Buying time not future

Nations, organizations, and individuals who rely on borrowed time never prosper. Vision of the future is paramount to growth. Stagnation leads to disaster. In a world driven by technology, only change is permanent. As a nation, we started off well. The founding fathers burnt the midnight oil not only to sustain but also to prosper. Early in the decade of the fifties, the entire development framework was put in place. For industrialization, PIDC (Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation); for water and power, WAPDA (Water & Power Development Authority); PAEC (Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission) headed by Dr I.H. Usmani; PCSIR (Pakistan Council of Science & Industrial Research) under Dr Salim-Uz-Zaman Siddiqui; PSI (Pakistan Standards Institution), now PSQCA (Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority); PIAC (Pakistan International Airlines Corporation). The father of the nation, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, himself inaugurated the State Bank of Pakistan in 1948. The discovery of natural gas at Sui in 1952 was a gift of nature. At 12 TCF, it was considered one of the largest deposits of its time, sufficient to meet the needs of the nation for a century.

Future requires investment, both short and long term. It was Sir Syed Ahmed Khan’s vision to bring the Muslim population of the Sub-continent into the mainstream. Starting with schools, he moved on to colleges and finally the Aligarh University, which not only led the movement for the creation of Pakistan but also provided the manpower to sustain it. In the formative years of the republic, education was taken seriously both by the teachers and the taught. In my entire academic journey, I never once missed a class, even during my term as President of the departmental student union. The first-born free generation was being prepared to lead, not follow. Instead of buying time, the future was being built.

In the 1973 constitution, literacy was declared a fundamental right. Under Article 25-A, every Pakistani had to be literate by the year 1985, but the target was not only missed, the entire effort was sidelined. The government of Muhammad Khan Junejo tried to narrow the gap by introducing the Nai Roshni program, which was shut down after his government fell. For meaningful nation building, education, employment and health are critical. The recent student uprising in India focused on professional education followed by employment. They demanded transparency and merit, which were being compromised. Modi’s shining India meant very little for them. Other countries have experienced similar protests (Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia).

Pakistan needs a lot of catching up to do. It is back to the basics of nation building. Universal Primary Coverage is the starting point. Every five-year-old child should be in school this year. This will reverse the trend of the swelling out-of-school youth population. Once primary coverage is ensured, the next target should be to cover those who missed out. The country is blessed with a bulging youth population, which must be made productive. Despite all the challenges of governance, the informal sector continues to perform well by providing the needed goods and services. Confidence in the formal sector is needed for a meaningful and cohesive march forward.

In the decade of the fifties, Pakistan was poised to emerge as the first Asian Tiger; now it seriously lags behind while other nations have grown, which includes China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia — the list goes on. Rightly said, this is the Asian Century. It is time to look inwards. The future belongs to educated and healthy nations who do not settle for short-term gains but instead focus on the future. Pakistan should not be a burial ground for those who build fortunes abroad. The homeland must come first. The best cannot be left for last.