ELEVEN
REASONS WHY I STILL BELIEVE IN PAKISTAN
by
Imran Khan
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In the past two months two of
our top doctors at SKMCH & RC resigned to seek employment
abroad, because both felt that Pakistan has no future. The
numbers of professionals and businessmen who are being
"brain – drained" is increasing at an alarming rate.
Most people are losing hope in Pakistan, where a fascist Govt.
has gripped all levers of power, and yet is completely
ill-equipped to deal with the multi-crises facing the country.
The despondency is compounded by the fact that there seems to be
no light at the end of the tunnel.
However despite this
atmosphere of gloom and doom there are eleven reasons why I
still believe that Pakistan has a bright future.
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Nation
- ready for change
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1.
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My main
reason for optimism stems from the fact that today the people of
Pakistan are ready for a change. Whether it is the posh dinning
rooms or the truck restaurants by the roadside or the tea
stalls, everywhere the consensus is that we cannot go on any
longer with the current system. While people may differ on what
type of change, yet everyone agrees that to survive, change we
must. This is extremely encouraging, as it is only matter of
time before the winds of change turn into a gale force and sweep
away those upholding the status quo. According to the Quran
"Never has Allah changed the condition of a people unless
they strive for it themselves."
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Vast
amount of talent
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2.
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Pakistanis
are an extremely talented and a vibrant people. Wherever, they
have got a level playing field they have excelled. In the past
25 years I have witnessed their talents blossom all over the
world. In systems where merit + hardwork are awarded they have
become outstanding doctors, engineers, bankers, businessmen,
scientists even sportsmen. According to a survey in 1996 amongst
all the ethnic groups residing in the USA, academically,
Pakistanis were amongst the top two. There was an article in
Britains Daily Mail newspaper on 16th October ‘ 98
about "Britains Brightest family". It was about a
Pakistani couple all of whose four children were geniuses. Also
lets not forget that the late Dr. Abdus Salaam the Nobel Prize
winner in physics was a Pakistani. Moreover it was the Pakistani
businessmen who took over the textile trade in Manchester, which
for decades had been a Jewish Monopoly. In the silicon Valley in
the US a number of Pakistani businessmen like Farooq Bajwa +
Saifi Qureshi have done extremely well in the computer industry.
In international institutions like the U.N, World Bank & IMF.
Pakistanis, have reached prominent positions through their hard
work and talent. In the late sixties, early 70s it was six or
seven Pakistani cricketers who started playing in the English
County Cricket. After excelling there, they came back to make
Pakistan a cricketing force.
So I strongly believe that if
we can develop our systems, liberate the people from the corrupt
politicians and stifling bureaucracy, award honesty & hard
work and allow the potential of our people to develop
(especially by investing in education) we can become a proud,
independent, self-respecting nation.
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Need
for change of system
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3.
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The corrupt
ruling elite has created great despondency amongst the people by
giving the impression that it is hopeless to fight corruption
because everyone is corrupt. Nawaz Sharif has repeatedly made
statements to this effect "Awa Ka Awa Corrupt Ha".
During the past decade both Nawaz Sharif and Bibi defended their
personal corruption, not by trying to prove their innocence but
by calling the accuser corrupt.
I believe a Govt. which has integrity and determination can crush
corruption by conducting a ruthless accountability of those who
have corrupted the system as opposed to those who have been
corrupted by the system. The former are those who have been in
power, and who have used their position to make fortunes. The
latter, however should be given amnesties. How can the law treat
a businessmen who is forced to pay bribes by Govt. depts or for
example a Govt. servant with a salary of Rs. 5000 supporting
five children, in the same way as a politician who uses his
position to loot nationalised banks, development funds, gets
commissions and kick backs from money that belongs to the people
of this country?
Accountability,
liberalisation of the economy, alongwith structural changes in
our system of governance (like decentralisation, a lean well
paid bureaucracy, a conflict of interest law, freedom of
information, transparency, independent accountability
commission) can rid our society from the curse of corruption.
Pakistanis abroad live as law abiding citizens because unlike in
Pakistan the systems there ensures that crime does not pay.
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Determination
to improve the law and order situation
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4.
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I am also
confident that a determined Govt. can dramatically improve our
law and order situations. Police and judicial reforms will have
to be conducted immediately. If in both institution selection is
made on merit, free of political interference and have decent
salaries, there is no reason why their performance will not
dramatically improve. A law commission that includes retired
judges, prominent citizens plus Govt. representatives, instead
of the law ministry, would be a first step towards the freedom
of the judiciary. The judiciary in Singapore in the 60s was as
corrupt as in Pakistan, it took one dynamic chief Justice of
integrity backed by a visionary head of state, to make it one of
the most respected in the world.
We may not agree with the Taleban interpretation of Islam but the way
they have managed to restore a complete rule of law in an
incredibly short time, in a country where every institution had
been destroyed by years of war, is extremely commendable. To
simply attribute the Taleban’s success to harsh punishments is
being naive. The reasons for their success are first and
foremost that no one, including the leadership of the Taleban,
is above law. Secondly the laws are enforced. Only once the rule
of law was established were the Taleban able to disarm the
entire country. Why can’t we establish law and order when our
task is relatively easier?
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Tax
collection
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5.
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The root
cause of our present economic crisis is our inability to collect
enough tax revenues – hence our debt trap. According to
various estimates of our tax commissions we barely collect 25%
of our tax potential – the rest is evaded. The main reason is
that the privileged classes have never paid their share of
taxes. Through various tax exemptions that they have provided
themselves, the privileged classes have creamed off the wealth
of this country. Naturally the majority of the people resist
paying taxes, when they see the ruling elite not only evading
taxes but also living in luxury on their taxes. Reforming the
tax dept, removing all exemptions for the privileged, punishing
evaders, having fewer, lower and equitable taxes, can more than
double our tax revenues. After all if Uganda could raise its tax
revenues by 500%, and Argentina which has high level of
corruption, could raise its tax – GDP ratio from 9% to 21% in
two years because of President Menem’s determined leadership,
then why can’t we raise our tax GDP ratio from 13% to 26% and
balance our budget.
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Smaller
autonomous units
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6.
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Because
there is no separation of the executive and legislature and
because there is no conflict of interest law, our parliament has
degenerated into various mafias whose sole reason for being
there is to protect their personal interests. By bribing the
legislators with plots, permits, bank loans, development funds,
etc., a prime minister can control them, and in doing so, remove
all checks and balances on his power. Thus Nawaz Sharif has
become a complete dictator. Pakistan can only have real
democracy by separating the legislature from the executive and
simultaneously developing a system of local Govt. (which is the
cornerstone of western democracies). A national debate needs to
take place on whether the size of our provinces needs to be
reduced. Bear in mind that in terms of population, the size of
Pakistani provinces is the largest in the world. Good governance
is clearly not possible unless the administrative units are much
smaller. Switzerland which has the same population as Lahore has
26 cantons – each having greater autonomy, than even possessed
by the states in the US.
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Fertile
Soil
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7.
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Pakistan is
endowed with extremely fertile soil. I was told by an Australian
water & soil expert, that the top soil in Australia rarely
exceeds six inches. While according to him, in parts of the
Indus Basin it as much as six feet deep. By introducing modern
farming practices, seed development, providing credit to the
small farmers, lining the canals, building farm to market roads
and above all by giving incentives to the farmer with a proper
pricing policy, we can more than double our agriculture output
in a short space of time. If the East Punjab farmer can produce
twice the amount from the same quality of land, why can’t we?
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Tourists
attractions
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8.
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Pakistan is
endowed with the most diverse and beautiful countryside in the
world. The Northern Areas, the salt range, Hazara and Malakand
divisions, the Balouchistan Coastline, Cholistan Desert are all
areas that can be developed for tourism and can bring prosperity
to the country and especially to the inhabitants of the regions.
However, certain steps need to be taken immediately if we are to
preserve our beautiful country. Firstly we have to control our
population through female literacy and a powerful campaign
through the mosques (as has been done in Bangladesh &
Egypt).
Secondly large areas have to be set aside as national parks where wild
life has to be protected and reintroduced. Thirdly proper
planning needs to be done where model villages are developed for
the inhabitants with all the amenities, rather than sprinkling
of homes all over, which ruins the landscape & environment.
Above all the people of the area must have an incentive in
protecting their forests and environment. They must be made to
realize that if they protect their environment than they stand
to benefit from both local and foreign tourism.
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Overseas
Pakistanis - greatest resource
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9.
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If we can
develop a just system of governance based on merit and minus the
redtapism, than we can tap into our greatest resource — the
overseas Pakistanis. According to Shahid Javed Burki, the annual
income (GDP) of the estimated 4 million overseas Pakistanis is
around $ 60 billion. Their savings are likely to be twice as
much. Imagine the impact it will have on Pakistan if a portion
of their capital and their talent comes back into the country.
The overseas Pakistanis not only understand western systems but
also through the information highway, have tremendous awareness
about what is going on in their motherland, and therefore cannot
be fooled by gimmicks like the Qarza Utaro or Self Reliance
Scheme. Yet if they see structural reforms and good governance
they will invest heavily in the country — Just as overseas
Chinese and Latin Americans invested in their respective
countries. If in 7 days the Pakistanis in USA could give $
400,000 to SKMT, imagine what they can do for their beloved
country if they got sufficiently motivated?
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Strong
family system
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10.
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The
breakdown of the family is one of the biggest problems facing
the western world. Crime, drug addiction, psychiatric problems,
school dropouts, poor academic results are all connected to high
divorce rates. Fortunately in Pakistan our family system is
still intact. Were it not for the extended family system in
Pakistan, we would have had a complete collapse of society by
now, with anarchy and bloodshed at a massive scale, given the
high level of inflation, unemployment and injustice in the
absence of a social security net. Our capability of facing all
sort of hardships is due to a strong family system. Hence we
have the foundations to build a humane and civilised society.
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Unity
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11.
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Finally it
is my personal experience that gives me great hope for Pakistan.
In cricket I was part of a team that became a world-beater
despite there being no organised structure of cricket in the
country. However I did find that having talent alone was not
enough – we only became a force when we united and played as
team, and that is what is needed to make Pakistan a great
nation.
After cricket I saw another
side of our people when the whole country united to build a
cancer hospital in Lahore. During the fund raising campaign I
was simply astounded and overwhelmed by the generosity of the
common man (as opposed to the tight fistedness of our elite). I
discovered that our people are deeply spiritual and capable of
enormous sacrifices for their fellow human beings. I am
convinced that we can set up free health and education system
for the poor, just on Zakat—provided the people believe in the
credibility of the government. I do not know of any country
where a private cancer hospital gives 90% free treatment and
which is funded almost entirely by people’s Zakat and
donations. The people of this country will unite and give great
scarifies behind a leadership that is sincere and just, and once
they are mobilised the dream of Quaid-e-Azam of making Pakistan
a model Islamic welfare state will be fulfilled.
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