- Health shambles in Punjab
The recent death of a woman on the corridors of Jinnah hospital in Lahore due
to non availability of beds in the government hospitals. She was turned down by
three different hospitals in Lahore for such basic resource non availability. The
chief minister Punjab has displayed his trademark style with a suspension order
of the superintendent hospital.
But lets cross-examine who is the real culprit?
The nurse who did not know proper beginners treatment for a
heart attack patient. The ambulance driver who did not have the dexterity to
take the victim to properly equipped tertiary care hospital.
The pharmacist who gave the patient expired medicines to
control blood pressure. The doctor was absent from his duty in district hospital
kasur.
The private hospitals lacking proper medical specialists or
equipment to take care of such emergencies.
The provincial health ministry who fail to give salaries to
doctors on time subsequently forcing these poor souls to collect it from secretariat.
The PMDC who has the authority of postings but no mechanism
to monitor them.
The finance ministry who
fail to adequately finance health services in kasur.
Punjab health care commission for it has the responsibility
to regulate all public and private hospitals and ensure minimum service
delivery across all medical setups under PHC Act 2010.
The technical consultants who made the tertiary setup
separate from rest of district government leaving it under the radar of
scrutiny and hence people rush to city hospitals which become overburdened.
Chief minister because he has a reputable reform team and
technical consultants and financed by world bank with 150 million $ to ensure
such minimum facilities are ensured at least.
PTI as a premier opposition in Punjab failed to play its part
in Punjab health reform committee and constructive criticism.
Parliament committees for health service regulations, human
rights, P & D reforms committee and oversight committee. Its inability to hold government accountable.
- Raheel sharif , Disappearances and Panama leaks
The PML-N government was reluctant for a showdown with then
army chief raheel sharif because of his glory and firm grip on the scene. He was invincible and highly approved. The
PML-N wanted to settle scores with cheap-shots like opening Pandora box of his
alleged deal with Saudis for assuming
the mantle of muslim force under the kingdom auspices. This held the general
back and then ensued silence on the issue. The recent land awarding also came
under scrutiny and ISPR then had to come up and shrug off the matter as malicious
conjecture and went on to say that it has the potential to disrupt cool civil military
relations.
The state has unleashed its muscles on disappeared bloggers
too. The returnees came back with silence and good manners towards the
establishment. This aspect is particularly disturbing and has serious consequences
for a robust democratic society. Mullah
had already patrolled the religious frontiers and now we are watching
the ideological frontiers “protected” by the chaps.
The government of nawaz sharif behaves rudely after
consolidating its grip on power and makes ridiculous blunders. PTI comes as an
insurgent and hardly familiar with parliamentary experience but PML-N should
have learnt its lessons. Both parties are obsessed with each other.
Supreme court has been dragged in this political hot seat by
two of its outgoing CJ’s who had a glory of their own on their mind, but things
got messed up. The present court is
trying ahrd to be impartial and attempting to cool down both parties but all
efforts are going in vain.
- Rational take on regional connectivity
Pakistan is a part of two important alliances SCO and SAARC.
SAARC has been unutilized and idle for maximum time since its inception and had
not achieved anything worthwhile for the people of south asia. This is the
reason why many member are losing interest in this organization. Srilanka and
Bangladesh are inclined to join ASEAN. The indopak tensions have never allowed
this forum to really take off. In part india has been responsible for this
situation too. It has been recently trying to outcast Pakistan in the region
and make bay of Bengal alliances with regional countries for economic and
technical cooperation.
China has a great opportunity to extend the vision of xi
jingping’s OBOR with US withdrawing from Tran pacific partnership. The world is
realigning itself. The TPP countries are pondering on making another regional
cooperation pact to safeguard its interests from the influence of dominant
china.
Pakistan needs to be pragmatic with its thinking.
Joining new alliances like 39 member security alliance under
Saudi patronage will not be a bad decision provided it transforms into a
political and economic organization too. Furthermore IRAN our immediate neighbor
must not be alienated for out gains and be held close because there is a lot of
potential in Pak-IRAN relations which needs to be exploited. Pakistan can also
partner with sea border countries like Oman, Muscat, Iran, uae, srilanka, Maldives
to make close ties. In the western side we need to get our act straight with Afghanistan
to reap full benefits for opportunities provided by CPEC under OBOR. Similarly
friendly ties with USA and Europe is also essential. The diversification of our
economic policies is need of the hour.
- FATA merger with civilization!
FATA is described by various US military and political experts
as the hotbed of extremism and a potential launchpad for potential 9/11 in
future. In that situation, the region will be hugely destabilized. Therefore
its imperative to focus on this region to make it at par with rest of the
country.
Recent fata reforms envisage this dream which is nearing its
fulfillment. PML-N government deserves applause for upholding their manifesto
of mainstreaming FATA, a demand which other governments failed to deliver on.
FATA is extremely poor. It has a devastated education, water supply and health
system. The section 247 of our constitution says that no part of its constitution
will apply to fata. This must be repealed. Section 40 of FCR gives powers to
political agent to imprison a person for three years without any given reason
which is extremely inhumane. This must be rubbished immediately. FCR 1901
permits collective punishment, again its inhumane and must go.
FATA reforms committee has put forward some complementary recommendations
which needs to be implemented side by side. These are parallel and concurrent
judicial, economic and political reforms. RS 750 million are marked for 13
irrigation projects to start with. Government has promised to include 100
billion rupees for FATA in next NFC award. This will speed up the merger of
fata with KP.
People of FATA has endured huge injustices in the past. The
time is right to bring it back into the fabric of settled areas and give it a
chance to prosper and contribute in a stable and strong Pakistan.
- Hate speech
Hate speech on media and politicians hurling horrendous
allegations is the not a new norm in this godforsaken country, the Islamic republic
of Pakistan.
Aamir liaqat saga is looking in sync with the plummeting standards
of our media houses hungry for ratings and controversies to cash on. The news
has become a business. It actually kills the purpose of awareness and informing
the audience.
Recent disappearances of bloggers has badly tarnished the
image of our country internationally. After NAP, it was expected that after
peace prevails, saner voices will flourish more confidently but sadly it’s the complete
opposite.
Government on its part has never checked on the hate mongers
in media and tacitly approved on some occasion for political convenience. They
have also found a way to safeguard their mandate in next general elections by
building infrastructure. Recent Multan metro is a glaring example of its fool proof
planning.
Recently a Chinese diplomat Lijian Zhao remarked in an
economist story:
“ China is all too aware that Pakistan needs
more than just big-ticket infrastructure if it is to flourish. Disarmingly, he
praises the efforts of Britain and other countries to improve Pakistan’s
‘software’ such as education and rule of law. ‘But China’s expertise is
hardware’, says Mr Zhao”.
To sum up, physical and material development is incomplete
without intellectual development. We need to work on it urgently and stop the
factories of hate and darkness who threaten our prosperity and sanity.
- Governance, corruption and foreign interference
history
It is imperative to think on the lines of what we can give to our country
rather than pondering upon what the country gave to us. This mindset can turn
the fortunes of or country .
South Korea and Singapore had the same
socio-economic conditions as Pakistan in 1960’s but the elected prime minister
of Singapore Lee Kuan yew and military leader mr park led their country to
economic revival and currently Singapore's per capita income is 51000$ while
south Korea's per capita income is 35000$ while Pakistan's per capita income is
only 1500$.
We had experiments with military as well as democracy but both failed
to deliver because the spirit of giving to the country rather than taking was
absent. The leader of South Korea
general park died with less than 1000 $ in bank account while Singapore's
leader was a beacon of integrity and institutionalized accountability. This is
the reason that Singapore has been constantly ranked in least corrupt countries by the world bank.
Both leaders did not have bank accounts abroad.
The Singapore and south Korea passport holder can visit 170 countries
visa free while green passport is ranked as 2nd worst in the world
recently.
Facts speak for themselves. The givers will work to improve
their country’s condition while takers will improve their personal wealth at
the expense of their motherland!
- Indus water treaty
Modi’s recent visit to poll-bound Punjab is noteworthy for
his scathing criticism on Indus water treaty and assuring people of the maximum
usage of water used by Pakistan to its own benefit. Although we can dismiss
these remarks as political rants but in reality India has been digging options
on how to divert the water resources in their favor entitled for Pakistan.
The Indus
water treaty’s unilateral withdrawal will result in Pakistan going to
international court of justice and in all likelihood, can pull of a victory to
the disgrace of a belligerent India. World bank being a guarantor will
never support any adventurism by any party in this regard.
In the face of such tensions, Pakistan need to bring its own
house in order. PPP’s chief minister in Sindh remarked he will never allow
kalabagh dam to be constructed is a negative and malicious. The opportunity to
preserve and store water is the key to prosperity of the country and any such
endeavor to make storage facilities must be encouraged rather than scoring
cheap political points.
- Pakistan steel mills woes
Pakistan steel mills and PIA are both incurring heavy losses
to state exchequer with its sluggish performance. Although PIA is still in
working conditions, PSM has been dragging its feet to the ground and burying
under its own weight. PSM owes 415 billion to its employees and defaulted
debts, while 166 billion unpaid liabilities on its shoulders.
PSM is
performing at 8 % capacity which is inducing the government to import to make
up for the failure of PSM to fulfill the
demand.
Under these circumstances the government gave a go ahead to
privatize PSM for 45 years to a third party company. This decision has been
abruptly set aside by Cabinet committee on privatization CcOP headed by finance
minister Ishaq dar.
The government is trying to reinvigorate the white elephant
in the hope that it will start performing efficiently. This is nothing but a
noble thinking but flawed in practical application as previous government had
also planned and failed in same endeavor. Therefore without wasting much time,
a long lasting remedy is required.
- Trump's "Extreme vetting"
The romance between Pakistan
and new trump administration which began with congratulatory phone call to
incoming president ended when trump called for extreme scrutiny of people
coming from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Afghanistan. How can the relations be
cordial and friendly when our people are no longer welcome.
It may not come as a surprise to many given trump’s
controversial remarks in presidential campaign. He constantly use Islamic radical
terrorism as a foreign policy tool. Time to look out for new alignments with
countries like Russia, the nexus with china and other like minded countries to
counter threat from alliances between India and USA.
- Right to information bill 2016
The senate committee recommended 10 clauses for approval
concerning right to information bill 2016. This include on application
procedure for information retrieval, computerizing the existing data, and a complaint and review body which will
look if the information is sensitive or not.
Foremost is the fact that
sensitive material definition is discussed as to what makes the info sensitive.
Indeed a sensible approach.
Although data related to placement of weapons or military
plans are out of questions but the general masses deserve to get information on
all other matters concerning the usage of their taxpayer’s money.Now the need
of the hour is to expedite the process and make the state responsible for its
expenditure.
- Health care in Punjab
Shehbaz Sharif has asserted that Punjab healthcare system
will be revamped soon. He has termed
current system as ‘cruel’. This is particularly self contradicting because for
the past 10 years PML-N government is at the helm of power so they are equally
responsible for these shambles.
Punjab government has promised to modernize 40 (THQ’S & DHQ’s)
by june 2017 with new equipment and competent staff hiring.
Opposition hurled scathing criticism at Shehbaz Sharif and
remarked that the Punjab speed of construction is absent when we look at the
performance of health ministry in the province.If Sharif is sincere in bringing
about real change and cruise past criticism, healthcare is the starting point.
- Youth: An asset but how?
Pakistan is a country with a pool of 50 million young people
between 18-25 ages. Proper youth policy
needs to be devised like the developed countries i.e Japan, Australia,New Zealand,
Switzerland and so on.
Our youth jobless rate is 8.2 % which is very high. Diseases
like anxiety and depression are very come due to non channeling of energy in
positive things. Subsequently they are enticed to the world of crimes,
immorality , drugs and even terrorism. Therefore government needs to chalk out
a cohesive plan to make productive use of these
assets and not making them as a
liability in future.
Our youth policy needs to be developed keeping in mind the
following factors:
Foreign expertise need to be acquired to chalk out
successful plans for long lasting effects.
Secondly psychologists and counselors needed to be provided
in every hospital to treat the depression and anxieties of such disenchanted
youth and channel them in a positive direction and give them a sense of
purpose.
Thirdly government need to take care of the nutritional
demands of youth and make sure that food is clean and healthy for intake.
Sports and carnivals be arranged and introduce other sports like football,
swimming, badminton and squash should also be promoted along with cricket and
hockey.
- Durand line
On 26 July 1949, afghan government declared Durand line as
illegal and imaginary thereby withdrawing from any previous agreements.
Pakistan on its part has always emphasized that under article 4 and 5 of
initial agreements and later agreements all makes it clear that a border was
demarcated and afgan government received frequent subsidies which implies the
acceptance of the border.
Afghan elite argue that their clan is divided across Durand line.
The reality is that afghans constitute 42 million and have 60 distinct tribes
and 400 sub clans. So thereby it has always been a scattered tribal society for
centuries and never lived as cohesive units.
Pakistan has endured refugee problems contracted through Afghanistan.
It has generously hosted a huge afghan diaspora for 3 decades but were met with
hostility and skirmishes on border.
With the rise of Ashraf Ghani it was hope that relations
will move towards improvement but since then we have seen a downturn in
relations. Both countries hurled
accusations of destabilizing the countries. Furthermore Afghanistan has aligned
with India, which has consulates along pak afghan border and helping ttp and Baloch insurgents with financial, military and strategic planning. Afghanistan
has blamed Pakistan for harboring Haqqani network which is responsible for
attacks on Afghanistan.
Pakistan after observing lacklustre reply from afghan government
for border management has moved to fence the border in order to curtail cross
border terrorism from afghan side.
Mr Latif Pedram, chairman of NCPA has stressed ghani
administration to knock international court of justice with legal documents or
accept the border. If NCPA comes into power, it is expected to be friendly
towards good relations between two neighboring countries and the region will
ultimately benefit. This is the need of the hour to improve bilateral relations
and move from the quagmire of history and start a fresh chapter devoid from
animosity.
- ·
End of globalization or not?
After assuming office trump signed executive orders barring
immigrants from seven countries, on obamacare and also revamped plans for
keystone and Dakota access pipelines. Trump has threatened mexico to pay for
the border wall. Mexico flatly refused but trump repeated by saying it will
have to pay for it one way or the other , giving rise to suggestions of
economic wars with neighbouring mexico.
Trump has also backed off from Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The
indication of renegotiating NAFTA is also on the cards and bilateral trade
deals with other countries like Britain, Russia and India is on the cards.
Although these steps suggests protectionism and a departure
from free world free movement concept, where America was its staunch supporter,
Chinese president Xi Jingping has come forward and accepted the mantle of
global leadership, its commitment to globalization and climate deals in paris.
Therefore it is too early to declare the end of
globalization.
