoming a drain on the national treasury and undermining the non-military dimensions of security. The comparative experience of Israel, which depends on reservists for defending territorial integrity, is a lesson. To defend Pakistan against external aggression, a force level of 300,000 troops is enough, i.e. half of the present strength. Offering golden handshakes and compensation packages for converting swords into plowshares can carry out demobilization. Small force levels do not imply weak defense.

 
 Suggestions:

Pakistan always had the human and natural resources but its leadership lacked the will and sincerity of purpose. Under the leadership of sincere leaders, Pakistan will emerge as a responsible and dignified member in the comity of nations and will show unflinching commitment in discharging its international responsibilities. The people of Pakistan strongly desire to have friendly relations with all countries, especially, its neighbors.

1. Cut short the Military Expenditures:

            Pakistan's poor economic situation is linked intrinsically (essentially) with faulty defense and foreign policies. Pakistani leaders should follow the example of Deng Xiaoping, who converted China's foreign policy of confrontation into one of economic cooperation. Pakistan's savings and investment ratios are among the lowest in the world, mainly due to defense spending and corruption, both severe drains. It spends 6% of its gross domestic product on defense, while health and education stagnate at 1% and 2%.

Military spending in Asia as a whole has declined from the end of the Cold War and helped power investment and per capita incomes in the long run. Disarmament is feasible and practical, as examples from both developing and developed countries reveal. For Pakistan, which is on the edge of the precipice, (dangerous situation) there is no choice but to pragmatically take a leaf from Deng's famous dictum that strength is primarily economic. The million-dollar question is whether Pakistani leaders follow this honest reappraisal of what Pakistan requires to be really secure.

The President must initiate the process of strengthen the nation by pursuing the following seven point agenda:

·       Rebuild National confidence and morale

·       Strengthen the Federation, remove inter-provincial disharmony and restore National cohesion

·       Revive the economy and restore investor confidence

·       Ensure law and order and dispense speedy justice

·       Depoliticize State institutions

·       Devolution of power to the grass-roots level

·       Ensure swift and across the board accountability

In an effort to drive maximum focus from the seven points, a four point strategy must be developed. The idea is to concentrate, prioritize and accomplish tangibles. The key goals should be:

1. Economic revival

2. Poverty alleviation

3. Political restructuring

4. Devolution of power to grass root

On each one of these we will see tremendous forward movement.

2. Extremism and Ethnic hatred should be abolished:

            The nation strongly feels that in order to attain the objective of becoming a mature, moderate and tolerant society, Pakistan has to get rid itself from the elements spreading religious extremism and ethnic hatred. The nation should be firmly committed to root out terrorism in all its forms and manifestations from Pakistan. While evolution of a moral and ethical society, strong in religious and cultural values shall remain the nation's cherished goal, I believe that extremism and sectarian violence by a fringe (border) have to be rooted out from our society. The minority cannot be allowed to hold the majority hostage.

            A progressive and prosperous society is directly linked with a dynamic, robust (sound) and resilient economy. Pakistan, therefore, as a strong, vibrant economy, should make progress at an average rate of 7 to 8% over the next decade. In order to meet this target, the policy makers should initially, through singular focus and by following a definite strategy, concentrate on removing the weaknesses of Pakistan's economy. The problems of growing debt, rising corruption, sliding confidence of the business community and prospective investors and eroding credibility of vital State institutions should be addressed with encouraging results. With economic stability and wide ranging reforms, Pakistan will look ahead towards self-reliant growths, which will directly impacts poverty reduction. Our small and medium enterprises i.e. housing and construction, oil and gas, information technology, tourism and telecommunications can play a pivotal role in the envisaged growth.

4. Development in Agricultural-Sector:

Around 70% of Pakistan's population live in rural areas with their livelihood dependent on agriculture. Irrigated agriculture is the backbone of Pakistan's economy but water is becoming a limiting factor on cropping area. Pakistan also has the additional potential of bringing about 22.5 million acres of virgin land under cultivation if irrigation water is made available. The policy makers, therefore, should designate the construction of medium and large reservoirs, canals and brick-lining of watercourses, for maximum water conservation, a foremost National priority.

5. The Encouragement of Private Sector:

The economists envision the distinct roles and realms of government and the private sector. They strongly believe that the private sector is not only the main engine of growth but also the primary source of employment generation. To them, the private sector can produce, distribute and trade goods and services more efficiently and at a lower cost than the government. The government's role should only be in facilitating and creating an environment conducive for the private sector to flourish. The government should, therefore, be committed to the vigorous (active; robust) pursuit of the privatization policy.

6. Human Resource Development:

            Human Resource Development is an imperative for socio-economic development. According to experts, no nation can effectively progress without a strong human capital base and education is central to overall Human Resource Development. The holistic approach of the nation should aim at enhancing literacy levels, improving quality of primary and secondary education and also giving a major boost to the quality of higher education. Thanks to God, the present government has targeted 60 % literacy level by 2005 and over 90% by 2015 and producing 1,500 PhDs each year, mainly in science subjects by 2009. The present percentage of students entering higher education is to be enhanced from 2.6% to 5 % by 2009.

7. Gender Equity:

The cause of gender equity is very close to the prosperity of the nation. I firmly believe that the route to women's emancipation is through political empowerment. Therefore, a series of concrete measures should be taken to ensure adequate and effective representation of women in the National decision-making institutions. It is encouraging that under the present government their representation in local government bodies has been increased to a minimum of 33% of the total seats. It is minimum, because women are at liberty to contest elections for general seats as well. In the Senate, the National Assembly and Provincial Assemblies, women have been guaranteed strong representation by reserving 17% of the total seats for them. This, of course, is a quantum leap from the zero level of the past. With this initiative, over 40,000 women have been politically empowered through the electoral process.

8. Peaceful Solution of International Disputes:

            Being a peace-loving nation, we must show our predisposition to dialogue over confrontation and finding just solutions to international disputes in accordance with UN resolutions. The landmark strategy of Enlightened Moderation of the president of Pakistan is reflective of his efforts to promote global peace and stability. The two-pronged strategy on the one hand induces Ummah to introspect and address their deficits in social and economic standards and on the other solicits from international community rejection of misconceptions about Islam and the thesis of clash of civilizations. The developed world should not only support Muslims in their efforts for socio-economic uplift but also help resolve international political disputes in a fair and equitable manner.      

At present, Pakistan is incurring a price tag of $110 million a year for pumping the insurgency in Indian Kashmir and thereby earning the ire of the international community. Analysts prescribe a more active "third party catalyst" role for the US to provide incentives for peace over Kashmir, though how a superpower interested in running off democratic India against China can be expected to be an honest broker over Kashmir is left for the reader's imagination. Faruqui's reading of post-Cold War realities and US-China equation are confusing.

Economic aid, debt write-offs and conversion to zero-interest loans are also recommended to encourage defense spending cuts in Pakistan and India. Faruqui makes assumptions that Indian security is purely Pakistan-centric by adducing two-country game theory models to prove that economic diplomacy works. Bilateralizing concentric multilateral threat perceptions is too simplistic.

 

The Problem of Terrorism:

            However, in the post-9/11 world, which is pre-occupied with the threat of terrorism, the argument that carries weight in the developed world is the relevance of socio-economic development to the war against terror. The mere appeal to humanity, and fairness did not seem to attract resources from the developed countries to remedy backwardness and poverty. However, the fear that economic deprivation may drive desperate people to take to terrorism is proving more effective in attracting attention to the need for economic justice. The other root cause of terrorism is the frustration caused by political injustice in Palestine, Kashmir and other parts of the Muslim world.

The Extremism:
            For developing countries like Pakistan, where the problems of poverty are exacerbated by the rise of extremism that can turn into terrorism addressing the problem of poverty is the most effective way to contain terrorism. President Musharraf, speaking at the Islamic Summit last year in Malaysia, drew attention to the tendency in the West to link the phenomenon of terrorism to Islam. He came up with the strategy of 'enlightened moderation", which would create a win-win situation both for the West and the Islamic world.

The role of the Muslim world would be to eschew extremism and militancy, even for just causes, and to adopt the path of socio-economic uplift. The West would provide economic and technical assistance to remove poverty, and use its power and influence to help resolve the disputes in which the democratic and human rights of the Muslims were being violated. This concept, which the President also mentioned in his address to the UN General Assembly this year, won considerable support.

The Strategy of Socio-economic Development
            The strategy of socio-economic development to fight poverty as well as to contain terrorism and militancy is being implemented in Pakistan. After the first five years, during which Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz helped lay the foundation for economic stability and growth, attention is being turned to spreading the benefits to the common man, by addressing the problems in the social sector. Education, health and technological skills are being promoted, with increasing participation of the private sector, as well as the foreign agencies and governments

The Poverty Problem:
            The poverty and not terrorism is the core problem of Pakistan.The government’s recent figures that poverty witnessed 7 per cent decline in the country is baseless. Prices of goods have increased manifold in the last decade, while 80 per cent of the employed people in Pakistan still took salaries below Rs4,000 per month. The rulers don’t know the problems of the masses. They don’t know how a poor man supports his family in Rs2,000 or Rs3,000 a month. Pakistan is a country where the poor subsidize the rich because 80 per cent of the taxes are indirect and the elite are exempted from many taxes.
            The country is unable to even introduce a capitalist system let alone a social welfare state. In US, where there is a capitalist system the one per cent elites paid 35 per cent of the overall taxes. A study reported by the BBC about Pakistan as being among the tenth vulnerable states is vigorously challenged by the government statistically. The tenth state is Afghanistan and Pakistan comes ninth. It was said at the seminar on poverty in Islamabad that poor governance hurt the poor more. That is true indeed, whether that be in the shape of corrupt and inefficient policeman and a feeble or corrupt low judiciary. In addition what is promised to the poor in the shape of more and better schools and hospitals is hardly ever delivered to them and the poor man’s protest in this regard evokes little response unless he takes to violence. The debate continues whether poverty is increasing or decreasing in the country. According to the government officials, led by the prime minister, poverty is decreasing and prosperity is increasing. For others, including President Musharraf, inflation, unemployment and poverty are the problems that badly affect people and need greater attention from the government.

Education System:
            The government should announce education emergency in Pakistan because the country’s education system was almost non- existent.

There is education Apartheid ( a policy or system of segregation or discrimination on grounds of race.) in Pakistan, as a few elite educational institutions produced people, who controlled the affairs of the country leaving zero space for the poor to come into powers and serve the nation.

Public Sector Development Programme:

            The next public sector development programme will be worth Rs 245 billion, the current year’s plan being Rs. 272 billion, to keep up the high rate of economic growth and provide education infrastructure for industry and agricultural growth. But allocated 17 p-*er cent more funds are not enough if the additional power and water needed are not available. Power should hence have the top most priority.
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The Population Explosion:
            The problem with Pakistan is its large population — 165 million of them. Too many people have too little to share and too many privileged claimants among them. Apart from a small number it is not a highly educated population with great skills. That reduces their mobility and makes them confined to their roots as in Balochistan and Frontier province. But not much time Pakistan can afford to waste in a highly competitive world. Even South Asia is awake making rapid progress while Pakistan is grappling with some of the age-old issues. If jobs are available in large numbers, there could be greater mobility and people move to other regions.

Miscellaneous Problems:

            Pakistan is also facing the problem of inadequate public services throughout the country, with much of the population not having access to basic medical services, particularly outside of urban areas; low levels of foreign investment and a 2005 inflation rate of nine per cent; and that 32 per cent of the population were living below the poverty line although the real number is likely to be much higher.

The Energy Crisis:
            Failure to build one of the large dams can cost the country four billion dollars per year, says Dr Salman Shah, Advisor to the Prime Minister. And if the approved five dams were built by 2015 they can add ten to fifteen billion dollars to the GDP of the country. He says that with a $120 billion economy a new mega dam contributes 2.5 per cent to its GDP every year.

            Meanwhile, power is being made more costly as the Nepra has approved a 15 per cent rise in power rates for KESC. Earlier, a 23 per cent rise was recommended by Nepra but was ignored by the Government.

The UN report on Children:
            According to another report of the United Nations Children Emergency Fund nearly half the children of South Asia under the age of five are under weight and despite some progress, the region is far from reaching the goal of halving hunger by 2015. They say that South Asia is behind the target. But in case of Pakistan, officials say, that goal has already been achieved and poverty already halved.

Conclusion:
In such circumstances they are promised reforms of the system but real reforms in practice hardly ever come through, more so in the regions dominated by feudal lords and tribal chiefs.