Imran Khan, reality and delusion

PTI manifesto concedes that population is growing at a fast pace, but the figure of 2.2% annually is erroneous. It is actually 3.6%. Even if by a miracle poverty was alleviated and education spread, how would Imran Khan circumvent the Islamic injunction against family planning?

Imran Khan appealed to the people of Pakistan at a time of worse desperation than at any time since the creation of the country, except in 1971 and the people responded. Imran’s reputation rests on his considerable achievements as the captain of Pakistan’s cricket team and building a cancer treatment hospital in his mother’s name. From all accounts it is a well managed institution.

Political leaders, especially those who offer to revolutionize society, do not necessarily have to have experience of administrative office. Jinnah, Nehru had little.

But they have to offer credible ideas and programs.

Imran has offered a solution to all the problems of the country from feudalism, corruption, tax evasion, poverty alleviation, administrative inefficiency, illiteracy, unemployment to dependence on foreign countries.

Almost every one attributes the bulk of the problems in Pakistan to ‘corruption’ in all walks of life. But the U.S.A and Pakistan are not much different. In the U.S.A too corporations practice tax evasion, nearly all affluent persons invent expenses to take advantage of tax loop holes, immigration officials smuggle illegal aliens for a price, most of the profits of corporation take shelter on off shore banks and all politicians including Obama have broken their word.

So we have to look for reasons besides corruption for Pakistan’s sorry plight.

First is the misdirection of foreign policy from the time of the first Prime Minister, Liaquat Ali Khan.

It is a largely forgotten fact that the Communist Party of India, under the behest of Stalin supported the Pakistan movement. The U.S.S.R sent an invitation to Liaquat before the U.S.A did. Liaquat, scion of a feudal house, went to Washington D.C.

The U.S.S.R supported India in industry, commerce and defense supplies. The U.S.A just patted Pakistan on the back. The confrontation with India was engineered by the last British viceroy of India, Mountbatten who held Nehru’s hand and persuaded him to accept the accession of Kashmir to India.

Pakistan had to allocate resources to the armed forces beyond what it could afford (and still allocates 75% of the budget to defense and loan repayment). But still not being able to match India in resources, Pakistan took the hazardous route of ‘Defense Pacts.

Pakistan started receiving ‘Aid’ in the form of weapons.

Bureaucrats took over the government after Liaquat was killed. Army started playing a role in body politic and Ayub started visiting Washington, DC.

As a consequence of ‘defense expenditure’ and the insensitivity of the ruling ‘Evil Triad’ of bureaucrats, the army and landowners, little was spent on education, health, infrastructure, welfare or job creation.

Bureaucrats, mortally afraid of January 1959 elections, handed over power to the army. Ayub did promote light industry, but things got from bad to worse.

Beset by the aftermath of the fraudulent victory over Miss Jinnah in the 1964 elections, Ayub launched the adventure of the 1965 war, lost it and was disempowered. He was forced to resign and flouting his own tailor made constitution, handed over the presidency, not to the speaker of the national assembly, but to the C In C of the army, Yahya Khan.

Sure of getting a hung parliament and with an eye on his place in history, Yahya ordered an election based on adult franchise, which would give East Pakistan the majority of seats.

The inevitable happened. The mercantilist party of Mujeeb won an overall majority. Feudal Bhutto won’t accept it. The Evil Quad of landowners, the army, bureaucrats and Mullahs joined hands and waged a war of terror against the people of East Pakistan.

Bhutto took over West Pakistan, and lost the last chance to control the army by pleading with Indra not to try Pakistani generals on charges of genocide. Further, true to the character of a feudal, he demolished the nascent commerce and industries of the country under the slogan of nationalization imposed in the most ham handed fashion.

Bedeviled by self aggrandizement, Bhutto crossed the U.S.A in the matter of an ‘Islamic Atomic Bomb’. Goaded by the almighty dollar, the fundamentalist Islamists joined hands with the Evil Triad, making it the Evil Quad. After a controlled and contrived trial, Bhutto was hanged.

The USSR gave a much longed for opportunity to the U.S.A to avenge the humiliation of Vietnam by going into Afghanistan. Loans poured in Pakistan.

Zia with his ‘Islamization’, Benazir and Nawaz with their musical chairs did not do a thing to restructure the economy, create jobs, improve literacy or create jobs.

Zia, in his turn crossed the USA in the matter of agreement over Afghanistan, and met his longed for Houris in a blaze of flames. Musharraf sold national assets at bargain basement price.

The country only got further into the clutches of Multinational Corporations and their functional arms, the International Monitory Fund, The World Bank and other International Financial institutions. Recipient countries end up paying several times what they received.

On top of all that the population of Pakistan, 35 million in 1947, has exploded to the current 175 million. Economic conditions, % of literacy and social development play a part in population growth but a major role is played by prohibition of family planning, ordained by Islam.

A glance at Imran Khan’s manifesto tells us that he promises to usher in a new era of Modern Islamic Republic. The Ideology will be based on Unity, Faith and Discipline of Jinnah vintage. The government will follow the 1973 constitution with federalism and functional autonomy of the provinces.

He offers the goals of independent, sovereign Pakistan, democracy, accountable, government, education revolution, adequate health care, poverty alleviation (land reforms), private sector based economy, check on police and agency power and independence from foreign aid, respect for human rights etc.

Islamic Republic, to justify the term, would be governed under Sharia laws. That would be in conflict with equality under law for women-half the vote and half the inheritance and possible one fourth share of husband and depending on financial resources of the husband sharing the marital bed with women under the right hand.

Minorities would not be able to appear in court as witnesses for or against Muslims or join the army or preside over a court to try Muslims. They will also have to pay ‘Jazya’. The above would take care of Human Rights as understood in this day and age.

In Islam sovereignty belongs to Allah and democracy stands for sovereignty of the people.

Islam sanctifies private property; land redistribution could not be a vehicle for poverty alleviation. I do not believe the landowners would out of the goodness of heart donate land to landless peasants.

A revolution would require more teachers, books, buildings and students. Where would the money come from to pay teachers, buy books and construct schools?

Adequate health care requires a national health service. European countries are barely able to afford the expense. The plank of promotion of the private sector betrays lack of knowledge of history of finance and economics. All European countries, the U.S.A, Japan and Canada built and regulated industry and commerce till they were able to stand on their feet and able to compete on international market. In the 20^th century, South Korea, India and China went through the government sponsored phase.

The whole country is literally in hock to International Finance Institutions which dictate the debtor country’s policies. The loan comes in a package with what are called ‘conditionalities’ which include like, raising of taxes, rates of utilities and firing public service employees. If the country tries to defy, its credit goes under and it has to default. Italy and Greece went through the squeeze and were forced to appoint finance men as prime ministers.

The manifesto concedes that population is growing at a fast pace, but the figure of 2.2% annually is erroneous. It is actually 3.6%. Even if by a miracle poverty was alleviated and education spread, how would Imran Khan circumvent the Islamic injunction against family planning?

The army which is the biggest mercantile, banking, industrial and agricultural conglomerate is hardly mentioned beyond enhancing the nuclear deterrent, ballistic missiles and the vague rationalization in size and structure, all in a short paragraph of the 31 page manifesto.

In brief, the manifesto is full of platitudes, false hopes and impractical offerings. In that he is no different from other politicians in the country.