Campus violence
UNIVERSITIES are supposed to be islands of hope, where young people come to quench their thirst for knowledge, and learn about building a better society. Unfortunately, in Pakistan these lofty ideals have undergone a violent reality check, as some of the country’s top academic institutions have been transformed into battlegrounds for feuding student groups. Over the past few days, academic activities have been disturbed and violent brawls have broken out at Punjab University in Lahore as well as Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad. In both instances, student councils divided along ethnic lines clashed with each other over trivial issues. At PU, a trifle over a cricket match ended up in a violent brawl between members of the Punjabi and Pakhtun councils; at least 69 students were bundled off to jail for 30 days. Meanwhile, over at QAU, a similar disagreement between Pakhtun and Baloch students ended up in a melee, with the result that cases have been filed against hundreds of students, while academic activities at the varsity were also suspended. Students and civil society activists claim hostels were emptied out in the dark of the night, with female students told to find alternative lodging arrangements.
The sad fact is that these unfortunate events at Pakistan’s centres of higher learning reflect the violence and intolerance that have become ingrained in our society. One major factor fuelling discontent on campus is the continuing ban on student unions. Banned by Gen Zia, numerous governments have promised to revive the bodies, but to no avail. The latest was the Sindh administration, which passed a law in this regard last year, but there has been no progress in the matter. When students are denied the right to form unions, they organise along ethnic, political, religious or sectarian lines, which only exacerbates the divide in society. To encourage a democratic culture on campus, and check violent tendencies, the revival of student unions across Pakistan is vital.
Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2023
Wheat flour crisis
JUST when low- and middle-income Pakistani households are scrambling to adjust their lives to the constantly rising cost of living, thanks to skyrocketing price inflation, consumers again find themselves contending with wheat flour shortages in parts of the country, as production and delivery in the market slow down. In Sindh, flour millers were reported to have suspended production because of a dispute over what they say are inadequate supplies of wheat to the mills and the flour rate, spawning fears that the markets will run out of the commodity over the next couple of days. The provincial government is blaming the mill owners for hoarding subsidised wheat supplied from its stock and is sealing some factories. The millers have also arbitrarily hiked rates by almost a quarter to Rs130 a kilo, pleading that wheat prices had surged in the market. In the recent past, we have seen the wheat flour crisis erupt and worsen across Pakistan multiple times owing to bureaucratic incompetence and mismanagement of the market and in spite of sufficient local and imported stocks. This has often led citizens to queue up for hours on end and fight among themselves for subsidised flour. Earlier, at least one person died in Mirpurkhas, Sindh, in a stampede at the sale point of subsidised flour stocks.
It is a shame that Pakistan, which for many years was not only self-sufficient in wheat but also supplied the cereal to the World Food Programme for helping countries facing famine, is now forced to import the commodity, and yet is unable to adequately feed its 220m people. The food prices that surged by nearly 42pc in the urban areas and by 47pc in the rural areas last month have already limited the access of low-income groups to this and other food items. The shortages just make their lives worse. In a highly inflationary environment with food prices soaring on a daily basis, because of the steep currency depreciation and a hike in indirect taxes, it is the duty of both the provincial and federal governments to ensure that artificial shortages created by unscrupulous elements do not curtail access of the people, especially the poor and vulnerable segments of the population, to basic and essential foods. Failure to do so can have dire consequences and expose a large portion of the population to severe hunger.
Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2023
Lasting harm
TRACKING our economic predicament in recent months has been like watching a train wreck in slow motion. Despite the chorus of well-meaning voices asking him to act with reason and good sense, the finance minister stubbornly stuck to his guns on policies that were bound to put him in confrontation with the IMF till it was too late.
Few had believed him when he claimed soon after taking over that he could bend the Fund to his will. A country on the brink of default does not dictate terms to its creditors. He still went ahead with his ill-conceived approach. Instead of making a serious effort to address core imbalances in the economy, he wasted time needling the IMF and insisting on setting the terms of the bailout.
As a result, the ninth review of the funding programme, originally scheduled for October, remains pending even though foreign exchange inflows have rapidly dried up.
‘God-willing, next week’ is a refrain we have grown accustomed to hearing every few weeks from the finance minister. It was repeated again yesterday. Unfortunately, it seems that we may finally be out of time.
Default — once pooh-poohed as an irrational fear — is now appearing increasingly likely, however strenuously the finance minister may deny its possibility. Yet, nothing seems to humble the PML-N or Ishaq Dar.
They remain unwilling to acknowledge that much of the present mess is attributable to the bluster with which he has worked the finance ministry.
Miftah Ismail had at least seemed proactive about addressing Pakistan’s issues — something that insiders in Washington acknowledge. On the other hand, the IMF appears unwilling to trust Mr Dar, who seems to have a below-par understanding of Pakistan’s economic ailments and no stomach for needed reforms.
Thanks to him, we have reached a point where even IMF approval may not be enough to spare us further harm. Lasting damage has been done not only to the economy but also to the national psyche.
Faith in the country’s future — economic or otherwise — has evaporated. The vast majority do not have enough for three meals, and even better-off Pakistanis are vocalising fears about the country not having a stable future to offer them.
Our brightest young minds are planning to start a new life in foreign lands, having lost all hope in theirs. This damage will take years, if not decades, to reverse. The Sharifs had imposed Mr Dar on this country despite the vocal protestations of everyone who had witnessed his policies thoroughly discredited in the past.
They had ignored voices from their own ranks warning them of the disaster he could cause. They must stop insisting on supporting a man responsible for single-handedly ruining the future of millions of Pakistanis. The country must now be relieved of his burden.
Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2023