An Economic Plan for Sindh
The growing polarisation between the populations of the major urban centres in Sindh compounded by the deteriorating law and order situation calls for drastic changes in conceptual planning for economic emancipation. This is the PM’s main electoral base, escalation in the level of violence will not be conducive to either economic progress or democratic rule. She has to take firm steps to contain the law and order situation from becoming worse, the government must look at economic means for long-term solutions for the Province as a whole.
In a sense interior Sindh continues to suffer from the same malaise that afflicted the rest of Pakistan till 1960. Karachi was the only port city and also the country’s capital, so most development took place in and around Karachi. Though industries were established up-country, real progress came about once the government was (partly) moved out of Karachi to Islamabad. Development then started along the major arterial lines of communications. Hyderabad developed to an extent and even Sukkur, this was not true for rest of Sindh. Great increase in agricultural production did not match the industrial progress which by-passed interior Sindh.
The major urban cities in the meantime had their own Catch-22 problems, as development tapered off, job opportunities grew scarcer, ethnic tension rose in direct ratio to the competition for the few open slots. As socio-economic expectation levels became higher, over population badly exposed the meagre and over-stretched basic civic facilities. Afflicted with indifferent housing, bare amount of sewerage, little or no water, electricity or gas, acute shortage of transportation and telecommunication facilities, below standard or non-existent medical and educational institutions, the urban population of Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur felt rightly aggrieved. Since a fairly large segment were refugees from India, our Muhajir brethren felt discriminated against, with white-collar employment opportunities falling drastically, the problems exacerbated. Essentially Muhajir Qaumi Movement (MQM) became a living manifestation of the disgruntlement of our Muhajir brethren, banding together they could demand their rights through one voice.
This has locked the natural son of the soil, the ethnic Sindhi, out of his main cities economically. One must remember their open-hearted welcome to all comers for over two decades. The ethnic Sindhis feel aliens in their own major urban centres, among other things also locked out from the mainstream of industrial and commercial activity in Pakistan. We have to search for the right answers, to come to a suitable compromise.
One option is to turn to economic solutions, we must bring industry into the interior of Sindh, encouraging the process not only by tax concessions, duty free imports of raw material for selected industries but generous grants and credits to the ethnic Sindhis, particularly for industries and services on cooperative basis. In each case, priority must be given to the people of the region. This is not a radical or original thought, almost all our tribals are given economic-concessions of some kind, therefore handicap-overcoming precedents do exist. An innovative formula must be devised to placate the Sindhis’ bruised emotions.
Sindh must have Free Trade Zones (FTZs) adjacent to all the major towns on the pattern of Gadoon-Amazai. While Aftab Sherpao created this zone out of the interests of his province, a model has been unwillingly constructed for useful exploitation. Without further delay FTZs can be located at Sujawal, Badin, Tando Mohammad Khan, Shikarpur, Tando Adam, Larkana. Nawabshah, Jacobabad, Mirpurkhas, Umarkot, Kunri and Khairpur. The government must invite the private sector to manage the FTZs, encouraging them to put up Industrial Building Blocks for housing various industries, dormitories for workers and even low-cost housing on an ownership basis. Nobody expects these FTZs to become overnight “El Dorados” but encouraging the ethnic Sindhi to have industries in his own backyard, particularly agri-based industries will instill in him the pride of possession and economic emancipation being presently denied him. The present dangerous isolation of the ethnic Sindhi will lessen if not altogether cease. Except for the public sector industries in the FTZs, the ownership of these industries must be 51 per cent Sindhi, an added incentive would be formula for increased outright grant and low interest loans for meaningful shareholding in partnership with either Muhajir Sindhi or people of other provinces, the incentives weighted in that order of priority. Rapid industrialisation will also force-feed agriculture modernisation into the body economic.
The greatest gift that government functionaries can do for these new industrial centres is to let it alone, to let free market forces reign supreme. One is sure there will be bankruptcies galore and even outright frauds but the basic work ethic of the Pakistanis, be they Pathan, Punjabi, Sindhi (ethnic and Muhajir) or Baloch is the same, they enjoy the fruit of hard and honest labour, such earning is all the more sweet because of their sweat and toil. We will have luminaries among our errant bureaucracy who will no doubt have much to say to retard progress by any means, their fears are those of pygmies having convoluted thought process. An important point raised by an economist friend who saw the draft of this article was that the FTZs and residential areas should be self-governing and not under Federal, Provincial or any other official control. The municipalities must administer the zones in the manner they deem fit with only financial support from the authorities at various levels.
To bring this plan to fruition, certain logistical steps must be taken. The prime one must be that other than public sector cargo i.e coal, iron ore, wheat and sugar, all Sindh’s FTZs must be served through Port Qasim. The Port Qasim Authority (PQA) must itself be beefed up, one already finds a refreshing receptivity for ideas from the Chairman downwards. The problem is that cost prohibitive stevedoring charges keeps potential investors away.
One feels that other than the FTZs much of Sindhi’s economic future hinges around Port Qasim and Thatta, which a hundred years ago was one of the major trade centres in the region. The expansion of the facilities of Port Qasim has been primarily due to Pakistan Steel but other major industries are planned in the area, the Bin Qasim Thermal Power Plant is already a reality and another power plant is being planned by Fauji Foundation. Port Qasim Authority (PQA) has already planned for a Free Trade Zone which must see immediate light of day, it is incongruous that the PM’s instructions given in August 1989, more than six months ago, has not yet been implemented due to bureaucratic foot-dragging.
The government should immediately put in the infrastructure of roads, electricity, water, telecommunications, sewerage, etc for an FTZ adjacent to Port Qasim. White and blue collar worker family housing on ownership basis is a must for them adjacent to Thatta, in effect a new Thatta. A new highway/monorail should be planned to inter-link the new city with the industrial township. More than 50 per cent of the housing must be reserved for ethnic Sindhis who must also get a discount on the hire-purchase, the only stipulation being that they can rent the premises but cannot sell it for a minimum period of 45 years (two generations).
There are a number of islands in the vicinity of Port Qasim. Among these islands, two are of great interest. Recently Indonesia has started to develop two islands adjacent to Singapore, giving Batam, 20 kms from Singapore priority over Bintan. Batam is being developed at a breakneck pace to adjust to Singapore’s progress, both as a tourist resort and as an industrial city. A private Singapore entrepreneur has entered into an arrangement with an Indonesian counterpart and the Indonesian Government to develop a light industrial and high-tech park in Batam, similarly tourist development sites on the island have been snapped up as real-estate opportunities. Billions of US dollars are being secured by private agencies for the development of Batam, one feels that in the same manner Bundle Island can become a high-tech light industrial zone with housing to go with it. Hazrat Shah Island on the other hand is a natural size (350 acres) and location for a recreation park with hotel facilities and housing on the pattern of Sentosa Island off Singapore.
National integration can never be achieved by rhetoric and lip-service to evolutionary plans. As President George Bush is fond of saying, one must have “The Vision thing”. Instead of creating fanatics we must ingrain into the ethnic and Mujahir Sindhi that economic emancipation is possible if across the board cooperative ideas are brought to fruition in the real and pragmatic sense. Needless to say, the aim should be to bring the ethnic Sindhi into the mainstream of economic and commercial life of Pakistan.
Many centuries ago, Mohammad Bin Qasim, through his courage and youthful exuberance, brought vigour and hope into Sindh with the advent of Islam. Like Qasim, Pakistan has fallen prey to jealous and covetous eyes, we must break this association with tragic history by making the Port named for the young Muslim general the gateway to the future of Pakistan.
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