In his wide-ranging, 70-minute televised address to the nation, President Musharraf unveiled his multi-dimensional vision for dealing with the issues of poverty, unemployment, inflation and power shortage in the country. He also dilated on the unrest in Balochistan, its causes and the elements who have been stoking the insurgency, to the detriment of national security.
Further, he surveyed the regional security situation following the Mumbai blasts and the near suspension of the composite dialogue process. Expressing sympathy with the people of Mumbai, Musharraf unequivocally denounced the train bombings and called upon the Indian leadership not to let this occurrence come in the way of Indo-Pakistan dialogue for peace.
He asserted that any derailment of this process would be tantamount to playing in the hands of the terrorists. The emerging findings of the investigations into this tragic incident, it is hoped would bring out the fact that the initial response of the Indian establishment of blaming Pakistan was wrong.
In addition to the foregoing, the fast accelerating conflict in the Middle East where Israel with the open support of the United States has attacked Lebanon, the trouble threatens to engulf Syria also.
This, according to the President, would impact on the peace of the entire region including Pakistan. Urging the patrons of Israel to initiate measures for immediate cessation of Israeli attacks, Musharraf justifiably stressed the need for Pakistan to brave this threat through national cohesion and unity. Needless to say, the prolongation of the conflict in the Middle East will undoubtedly provide fuel to the flames of terrorism across the whole region and turn into an unmitigated disaster of gigantic proportions.
Throughout his long address on radio and TV channels, the President's tone was upbeat. He praised the government's efforts for generating employment for the youth through development and industrialisation, so as to further bring down the level of poverty, which has already been reduced from 34 percent to 24 percent, as claimed by the government. He attributed the current strong inflationary trends in the country to the rapid rate of economic growth, the negative fallout of which the government is trying to cushion through a multi-pronged strategy to protect the downtrodden sections of society.
The President also unfolded an ambitious self-employment scheme, designed to benefit about 1.9 million people. It will be funded through provision of soft-term loans to youth for self-employment. The President also outlined a three-phased strategy to ease the power shortage in the country.
Under this scheme, two new power plants will start producing 300 megawatts of electricity by March 2007, the installation of gas turbines and power plants by KESC will help generate another 550 megawatts by April next year, while a power plant at Lakhra will produce 100 megawatts.
The President devoted a major part of his address to explaining the genesis and causes of the Balochistan insurgency, the internal and external players involved in it, and the role the security agencies have been playing in containing the conflict.
According to him, out of 77 Balochistan Sardars only three, ie Bugti, Mengal and Marri, were creating trouble in order to extract more money from the government through blackmail. All the commanders of Nawab Akbar Bugti have surrendered and heavy weapons, including surface-to-air missiles and rockets have been seized.
It is no doubt true that the security forces have gained an upper hand in the on-going insurgency, and succeeded in dislodging and putting to flight the rebellious Sardars. But the trouble in the province clearly involves a multiplicity of players, both from inside and outside the country.
Pakistan's role of a front-line state in the US-led global war on terror has meanwhile unleashed powerful anti-Pakistan forces, which may take advantage of instability in the province, that borders with war-torn Afghanistan. The government has done well to constitute a grand jirga that will surely help the authorities to sort out insurgency and related issues that have pushed Pakistan's largest and most resource-rich province into turmoil.
The commissioning of development projects worth Rs 130 billion announced by the President, will help ease the sense of deprivation that has alienated the province. However, a more helpful step would have been for the President to set a definite deadline for payment of the outstanding dues the centre owes to the province, as per the Mushahid Hussain Committee report.
There is also a need to launch a last-ditch effort to involve the three rebellious Sardars in the normalisation process, in the interest of enduring peace and normalcy. The President's programme of poverty alleviation and other similar schemes have proved stillborn, largely because of the gap between conceptualisation and the unpalatable reality on the ground.
The growing energy squeeze in the country over the decades has been acting like the proverbial millstone around the neck of Pakistan's economy, with most of the elected and non-elected governments having exploited the divisive potential of the issue to their advantage. The reality is that despite its no-nonsense dynamism and determination, the present dispensation has failed to set up any new power plants in the country over the past three years. Meanwhile, the mounting energy crunch and rapid population growth have adversely impacted our economy, no matter what the government high-ups say at five-star hotels.
What the country needs most at this moment is rule of law and distributive justice, both of which have unfortunately proved elusive over the decades, thanks largely to our leaders' personalised priorities. It is true that the government has achieved impressive growth rates, and a phenomenal increase in the per capita income. But for whom? It seems that the ruling elite is still sticking to the discredited "trickle-down" theory of the 1960s. Doling out subsidies, however hefty, won't do.
These are purely temporary measures. What the country needs is pro-people policies, rule of law and distributive justice. The current high rate of inflation is largely a result of machinations of various cartels let loose on the country, that have been making loads of hay at the cost of the consumers.
There is the oil cartel, the real estate cartel, the sugar cartel, the cement cartel: you name it and there is a cartel out to extract its pound of flesh. This amounts to taking the principles of market economy to obscene lengths. Moreover, there has been a growing gap in formulation of policies and their implementation. This needs to be bridged. The President's address has raised the nation's hopes. He should live up these hopes.