14th August Gone : Would You Also Forget Pakistan?
By Ali Yar Khan • Aug 15th, 2009 • Category: Politics, Worth A Second Look • 4 CommentsThe nation has just celebrated its 62nd Independence Day with great zeal, enthusiasm and renewed commitment to make Pakistan strong, progressive and prosperous. With the dawn of this day, special prayers were held in mosques for the progress and prosperity of the country. Celebrations began with a 31-gun salute in the Federal Capital and 21-gun salute in all the four provincial capitals.
Celebrations were held in all the cities, towns and villages with people hositing flags on top of thier houses, streets decorated with buntings and people ornating thier chests with badges, stickers and national flags driving vehicles covered in gree and white. Above all, people loved thier country and they became thankful of their independence and freedom. They cherished the moments and they became selfless.
But why not carry on with this passion throughout the year. We are at war, real war. We are facing challenges and crisis. We are down and we are bruised. We are under the hubris of terror victims and we are choking under a huge debt. We are free from Britain, but we are not free from their debt and thier dictation. Sixty-two years later, are we aware that if we are to survive we need change the paradigm of the state. We need to change the way we live and think and decide and act. If we are to address issues of poverty, hunger, desperation, law and order we need to do so not by treating the cancer with aspirin but with radical surgery. We have to do it ourselves.
Just recap what we have been through since our independence in the middle of last century. What did we live with over the last 61 years? We accepted fuedalism, we accepted dictators, and we accepted corrupt politicos. We carried on within a context of depleting respect for law, of increasing exercise of unaccountable authority, of weakening law enforcement systems and of continuing violation of democratic values. Sadly enough, we don’t have any defining collective achievement to be proud of.
We have entered into 63rd year of our independence. Despite of all the crisis, we are still free and independent and have our country. We must not take it for granted. We must cherish it, and we must protect it with our sweat and blood.
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Mr. Yar Khan,
I am surprised to see you forgotto mention Musharraf’s name in your article but I don’t.take a note of the following foryour future references:-
Musharraf’s Economic Legacy
EmailWritten by RiazHaq on Aug-19-08 7:30pm
From: southasiainvestor.blogspot.com
Regardless of criticism of President Musharraf’s politics or personality, there is general agreement among independent economists that President Musharraf left Pakistan’s economy in much shape than he found it when he seized power in 1999.
Here are some of the key highlights of the results of Musharraf era economy:
1. Pakistan’s tax base and government revenue collection more than doubled from about Rs. 500b to over Rs. 1 trillion.
2. Pakistan’s GDP more than doubled to $144b since 1999.
3. Most recent figures in 2007 indicate that Pakistan’s total debt stands at 56% of GDP, significantly lower than the 99% of GDP in 1999.
4. Pakistan attracted over $5 billion in foreign direct investment in the 2006-07 fiscal year, ten times the figure of 2000-01.
5. In spite of the election-related political turmoil, Pakistan’s economy maintained its momentum in 2007, growing by 7%, slightly more than the 6.6% for 2006. Agricultural sector growth recovered sharply, from 1.6% in 2006 to 5% in 2007, while the manufacturing sector growth continued at 8.4% in 2007, slightly more moderate than the 10% for 2006. Services grew at 8% in 2007, down from 9.6% in 2006.
6. The strong consumer demand in Pakistan drove large investments in real estate, construction, communications, automobile manufacturing, banking and various consumer goods. Millions of new jobs were created. By all accounts, the ranks of the middle class swelled in Pakistan during Shaukat Aziz’s term in office. According to Tara Vishwanath, the World Bank’s lead economist for South Asia, about 5% of Pakistanis moved from the poor to the middle class in three years from 2001-2004, the most recent figures available.
7. The Karachi stock market surged ten fold from 2001 to 2007.
The one sore spot that sticks out in President Musharraf’s and Shaukat Aziz’s record is their lack of attention to the rising energy needs of the country. Appropriate planning should have comprehended new power plants to support growth forecasts. There were other mistakes as well, such as the decision to export wheat in 2007 that created shortages and price hikes that helped bring down the PML (Q) government and ultimately led to President Musharraf’s departure.
Since the takeover by the PPP-PML(N) coalition, there has been a sharp decline in Pakistan’s economy. Summing up the current economic situation,the Economist magazine in its June 12 issue says as follows:” (The current) macroeconomic disarray will be familiar to the coalition government led by the Pakistan People’s Party of Asif Zardari, and to Nawaz Sharif, whose party provides it “outside support”. Before Mr Sharif was ousted in 1999, the two parties had presided over a decade of corruption and mismanagement. But since then, as the IMF remarked in a report in January, there has been a transformation. Pakistan attracted over $5 billion in foreign direct investment in the 2006-07 fiscal year, ten times the figure of 2000-01. The government’s debt fell from 68% of GDP in 2003-04 to less than 55% in 2006-07, and its foreign-exchange reserves reached $16.4 billion as recently as in October.”
In addition to the improved economy, President Musharraf enabled proliferation of independent radio and television stations which ultimately led to his downfall. With Musharraf out, the independent media will, hopefully, continue to play a significant role in holding the new rulers accountable to the people.
thats all good but i would have been happier if we would have celeberated our indepencence with some discipline !……on the night of 13th august I saw people waving huge flage breaking traffic signals and firing openly in air….is that the right way to celeberate independence ????……is this how we appreciate our freedom ???……i would have been happier if we Pakistanis show some civic sence in our behaviour atleast on our independence day !
Muslims and civic sense? haha…
you are a moron, Jai Ho