It is very easy to begin this column with what former President Pervez Musharraf and former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz (who has gone back to reside abroad) spent on their foreign trips in their last three years in office. Foreign travel is a frequent point of public concern now, and I find it amazing that governments do not appear to realise how much of their image they lose on this count.
But from the look of things they don't care: Perhaps the argument being that the world has become smaller with globalisation, and hence travels overseas are mandatory. That the common man is desperately struggling to cope with the challenges of say food inflation is unconvinced about this is something, that is stating the obvious.
I would like to believe that perhaps there is a very strong relationship between what the rulers do, when they are in office in particular, and what happens at the grassroots level here. In democracy, arguably, the expectations are higher still. Without going any further into the pressures on democracy to deliver, I would like to ask a direct question: what is the relationship between Islamabad and Tinhatti, which is perhaps, a lower middle class residential and commercial area of Karachi.
It gives you a feeling that time there has stood still for a couple of decades, when it comes to the quality of life. For those Karachiites and others who may wonder where Tinhatti is, it is near Lasbela and Gulbahar and Liaquatabad, to give you a general overview of where it is located.
I went to Tinhatti this week, and a short visit brought me back deeply depressed on three counts. Let me share with you the three images that I have returned with .It was about 8pm that I was there in a narrow shabby street, in Tinhatti, which reflected the population pressure there was on that locality. Let the mind wander on this theme, and the population explosion in the country will come into the worrying economic picture.
The first image that struck me was that of children of school going age, playing on the streets and the pavements, when in point of fact they should have been at home, doing school home work, or spending time with the family, as it was two hours after sunset. But they were playing indoor games which are commercially played on pavements as well.
They appeared to be children of school going age. Was this demonstrative of parental neglect, societal indifference? I would like to believe that this was a glimpse of what is happening in numerous backward areas of the city or Pakistani society in general.
Take the second image that came when the power supplies went off, presumably on account of loadshedding. Most of the area was back with light coming from the generators, Uninterrupted Power Supplies (UPS) and small rechargeable lights. But there was one place that was operating under candlelight. When load shedding comes, which it does several times a day now, it is one's economics that determines what options are exercised. The candlelight was being used by a "dawakhana," (a medical store) that believes in the Unani system of medicine.
Two diligent men carried on their work under candlelight as their UPS had failed. That it was a sad reflection of the state of healthcare(?) or the Unani system of medicine(?), one would not know. But it did have me thinking hard. Which makes it pertinent to mention that I have seen some very established retail outlets of Unani medicine in rather sorry conditions, which makes a pathetic contrast to the affluent retail outlets of the allopathic system of medicine. I read varying kinds and degrees of social change in all this. The Unani and homoeopathic systems of medicine when viewed in the context of families and individuals and reviewed in depth would make wonderful revealing profiles of Pakistani society in 2008.
Now to the third image. I saw on the Tinhatti main road several shops selling general provisions and groceries etc from behind iron grills, and gates I was disappointed to see this as I was disappointed to see the emergence of speed breakers and armed guards in residential areas in this city some 25 years ago. That is common place now. This is a subject that one should keep in mind when trying to decipher this changing society. The amount of security that is being employed by all and sundry. By Islamabad, and by Tinhatti.
The contrast of the multi-storeyed shopping plazas in some upper middle class residential areas with the general stores operating from behind iron gates and grills, in low income areas is very sharp. It makes one wonder about the levels and frequency of crime that have compelled these shopkeepers to take protective measures. I am told that such iron gates and grills are also in popular use in other parts of the city. Milk and yogurt sellers are a common sight when it comes to reflecting this insecurity caused by growing crime.
A thought that came to mind was about the private armed security guards who are employed all over the city, and the apprehensions that come to mind on this count. Where does poverty figure in all this? What is the relationship between poverty and crime in this society? What is the relationship between poverty ad the begging bowl that we have gone back to? What is the relationship between the bitter pill that IMF will prescribe for Pakistani people, and the insecurity that they live with?
One does not seek to end with the Tinhatti theme. I would like to end with where I began. The details of how much former President Musharraf and former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz spent on their overseas tours is worrying. There seems to have been enough money for all that travel, including the launching of Musharraf's book, In the Line of Fire. National organisations like PIA have been in financial trouble, of course.
These details of the travels of the two gentlemen were available in the documents provided by the Foreign Office to the National Assembly on Monday. One newspaper headline carried the story to say that "Shaukat spent over a billion and lied to the nation". This was the amount spent on 47 trips during 2004-07.
And Pervez Musharraf as President spent Rs 227 million on the launch of his book which also came out with an Urdu edition. What is the relationship between that expensive book and Tinhatti's general provision stores that cannot sell toothpaste and daily bread without fear of being looted. (nusratnasarullah0@gmail.com)