Hurdles Impeding Development of Pakistan Essay

Scarred from birth, Pakistan’s quest for survival has been as compelling as it has been uncertain. Pakistan cycled through a number of phases of development through its beginning Political, Social and Economic crises. The politicians were corrupt, interested in maintaining their political power and securing the interests of the elite, so to have them as the representative authority did not provide much hope of a democratic state that provided socio-economic justice and fair administration to all Pakistani citizens. Ranging controversies over the issue of the national language, the role of Islam, provincial representation, and the distribution of power between the center and the provinces delayed constitution making and postponed general elections, thus putting Pakistan into a certain situation of uncertainty right from the start. Poverty Poverty remains a serious concern in Pakistan. A large segment of the population lives in poverty. According to the rebased GDP numbers, the per capita income comes to US$720. Poverty rates, which had fallen substantially in the 1980s and early 1990s, started to rise again toward the end of the decade. More importantly, differences in income per capita across regions have persisted or widened. At the time of independence Pakistan suffered an unjust wealth distribution which marked its development or a long time. Pakistan has grown much more than other lowincome countries, but has failed to achieve social progress commensurate with its economic growth. The educated and well-off urban population lives not so differently from their counterparts in other countries of similar income range. However, the poor and rural inhabitants of Pakistan are being left behind. For example, access to sanitation in Pakistan in rural areas is 30% lower than in other countries with similar income. Solution & suggestions to this issue is †¢ Alternate means of energy production, like solar lights, neculer energy other minerals †¢ Small loans and small business (e. g Greaming bank in Bangladesh who give small loans start from a small village and now its owner got noble price for his ideas and polices in micro economics) †¢ More evelopment projects from government specially focus on their maintains & consistence. India – A constant threat Pakistan has also been burdened by full-scale wars with India, a strategically exposed northwestern frontier, and series of economic crises. It has difficulty allocating its scarce economic and natural resources in an equitable manner. All of Pakistan’s struggles underpin the dilemma they face in reconciling the goal of national integration with the imperatives of national security. Peace in this region of the world is sorely needed; but he process is easier said than done. Many obstacles internal and external continue to impede the progress of peace. Solution & suggestions to this issue is †¢ Encourage peace and peace talks with India †¢ Break the ideology of HINDU’S are like this and that (BANIYA etc ) Sad State of Judiciary Under the leadership of General Pervez Musharraf, the military has claimed its central position in Pakistan’s state structure and political scene. Similar to the present situation Judiciary has never been free to operate in Pakistan. The judiciary of Pakistan has abdicated their duty to protect the laws as well as the citizens of the country. The concept of a totally controlled judiciary was achieved by the rulers or ruling parties. Several judgments by the High Courts and Supreme Courts have shown how well the objective has been achieved. Even the Supreme courts are not independent. For example, Governor of Sindh, Mr. Isharat ul Ibad was behind the bars few days before he took the oath, all cases vaporized in air. The accountability cases against Nawaz Sharif and Benazir are also ridicule to the system. Culture Differences The ruins of ancient civilizations at Mohenjodaro and at Harappa in the southern Indus Valley testify to the existence of an advanced urban civilization that flourished in what is now Pakistan in the second half of the third millennium BC during the same period as the major riverain civilizations in Mesopotamia and Persia. This area has on the course of time seen almost every sort of government from democracy to monarchy, has been invaded a number of times, settled and resettle. Solution & suggestions to this issue is †¢ Should be according to local and domestic values, norms and practices Language Issues Despite the shared religion of its overwhelmingly Muslim population, Pakistan has been engaged in a precarious struggle to define a national identity and evolve a politico economic system for its linguistically diverse population. Pakistan is known to have over twenty languages and over 300 distinct dialects, Urdu and English are the official languages but Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtu, Baluchi and Seraiki are considered main languages. This diversity has caused chronic regional tensions and successive failures in forming a constitution, laws and finally a mutually shared mode of living. Although Urdu was nominated as Pakistan’s National Language yet the number of people speaking URDU as a mother tongue was very low. This generated a huge gap between the common people of the country and its systems. It is an irony that a vast majority of Pakistan’s population can’t understand it own National Anthem, by viewing this, its easy to view the barriers which every person in Paksitan has faced in order to form a link with its systems and structures thus contributing little to the development. Solution & suggestions to this issue is †¢ Focus on regional language , should be taught at least till primary level Tribal and Provincial Issues The government’s perceived bias towards Punjab, the country’s most affluent province, has caused disgruntlement amongst the underdeveloped yet resource rich provinces. This bias has contributed to an escalating rebellion by tribal militias in Baluchistan. Militias have been engaged in guerrilla warfare with the Pakistani army, whose resources are already stretched between counter-terrorism activities and Kashmir. Tribal militias have been sabotaging strategic infrastructure, such as natural gas lines. Muslim extremism and sectarian violence are fundamental threats to Pakistan’s political stability. Sunni-Shi’a violence along with frequent anti-western street protests and violence are common, particularly in Karachi. Pakistani forces have also been largely unable to defeat Taliban militants who operate with impunity in the areas bordering Afghanistan. FATA is such a great example of military failure, an area with in the country but out of the reach from the countrymen even the military. The militants have such a strong hold that they can every handled on their own terms, they are well equipped as well as informed, as seen in latest events, it seems as if Bugti tribe was as equipped as the Army itself. Religion and Sectarian issues Pakistan’s political instability over time has been matched by a fierce ideological debate about the form of government it should adopt, Islamic or secular. In the absence of any nationally based political party, Pakistan has long had to rely on the civil service and the army to maintain the continuities of government. It was a daunting task to build a nationstate whose peoples had only one uniting factors—their abiding faith in Islam. Other than that, there was nothing to bind them together as a nation. Subsequent political developments in Pakistan clearly showed that even the â€Å"abiding faith in Islam was merely a mirage,† not a solid factor of integration and development as there is a list of sectarian Issues Pakistanis are suffering from. Geographical issues Following a military defeat at the hands of India the breakaway of its eastern territory, which India divides it from, caused the establishment of Bangladesh in 1971. This situation epitomizes the most dramatic manifestation of Pakistan’s dilemma as a decentralized nation. All forms of developments in Pakistan continue to be marred by provincial jealousies and, in particular, by the deep resentments in the smaller provinces of Sind, Baluchistan, and the North-West Frontier Province against what is seen to be a monopoly by the Punjabi majority of the benefits of power, profit, and patronage. Constitution Discrimination & Minorities Rights Pakistan is perhaps the most notorious political enigma in the second half of he 20th century. Perhaps, the most lamentable feature of our existence as a nation is that we do not know what we are. National identity is not primarily definable in terms of a people occupying a sovereign geographical territory. Existentially, identity is premised on ideology and social values. Both are noticeably in abeyance in Pakistan. This is a state without ideological ballast, without a lodestar. The people who are being called minorities, how we can expect loyalty from them after the treatment they are given? In history we see Hindus were under Muslim rule for so long yet the first chance they got they joined British, the reason was only that they had no loyalty to the state. If in Pakistan the minorities would keep receiving such treatment there is not much less hope of any loyalty to the state either. Human Rights Pakistan remains heavily dependent on the United States for economic and military aid. The U. S. has notably failed to press for human rights-related legal reform in the country, in exchange for Pakistan’s support in the U. S. led â€Å"war on terror. â€Å" For its part, the government of Pakistan has excused its failure to uphold human rights and the rule of law by citing domestic political pressure from hard-line religious groups and militant organizations. Pakistan’s record of ratifying principal international human rights treaties remains poor. To date, it is signatory to only five international conventions, and has signed neither the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights nor the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.