Resisting Subjugation

In Pakistani context, we are faced with multi-faced subjugation. Our subjugation is largely, a self-inflicted phenomenon. The leadership—military and civilian alike—has surrendered completely to foreign masters. Though moral sinking of the leadership is becoming deeper and deeper every day, yet people of Pakistan have not surrendered and are showing resilience even in the extreme hardship times when basic necessities like wheat flour is made a rare commodity for them. The economic subjugation, dictates of IMF and other donors, wrongdoing of the people at the helm of affairs, unprecedented luxuries enjoyed by the rulers at taxpayers’ expense—all accumulatively—has culminated where a nuclear-State has turned totally toothless.

Political and economic subjugation is now complete with control over federal government by Pakistan People’s Party, led by President Asif Ali Zardari. His recent appeal to Prime Minister of ex-colonial regime (raj) to recommend Bush not to violate territorial boundaries of Pakistan is a slap on the face on nation. It is not diplomacy but utter submission before those who are the main cause of present-day crisis in our tribal areas and Swat. The forces of obscurantism are being used by these imperialist forces to make us subservient. The need of the hour is to mobilize people against imperialists and their cronies—the militants who are exploiting religion for self-interest.

For resisting subjugation, we need to pay immediate attention to pressing issues: foreign forces attacks in our tribal areas, rising wave of militancy, discord amongst coalition partners, horrifying debt burden, worsening balance of payment position, rising inflationary expectations, undesirable increase in wasteful expenditure of over Rs. 500 billion, which include heavy cost of perks and perquisites of rulers, growing unemployment, social unrest, widening trade and fiscal deficits, rising cost of doing business, burden of new taxes, increases in utility bills, economic stagnation, failure of revenue authorities to tap actual revenue potential of over Rs.3 trillion and industrial melt down—just to mention a few.

The economy is fast plummeting and worse is still to come if curative measures are not taken on war footing. People’s purchasing power is diminishing, banks have less liquidity, lending rates are going high and activities at stock markets are sluggish. The investors are shy and afraid, mainly due to perpetuation of political instability and economic uncertainty. Life for the common man on the streets is becoming a misery leading to social restlessness. Although we claim to be an agricultural economy yet a vast majority of the people do not have enough to eat. It is tragic that we even import agricultural products and have miserably failed to develop any worthwhile agro-based industry in the last 61 years. What a decline from the times when this region (i.e. United Punjab before partition) had the undisputed position of being the granary of the entire Subcontinent.

Look at the mess our successive governments, military and civilian alike, created on the debt front. The figure of foreign debt is a monstrous $48 billion after devaluation of our rupee in the last few months and that of domestic debt is over Rs.3.4 trillion now. Both external and internal debts are increasing at a frightening rate. The way we are managing our resources (not exploiting them or wasting mercilessly those already available) is criminal and is leading us to self-annihilation. Fiscal deficit of Rs. 777.2 billion during fiscal year 2007-08 testifies to bankruptcy of our political leadership, who keeps on relying on incompetent and corrupt bureaucracy. The policy of appeasement towards tax evaders, money launderers and plunderers of national wealth is showing its impacts in all spheres: political culture of changing loyalties in presidential election proves to be loathsome, nation is in high despair and all sectors of economy are showing horrible indicators. In this bleak scenario, our political leaders have no definitive plans and they are still living on ad-hocism.

The most worrisome sector of economy is agriculture. The rural population is constantly being pushed below the poverty line making all the targets of growth unachievable. If we have to develop economically, agriculture will have to play a critical role in the fight against poverty. Vital areas like mechanization, irrigation, plant protection and improved seeds have not been given proper attention although on papers there are many departments (including agricultural universities) spending millions and millions on claiming to have achieved wonders. In reality even the issue of loans to small farmers is nothing but just another scandalous affair where a few are making huge money in the name of poor farmers.

The industries are already over-taxed but instead of getting any relief, these are being asked to pay exorbitant taxes and also act as withholding agents for the State. All the fiscal laws now impose a number of obligations on them to file periodic reconciliation statements of taxes withheld and deposited in the Government Treasury. This work is to be done without any reimbursement of cost for the withholding agents. On top of it a draconian sword hangs for any default not committed willfully. There is no political will to tax the mighty sections of the society and the entire tax burden is being shifted on the poor through indirect taxes either in the form of sales tax, federal excise duty or presumptive taxes in the so-called direct taxes.

The most disturbing and painful reality is unabated and shameless indulgence of rulers and bureaucrats in wasteful expenditures. Look at their life style when the vast majority of the people is straving. The grim truth of Pakistan is the habit on the part of the rulers and their lackeys to indulge in self-deception, self-praise and self-perpetuation at the time of crises without realizing how disastrous these acts can be. All the governments, including the present one, pretend that serious economic problems can easily be disguised by statistical sleight of hand. This might be understandable from the political point of view aimed at cheating the voters, but it is certainly a disastrous and suicidal act. We cannot come out of subjugation unless we first become an economically self-reliant nation. For this, the rulers will have to take the first step by starting living at the modest level and then mobilize the masses for common struggle to take a great leap forward.