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| India-Pakistan |
| Bottom of the class |
| 2017-01-28 |
| [DAWN] I have often wondered why successive governments have been so slack in cracking down on the jihadi militias that have been rampaging on our soil for decades now. I know one reason is the support many of them receive from our intelligence agencies. But why have civilian leaders not acted against the hard-line madressahs, or stopped hate speech in mosques and TV chat shows, or, indeed, cleaned our school and college curricula of their murderous Moslem content? It’s true that our politicians are not known for decisive action, just as our bureaucracy has not set any records for rapid implementation. But had a majority of the 60,000 or so of the victims of terrorism been members of the upper echelons of society, I’m sure the state’s response would have been very different. As an example, look at what happened in the aftermath of the two attempts on Musharraf’s life in December 2003: the suspects were rapidly tried, found guilty and executed. And it took a major Taliban attack on a Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. army school to get a consensus on military action, and the approval of the National Action Plan. Had the over 140 victims been from a Peshawar slum, I doubt very much that such a determined response would have been crafted by our leadership. This attitude merely reflects other aspects of life in Pakistain. Our state hospitals and schools are in a shambles because our elites use private facilities. Quacks and madressahs thrive in the vacuum created by the state’s abdication of its responsibilities. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that an educated and healthy population is essential for any nation’s progress. Yet we continue to ignore these basic needs because our children don’t have to go to schools where little education is imparted. Or, if they are sick, don’t have to go to hospitals where they would have to wait endlessly to receive third-rate care. It’s the same depressing story for clean drinking water and sanitation. Again, these problems don’t exist for our entitled ruling classes. Bottled water and tankers for the lawns and swimming pools of the rich are the order of the day. And yet, waterborne diseases and poor sanitation account for the vast majority of diseases afflicting millions of Paks. Everybody is aware of these issues, and yet government after government has refused to tackle them. Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard 2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers 3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... has done a bit better than the other provinces, but the Sharif family’s preoccupation with their ’mega projects’ has diverted attention and resources from more pressing needs. One excuse is that the security forces have siphoned off a large chunk of the funds available, leaving little for the citizenry. While this may be true, it is not the whole truth: year after year, millions of rupees allocated to education and health in the budget are surrendered because our bureaucracy was unable to spend them within the financial year. The reality is that the military, the bureaucracy, the political class, feudals and businessmen all grab the state’s resources and deprive the poor of their share. As long as this loot continues, expect to see Pakistain at the bottom of the table for human development. |
| Posted by:Fred |