The analysis of the 2008-o9 budget by an Islamabad-based civil society organisation, Centre for Peace and Democratic Initiatives (CPDI), has revealed that the federal government has preferred big cities to the small towns and villages and the rich over the poor and marginalised while launching and executing development projects of health and education sectors in the four provinces. Quite interestingly, no allocation has been made for the districts of Southern Punjab and upper Sindh — the bastion of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).
Going through the details of this year’s budget one is convinced that the governments in Pakistan can’t be pro-people, though one can’t afford to challenge their commitment with the state. The reason is that the political parties lack the will to act on behalf of the majority. The reason is that the political system, by its nature, is exploitative and discriminatory.
The ratio of indirect taxes is around 70 per cent. Whatever the burden is put on the shoulders of the rich ultimately raises the misery index of the poor. The policy is to target the items which are high in demand in the country. This includes the kitchen items, petroleum products, electronic goods, motor cycles, small cars etc. Cigarettes and mobile sets have been included in this list now.
The inequalities in society are kept intact through the use of violence. Laws are essentially made to the advantage of the well-offs. Besides using state institutions a structure of militancy is created to quell the voices of dissent. No political party this time stands for the redistribution of the landed resources and lessening the burden of taxes on the low income groups as a measure to alleviate poverty.
So, it is not strange that most of the landed resources are concentrated in the hands of few families. The feudal have become industrialists as well due to their access to the capital. The business community, the traders and merchants, of the large cities are another stakeholder in the economy due to their power to control the domestic market on will. The nexus of the two has marked history of the state.
Going by regions, Sindh and Punjab are the major sources of revenue. Most of the areas upside the Indus River are governed the least. Here the drug barons and smuggler rule the roost. The writ of the state is non-existent. The efforts to open up these areas have always backfired. On the other hand, virtually all provinces are wary of the overwhelming role of Punjab in allocation of national resources and setting the policy direction.
As far as the tax-to-GDP ratio remains as low as 10 per cent it is not possible to launch any meaningful programme to make people’s life better. After all it is not the government’s responsibility to establish industries or provide jobs to the people as far as the logic of the global age is concerned. It has to create environment which will lure investment, from home and abroad, creating additional job opportunities. The government has the obligation to ensure social safety nets to keep national morale up and high.
Moreover, it is the consumer who has to be taken care of by the governments the most. He has to be given a choice in terms of products as well as the right to know about its content. In a democratic polity, a day comes when he casts his ballot and approves or rejects the people who represent him in the parliament and other lawmaking bodies.
Going by the attitude and orientations of the successive civilian regimes towards the people it is highly unrealistic to hope change of hearts in political leadership. The reason is that the mainstream political parties don’t represent the people and the proof lies in their organisational structures which is highly undemocratic and is not sensitive to the need of transparency in its policy-making process.
The party elections are rarely held and the procedures of choosing leadership are highly questionable. This authoritarian structure of the political parties finds reflection in the attitudes and behaviors of the people holding ministerial slots; they take little interest in the jobs assigned to them but are more inclined to enjoy the perks and privileges reserved for their positions.
The distribution of party tickets provides another proof of the political parties’ inclination to serve the interests of the privileged. Feudals, Pirs, Maliks and Khans happen to be favourite candidates of these political parties because they are able to donate more and have a sure chance to win due to their high social position in the society.
Democracy in a society with vast disparities in possession of resources means to consolidate the power of the powerful not that of the weak and fragile. The people vote out of fear not of free will. The chances of a candidate to win depend not in his commitment to serve the people but his skill to bag votes by hook or crook.
The desperate situation leads one to confront the question whether a democracy is in the interest of Pakistan as far as inequalities persist in the society. The answer is that it should stand democratic anyway, for authoritarianism is dangerous for its existence. Can the existing political parties bring peace and prosperity for the people? No, they can’t. They have interest in fuelling anarchy in the body politic due to the dominance of vested interests in the decision-making structure of these parties.
Pakistan has not only to stay democratic but also it has to scale up the ladder of human index. The prosperity of the few does not necessarily bring positive change to the majority without the intervention of the state on the side of the disadvantaged. Things will only change if there is drastic cut down in the non-development expenditure and diverting of funds on health and education sector. The ratio of indirect taxes has to be brought down as a measure to lessen effects of poverty. Rule of law has to ensure to infuse sense of justice and security among the people. The security doctrine has to be revised to rationalize the spending on defense.
Gone are the days when people used to look towards the foreign powers or their own army to change the situation on ground. There is no other way to bring change in attitude of the governments but through making the political parties more democratic in their structures and outlooks. The civil society organisations, intellectuals, writers and media men have to stand by the common man and raise voice in his favour. More importantly, it is the political worker who has to make his party responsible and responsive to the needs of the electorate; for it is he who suffers the most when parties fail to deliver.
