Business | Opinion
Economic development must not marginalise the poor
Pakistan's ruling elite have long ignored the plight of the country's most impoverished, treating their abysmal condition as no more than a peripheral issue.
- By Farhan Bokhari, Special to Gulf News
- Published: 23:41 December 23, 2008
Pakistan's ruling elite have long ignored the plight of the country's most impoverished, treating their abysmal condition as no more than a peripheral issue.
The end of 2008 not only brings back the horrible memories from a year gone by when a record number of armed and suicide attacks were traced back to militant groups. There is also an economic dimension to the growing insecurity in the country.
For militants, there may well be more attacks in the pipeline, all designed to destabilise Pakistan. Such groups for long have thrived upon receiving the support of a continuous cadre of volunteers, including many who are willing to lay down their lives for what they consider is a just cause.
Extremism
Is it only ideology which drives such people to adopt extreme positions?
The available evidence so far suggests that the obvious answer to that compelling question is no.
For too long, Pakistan has ignored the mounting challenges, which have much to do with the rapid increase in the number of poor people in the country. By most accounts, at least one-third if not more from Pakistan's population of at least 165 million, all live below the poverty line.
It would not be surprising if many of those taking to militancy are driven to it by their growing economic needs, in a country where social services and government support exist only in name for the poor.
The battle to save Pakistan's future cannot be successful as long as the issue of abject and widespread poverty is not comprehensively tackled.
The newly elected Pakistani government, which took office in February's landmark elections has spoken repeatedly about taking vastly improved care of its poorest of the poor.
The new government has also launched new initiatives, notably one in the name of the late prime minister Benazir Bhutto, to benefit the poor and the needy. But the outcome of this effort still needs to be tested.
Education
In the meantime, Pakistan is faced with a terrible problem which seems to be fast mounting. Faced with the difficult challenge of turning its people away from militant causes, a number of immediate interventions are acutely necessary.
For example, Pakistan needs to immediately order the full abandoning of school fee and related expenses for all children going to government schools. This is a measure which is more than likely to upset the fragile budgetary balance of the government.
However, this is the only way to remove one major reason that push parents to send their children to the 'madrassa' or Islamic schools rather than regular schools. Most parents cannot afford educating their offspring in a mainstream or conventional school.
A combination of anecdotal evidence as well as documented evidence, clearly demonstrates that the lack of proper education stands at the heart of promoting the cause of militancy in Pakistan.
It is also important for the government to come up with an economic revival plan which aims to tackle the needs of the poorest of the poor in a country.
Credibility
But the full scale of the effort to tackle this situation may well be beyond Pakistan's means.
It is therefore essential that a credible plan is put together to quickly but surely gather enough support from donors for this effort.
The bottom line must be a high level of credibility so that the world is convinced of the genuine nature of Pakistan's effort.
The writer is a journalist based in Pakistan.
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