An Agenda for the New Government

I am a bit dissapointed in this goody-goody article. Let me claim at the outset that I am a flaming liberal with a tiny bit of realism. It is clear even to a dodo like me that the primary objective of the coalition partners should be to survive, be it at the expense of dirty drainage and what not. The coalition has to "buy" support and for this it should dole out money left, right and center. Groups should feel that they have a stake in whatever this is ... let us call it democracy as we instinctively understand what it is with all its warts etc.

Now, it is quite clear that there is not a lot of money to "go around" (call it bribes if you may). So spread the honey amongst those who have not tasted it before. If there is not enough honey even for this then spread out power. Two things are important here to start with. Both are difficult but feasible.

1. Employ a sizeable number of (preferably incompetent) retired high level army types (with huge egos) in the secretary of defense. If such a thing does not exist then create it. At a lower level ask the army to designate high level serving officers (preferably competent). Choose the retired such that there is some amount of tension between these two categories on say the WOT. Choose a nincompoop as the defense minister (for example he could be a lawyer without any experience of defense). In all policy and finance matter randomly choose amongst the proposals, such that the serving types win 60% of the times and the retired guys win 40% of the times. Do not worry about the "goodness" of the policy. And do not allow the guys to co-operate.

2. Ask the jihadis (say the radio jock) to nominate two persons (of course this should be done secretly). Make them cabinet ministers with portfolios like "transportation" and "public distribution system" (if they do not exist then create them). Endow these ministries with huge budgets and give the ministers a free hand in spending and employment. The "secretaries" in these departments should be hired from the folds of the MQM. Give these guys no power over resources or policy but allow them to be as "corrupt" as possible.

One step at a time ......

Re: # 25 Ahmedmadani:
Yaar: Do you remember that some years ago, Pakistani Generals portrayed Pakistanis as 10 feet tall and one Pakistani soldier is equal to ten Hindoo ones.?

Well now if Pakistan turns out to be like you dream about, it might happen. It may turn out to be an Islamic Paradise!

Anyway, you may like to take a kup of hot chai and get off this grandiosity schemes of building new Red Fort in the heart of Lahore and raising the green flag and new Islamic Khilafat.

Wa Salaam,

Kamath

#33 ask madani sahib about the "rising sun" general musharraf.

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Re: # 25

Madani Saab,

Its just imbecile when you try to speak about Indians' prowess in management. The very reason western countries look at India more favourably than China is for the quality managers India produce. I understand, from your many posts, that you have a good management institute in LUMS. Good for you. I am not sure about the number of the graduates it churns out and I have no way to verify the % who get placed in top companies.

All I can say is we have good quality institutes besides IIMs and ISB. Managemnt is a complex art and thats the reason Indians are more sought after for top positions. You keep hallucinating in your own world about the superiority of Pakistanis over the rest of the world when it comes to management.

C.K.Prahlad, Keki Dadiseth, Indra Nooyi, Vikram Pandit.....Its better you educate yourself else people will consider that as ramblings of an ignoramus.

#31 by treetop

You are calling your brahma a trash,you will be reincarnated as a cow.

I don't mind that, but what about you? You're going to be reincarnated as a swine, an animal that loves trash.

Re: # 30
You are calling your brahma a trash,you will be reincarnated as a cow.

#29 by treetop

Pakis would be more than happy to award garbage collecting contract for lahore to the indians.

If that happens, the first thing the Indian contractor would have to collect along with the garbage is trash like you.

Re: # 26
Pakis would be more than happy to award garbage collecting contract for lahore to the indians.

"While Jaswant [Singh’s] team was highly disciplined in every respect, some of Shamshad Ahmad’s colleagues tended to be querulous, surly, and sometimes abusive.”

One can see this on chowk. Most of the abusive language, switching to urdu, name calling etc are the speciality of pakis on chowk. This is a cultural trait, stemming from a lower intellectual capacity.

If only the tahmeds, zeemaxes and YLH of chowk could accept this and try to improve the situation, it would be agreat day for pakistan.

If only the educated pakistanis could accept the reality that the capability of the apkistanis are inferior due to historical reasons.

From dawn of today


Reporting from Karachi, the author comments on the country’s first cabinet: “With enormous problems, Pakistan has only a very ordinary set of leaders to cope with them”, barring a few “the other members of the cabinet are all mediocrities.” The exceptions identified by the author were the “brilliant” Mr Jinnah, the prime minister and the finance minister.

In 2008, the problems have become much more enormous and the leadership has become much more mediocre. Even the exceptions at the very top are conspicuous by their absence.

The quality of political leadership went into a steep decline after Mr Jinnah. This was exacerbated by the military’s interruption of the political process that serves as the training ground for new leaders. Instead, military leaders found it in their interest to pick pliable political faces to front for them. And political leaders, in turn, promoted military leaders whom they deemed safe. A process in which incumbents picked others less clever than themselves assured a rapid race to the bottom.

Insecure political leaders, civil or military, are also prone to choosing their key bureaucrats on the basis of loyalty. Mr Ziaul Haq added to a secular decline in critical thinking by making the social sciences subservient to an ideological education in Pakistan Studies. It was no surprise to read Strobe Talbott’s comparison of South Asian bureaucrats in his book Engaging India: “In general, our sessions with the Pakistanis, while occasionally more exciting than those with the Indians, lacked a comparable degree of intellectual engagement…. While Jaswant [Singh’s] team was highly disciplined in every respect, some of Shamshad Ahmad’s colleagues tended to be querulous, surly, and sometimes abusive.”

By way of contrast, Ramachandra Guha’s new book India after Gandhi includes a description of India’s first cabinet in 1947. The 13-member cabinet included three who were not from the Congress party and three who had been lifelong adversaries of the Congress and had collaborated with the British, including the virulently anti-upper-caste Dr B.R. Ambedkar. Gandhi reminded his supporters that freedom had come to India, not to Congress, and urged “the formation of a cabinet that included the ablest men regardless of party affiliation.”

Re: # 25

madani saab,

I really wish people post good news about pakistan as I do not see any good news in dawn and jang that I read. Of course I do not post fantacies, 100 billion in pakistan. I recall reading that a large sum of world bank and ADB loans have not been used because pakistan do not have the infrastructure to absob money, well that do not include transfers to swiss banks.

Many reports I read about economic aspects of ppakistan is pure crap. It was only yesterday that they have approved 1000MW wind power installation in karachi in the next two years. To begin with there is no wind turbine manufacturing capacity globally to do that.

You talk of chinese investm,ents, read todays dawn, chinese have won contract to clear garbage in karachi. Talk of paki management capacity, they need chinese to slave labour the paki workers. Then of course, do not forget the reason for lal masjid, it was linked to chinese run brothels. If pakis cannot run brothels and need chinese expertise, well that proves that the only task that pakistanis can do with finesse is jihad.

Did you know that teh so called number three in al quida, sheikh mohammed is a pakistani, and his sister is moving court against his illegal transfer to quantanamo, of a paki citizen. All along it was claimed that sheikh mohammed was a saudi.

Re: # 15 Mr Jayp.... I appereciate all things you observe abd post here.
This seems to have missed your attention. ( sorry not happy news for You )
The UAE minister said in UAE talking to business leaders UAE is going to invest 100 Billion dollars in pakistan.( not million but billion, ). I was expecting you to react but it was not good news I guess.
Now 100 billion dollars in pakistan is same as 6x100=600 billion dollars needed to be investgated in india for equivalence. Now may be last year 2 billion dollars only in india. We are talking economic teams then you team is almost amature.

Our rs is 62 and indian is some 40 rs you can be happy but indian business men crying as when export comes they can not compete. A coin has to sides always , some thing good and some thing bad.

India does not have FTA ( free trade agreement) with usa or china, it is almost about to happen and leading big money coming from china and usa in industry, cheap labor+ pakistn management expertise+ chinese investmenet+ american investment= Competitive cheap price products for world market for exports.

Recently first ship docked big G and carried canadian wheat.

Chinese copper project in B.Stan is very profitable and all they produce copper is exported to china and they need more, capacity expansion by 50% in next 4 years.

Soon foreign companies bidding for 3000 MW coal fuel power plants biding. That coal is so much in Thar desert that a 300MW plant can work for 10,000 years as per foreign experts.

PIA is buying 8 brand new 777 for pakistan to west europe and usa flights.

Soon energy lines will be bringing gaseous gold in 8 ft dia pipes from Iran and TAP pipe line is still in plan. India will get cheap courtsey of pakistan pipe lines allowing export to India.

These are things are more importance than tata putting 2 billions for british car company. I wish them good luck , they need is lot , Hope mr. Tata has reasonable management team indian can be good cruncher of number but management is more complex art. It always comes to mind these 2 billion dollars can provide some better food to some portion of starving undernourished.

Hope you appreciation of good things going economically is expected.

there is always a tragic distance with what is desirable, reachable and achiveable. But yet I know, this political dispensation will strive in earnest.
I was talking to one of the Babas of PPP. He sensibly said that this time around, it will be easier to achive policy ends because the diversity in coalition is forced to work towards predetermined goals. What a blessing.

Laddu, plz dont feel bad. It happens.

hamidm: you seem to have lost your sense of humor recently. hope all is well with lota rashid.