A treasure trove of wealth

Why do we even pretend that we wish to contest the fact? There is no doubt that many of our leaders are corrupt. Even before any significant information begins to emerge from the agreement reached with Switzerland regarding the presence of significant assets held by Pakistanis in notoriously secretive accounts, we know that many sizeable fortunes – which possibly include jewellery sets as well – are lying within these lodging places. It is quite likely that most of these assets will be whisked away to other places before any revelations can be made public by the beginning of next year.

The accumulation of illicit money by politicians, who originate from a whole spectrum of political parties, obviously damages us. It damages the trust between people and their government. According to the UNDP, faith in the government’s ability to deliver on its promises is held by under 60 percent of Pakistan’s citizens. Since people who respond to such surveys do not always tell the truth – perhaps because they fear retribution or are generally wary of urbanised men and women with clipboards and survey forms – it is difficult to ascertain the exact figure.

While politicians mostly bear the brunt of corruption charges, what causes the worst attrition of the country’s structures is the entrenched corruption within all its institutions and in so many other places. This form of corruption has not been addressed often enough. An initial attempt by General (r) Pervez Musharraf to tackle corruption by looking at the wrongdoings within the military and the judiciary through the National Accountability Bureau, soon fizzled out. Corruption within private corporations and other bodies also causes just as much harm.

A broad-based study of corruption is needed and, given the cyclical nature of the process, it is improbable that it can be wiped out in one sphere but left intact within others. The problem, therefore, needs to be addressed as a whole. This can be achieved through a sweeping action that aims not to wipe away a particular scam or scandal but set up controls that can check the misuse of public money, nepotism and other crimes over a long period of time. This is what prevents other nations from descending into a similar spiral of tax evasion, corruption, kickbacks and other means to rob a nation and its people.

We need also to look a little beyond corruption. Yes, it is a scourge. There have been many in-depth studies on the trickledown impact that corruption has on the lives of people and the resources available to them. But there are still more pressing problems that we face. The foremost among these issues is the very question of whether we can survive the extremist threat that has seeped into some of our largest cities and affected elite institutions across the country. We need to understand that this is our foremost enemy.

Taking half-hearted measures and delivering occasional statements will do nothing to wipe out militancy, extremism and the dangerous mindset that comes with it. While corruption can linger on for a long time as a malaise which gradually eats away at the soul of a nation, extremism can destroy it far more quickly. We have already become a kind of pariah state, unwanted and unloved by most of the world. Isolation can mark the first walk towards death or suicide. We are, quite evidently, on that path.

The question is: what are we doing to halt this journey? Far too little. We talk about militancy after every bomb blast and every attack which blows apart people or kills people who are committed to fighting those who kill. But in too many places, there is a secret sympathy for groups which spread extremist ideas or thoughts.

We need to ask ourselves why so many among us – including those we call the ‘educated elite’ – despise a person like Malala Yousafzai. Malala has won enormous honours for her country – including a Nobel Prize and a fund for the education of girls – which has received global attention. Of course, she did it with the help of others. But why should we attempt to vilify her? Why should we express apparent envy or displeasure that she has received a conditional offer for a place at Oxford? Any university in the world would welcome such a candidate. Others have lauded her possible entry to Oxford to study PPE. Why can we not do the same?

These are not the only issues we face. Only partially as a result of corruption – and, to a far greater extent, as a consequence of years of mismanagement and indifference to the plight of the people – the citizens of Pakistan live under miserable conditions. Pakistan is rated as a country at the ‘medium development’ level on the UNDP’s annual Human Development Index. These figures show the frightening reality for millions of citizens in the country.

Death comes easily and in many forms. For every 1,000 live births, over 50 infants die. Mothers also die during childbirth and, between the ages of one to five years, there is a far higher death rate among girls rather than their male counterparts due to a lack of medical care and poor nutrition. The gender disparity gap in Pakistan is, in fact, estimated to be among the widest in the world. Alongside women, entire families suffer the impact of poverty and the failure of state to meet their basic needs.

This issue seems to barely flicker across our political radar. We talk about all kinds of problems involving court decisions, leaked reports, scams and political rivalries. But people essentially suffer because they lack enough food, adequate healthcare or the means to sustain themselves. This should ideally be the most talked-about problem for a country which has sufficient resources to feed its people, provided they are used adequately and not squandered away on other sectors, including administrative or military expenses.

We can argue that we need a strong military. The military has, in fact, played a crucial role in saving us from the threat of terrorism over the past few years. But, in the end, militancy can only be combated if people are rescued from poverty, illiteracy and a situation of hopelessness. We need to find funds to save them and, in doing so, save our country. The problem needs to be discussed in far greater depth and detail. Yes, corruption is a massive issue. But the situation of the people is a far graver one in so many ways.

The media’s focus on issues which are not at all newsworthy prevents us all from thinking more clearly. The media – as in most countries – is the main means through which opinions are shaped. The education sector is another. In both these cases, there is little stress on the desperate need to improve the lives of people. Even in literature, poets who discuss these issues are given second place in textbooks compared to those who spout patriotic verses or tell tales of glory.

No matter how many flags we wave on nationalistic occasions or how many March 23 parades we hold, the truth is that we have little to celebrate. We will find the means to celebrate not by eradicating corruption alone – although this, too, would be a great victory – but by combining this process with other mechanisms which can lead to a better, more humane existence for citizens across the country.

The writer is a freelance columnist and former newspaper editor.

Email: kamilahyat@hotmail.com