Many miles to go!
Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif addressed the nation on TV and radio on Feb 23, 1997. The speech was short on rhetoric and long in substance, it laid the groundwork for a comprehensive plan to take Pakistan into the 21st century. Investor confidence is an abstract quality built up on public perception, what the PM said was universally well received by the anxious masses of this country. Unlike our “born-to-rule” ex-PM, Benazir Bhutto, whose main focus in life presently is to rant and rave about horses not being able to drink milk (not true!), the people of Pakistan had the good horse-sense (pun intended) to give an overwhelming mandate to Mian Sahib.
The PM outlined a whole lot of pragmatic steps among them, viz (1) guaranteed protection for foreign investment (2) private detective agencies allowed (3) ban on extravagant spending on marriages (4) no concessional plots (5) no more duty-free cars for VIPs (6) Sunday to be a holiday (7) restriction of use of government transport (8) all police guards withdrawn (9) National Health Scheme for the poor (10) no flag car except VVIP (11) submission of assets by government employees and confiscation of undeclared wealth and (12) Accountability Committees all over the country. In fact there were 28 far-reaching initiatives in total, the 16 not mentioned are not any less important. Taken together they herald real change as never seen before in this country.
People do not realize a simple but surprising fact. While Pakistan was created due to the struggle of Muslim League led by the Quaid-e-Azam, it is for the first time since 1947 that Muslim League has ever won an election in Pakistan as “Muslim League”. It has taken us 50 years to come home! In essence, the dream that Iqbal had and Quaid saw through to fruition, may become a reality for the poor people of Pakistan a full 50 years into the existence of the country and more than 25 years after half the country was lost due to short-sighted and parochial policies of our then leaders. The Congress Party in NWFP opposed the concept of Pakistan in 1947, when Ghaffar Khan’s grandson Asfandyar Wali Khan stood up to congratulate Mian Nawaz Sharif in the National Assembly (NA) on being elected as PM and promised to stand shoulder to shoulder with him in making Pakistan strong and prosperous, the circle had come complete. At least the western wing of what was once the finest experiment in nationhood of its time, was whole again. Hasil Khan Bizenjo of Balochistan and Tariq Javed from Sindh added their voices in the NA to the hope that was resplendent in the newly elected PM. The only discordant and sour note was rendered by the sore loser, Benazir of Larkana (and not much else!), perhaps she needs to eat the apple jam her husband fed his horses with.
This is only the start of our long journey from the near oblivion into which the likes of Zardari had thrust us. In a perverse way Zardari was a great blessing for Pakistan, he showed up in stark relief to what depths our society had become degraded and depraved. He is a sorry model for us not to emulate, he must be kept as a symbol of what we had become, a sick society ruled by looters and sycophants who cared two hoots for this country except for the opportunity it gave them to enrich themselves. More than ensuring that fate catches up with them, we have to recover their illegal wealth. They can run, where will they hide? That they had connections to drug money and were involved in money-laundering makes it so much easier for various governments to cooperate with us in getting this country’s money back. A whole set of criminals have become patients at various hospitals, their medical boards should be done by Armed Forces doctors and when most are found fit (as they are), they should be sent back to jail from the luxury and comfort they are presently enjoying. Doctors who are responsible for faking their medical condition should also be jailed along with them.
The permission for private investigation opens up a lot of possibilities as does the declaration of assets by government employees. Why not give an incentive reward for unearthing the hidden wealth? The most poignant moment in the whole speech was the limitation of marriage expenses for a period of 2 years. One feels that this should have become a permanent fixture because it had gone completely out of control. While millions and millions could not afford two meals, those who had defaulted on loans gave extravagant food in such quantities that much more was wasted than it was consumed. A sigh of relief went through thousands of parents as the PM spoke only of serving soft drinks or milk for marriages after the Ides of March. In one simple stroke he had set the tone for the future, one hopes the Ehtesab Committees in each Halqa (Ward) will now carry out their task without fear or favour. The PM’s decision about restricting transport for bureaucracy was excellent. He should go further and ensure that all the Pajero-type 4 wheel drive vehicles should be taken away from the use of all bureaucrats and given over as troop-carrying vehicles to our mobility-strapped infantry divisions (not for the use by commanders), particularly in the Desert and the Punjab plains. Only bureaucrats in rural areas directly concerned with visiting difficult terrain should have 4 wheel drive pick-ups (like Hi-Lux).
The PM’s speech was a pragmatic rendition from the heart. There seems an aura around Mian Nawaz Sharif, a glow that comes from an object struck by lightning. Indeed the PM seems almost humbled by the absolute confidence reposed in him by the masses, as long as he remembers that he owes no favours to anyone except to the people of Pakistan, we should be able to build on this success. The most difficult thing is not only to communicate his feelings to the people of Pakistan but also to his aides that he means business, that anyone who cannot get into line and perform, better bail out now or risk getting thrown out. The PM must remember that people who have inferiority complexes are usually consumed by jealousy, this can be a dangerous weapon for those afflicted with insecurity and a penchant for filling ears.
The PM’s great asset is that he has a whole lot of people ready to support his effort without asking for anything in return. For a country built on the Client-Patron relationship, this penchant for sacrifice may be hard to absorb but it is very much a fact of life as much as the fact that Pakistan finally met up with the man it needed for the past 50 years, better late than never. As we start into our journey into the 21st century with Pakistan’s 21st century man, one is reminded about Robert Frost’s epic poem
“Stopping by the woods on a snowy evening”,
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
but I have promises to keep,
and miles to go before I sleep,
and miles to go before I sleep!
The PM should rest assured that if he carries on in the same vein as on Sunday night, he will have good company in his long journey to bring this nation out of the long stretch we have had in the darkness.
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