STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan
“Yakay Wali” starring the top heroine of her times,Musarrat Nazir was a blockbuster of its times. Released in 1957, it broke all records of popularity, running for 50 weeks in one cinema. Producer Bari Malik raked in tons of money enabling him to buy a film studio named Bari Studios. These memories came back while listening to old Pakistani songs with friends. “Resham da lacha lak way” is an all time favorite that I continue to enjoy six decades later.
What triggered this article was another melodious song “kalee sawaray bei, Bhatti Lahori bei.” “Tongas” also known as “yakas”, a horse drawn carriage; was an integral part of our lives growing up. It was a bold film embodying a female driver, “kochawan” in Urdu. It was when few women stepped outside without being clad in a “burqa”, a full body cover. It brought back memories when tongas were permitted on Mall Road, Lahore. Walking with friends late night on this historical road, the clip clop sound of a running horse was fascinating.
There were lot good things in Pakistan in that period. The population was far less; bureaucrats were not kleptocrats; and water actually flowed through river Ravi. The roads were manually cleaned, and garbage was actually removed by “kuray wali gudd”, a buffalo driven cart. The quality of education in Government Schools was excellent. Pakistan Model School in Lahore graduates went on to become judges, bureaucrats and generals. In Abbottabad while we wore trousers and blazer uniforms, the public schools students were smartly turned out in “malaishia” shalwar kameez, much to our envy. Their dedicated teachers were widely respected.
Bribe takers were social outcasts. The social fabric and value system was held in high esteem. I grew up in the sixties. As youngsters I was participated in protestsagainst President Ayub Khan’s alleged dictatorship. Now as a student of economics, I believe it was the golden period of Pakistan’s development. Despite its shortcomings and warts, Pakistan was viewed as an emerging Asian Tiger. I cannot forget the words of Chairman Daewoo Corporation who I met courtesy late Jamil Nishtar in mid eighties. Sitting in ADBP boardroom,he remarked that he was visiting Pakistan after 20 years. He came here in early sixties as a bureaucrat seeking guidance on our five year development plans to be adopted in South Korea.
How did we become unhinged? Z A Bhutto was the first damaging blow. He broke the social fiber through his socialist rhetoric creating a divide amongst various classes. After being part of the coterie that engineered the breakup of Pakistan, he assumed power and nose-dived the economy by his destructive nationization policies. The growth tempo was broken. Banks, industry and manysectors were poised for a take-off. We were ahead in our GDP growth in the region, including India. The effects of these unfortunate events still haunt our economy.
The next bludgeoning blow was rendered by General Zia. He snatched power without any constituency to prolong his rule. He hid behind religion. He used it for everything negative. He brutalized the society, introduced the gun culture, and nurtured the most corrupt clan of Sharifs and uploaded them onto the political scene. We continue to suffer at their hands till today. During the next three decades our downward trajectory continued, accelerated by Nawaz Sharif and BB’s will–holder Zardari.
We picked sides in the fifties to be a frontline state against communism and joined SEATO. We benefited from the economic dole–outs but paid the price of letting the elephant into the room. Ayub Khan, with his good looks,was a darling of the West. The moment he chose an independent path enunciated in his book “Friends not Masters” he became a pariah. We have our fair share of Mir Jaffars amongst us. He was brought down by his own protégé ZAB. When ZAB became too big for his boots he was overthrown by his own “benign” Chief and subsequently executed.
Next was their ardent supporter, General Zia. Afterparticipating in the disintegration of USSR, he grew wings of independence. He was removed through a fiery ending. Nineties laid the premise for the most corrupt duo, PML(N) and PPP. Their spell was broken by Musharraf. It is interesting that any time the West enters a military conflict in this arena; a military dictator is installed in Pakistan. Politicians are too messy, indecisive and greedy. Musharraf’s shelf life expired but not before he presided over the tragedy of BB’s death.
The next ten years witnessed the worst loot sale of Pakistan. It ended when PM IK broke through the two party chokehold. IK disrupted the plans of the corrupt within and their masters abroad. Thus he was ousted through their joint efforts. With an exploding population of 220 million likely to double in twenty years, dwindling resources, uneducated youth, and extreme debt, IK’s course correction was not acceptable.
The present regime is clearly moving forward the agendafor an economic meltdown. This will pave the way for de-nuclearization; a long sought goal of the West. Where is the Establishment who has sworn to defend Pakistan? Their neutrality is like a lifeguard at a swimming pool refusing to save a drowning kid because he had been rude. In matters of life and death neutrality is not an option. Resolve this impasse or either the people will rebel or India will do it for us without a nuclear deterrent.
