Pakistan and Pakistanis have developed somewhat of a reputation for their fortitude and resilience. But things such as a poor economy, rising inflation and rampant inflation usually come with a small threshold to absorb shocks. Even though there are now some signs that an economic rebound may be on the cards, Pakistan, at the moment, seems to be reaching its threshold for bearing more economic shocks. The country is currently staring at the possibility of observing Eid-ul-Fitr under lockdown amidst a deadly third wave of the novel coronavirus. Inflation continues to skyrocket and unemployment is rampant whilst a revolving door seems to have been installed for the directors of the country’s finance.
Amidst these grim challenges, the Asian Development Bank has, in an annual publication, forecasted that the annual growth rate of GDP per capita of Pakistan will be negative 0.2% in the fiscal year 2020-21. This is up from the negative 2.7% in the previous fiscal year. The financial institution, which has significant stakes in the country, predicts the country will grow by 4% with real economic growth of 2%. One of the key factors impacting this growth rate is the poor rate of Covid-19 vaccination in the country and a high reluctance amongst the public to get vaccinated – and thus delays in attaining the vaccination target of 70% of the eligible population.
The economy of the country, and the challenges plaguing it, seem to have become a bad joke which is repeated ad nauseam. We are told that there is a plan to retrench the economy from the throes of default and complete capitulation but little of that plan seems to be visible from the street level. The ADB has recommended focussing on jumpstarting entrepreneurship to save the economy and thus the country. The government must look to mobilise funds in safe job-creating enterprises together with the private sector whilst ensuring increased population vaccination to jumpstart the economy safely and prevent our youth bulge from turning into a youth bomb.
Civilians’ safety in conflicts
Responding to calls from Amnesty International and other humanitarian organisations, the United Nations Security Council has recently passed a unanimous resolution asking countries to ensure protection of civilians during wars and civil strife. International bodies, working for peace and human rights, have long been calling on the UNSC to fulfil its pledge to bound countries to guarantee the provision of food, water and healthcare – essentials for survival. The Red Cross has lent its full support to the resolution. It has given hope to civilians caught up in conflicts in occupied Kashmir and other parts of the world. In these conflicts, thousands of civilians have been killed, and currently more than 70 million have been displaced. Many have not been killed by bombs and other ammunition; they have died for lack of food, water and as a result of destruction of hospitals and homes.
The resolution also calls for ensuring proper power supply in areas affected by war. In war zones, surgeries cannot be performed on the wounded. The lack of electricity hinders provision of essential necessities and medicare. Sometimes supply lines are blocked by fighters rendering supply of food, medicines and tents difficult. Many such incidents have occurred in recent years when such blockades have snuffed out thousands of lives. The Red Cross has urged warring groups not to disrupt water supply as this leads many civilians to die of thirst. The resolution also calls for ensuring sanitation in conflict-hit areas.
Vietnam, which has experienced grave consequences of two devastating wars in the recent past, has drafted the UNSC resolution. The resolution has opposed depriving people of food, water and other basic necessities as a tactic in war, saying this is unacceptable. However, international organisations should also work to get information blockade in conflict zones declared illegal. A significant case in point is occupied Kashmir, which has been under a severe information clampdown since Aug 5, 2019. The imposed silence is the loudest sound.
Tainted victory
Another parliamentary election failed to determine which party people actually voted for. Thursday’s bye-election in NA-249 Karachi turned out to be a near-repeat of the one held in NA-75 Daska on February 19, except that the Election Commission of Pakistan has not (yet) declared the results null and void. The pace of the arrival of results from polling stations slowed down a couple of hours after the polling had ended, and it took until 4am for the final result to come out, even though the turnout, according to the election authorities, was as low as 21.64 per cent.
Nearly all the losing parties have alleged rigging and refused to accept the victory of PPP’s Qadir Khan Mandokhel who secured 16,156 of a total of 72,740 votes polled. PML-N leaders, including the candidate Miftah Ismail who ended up first runner-up by a small margin of 683 votes, say that the election has been stolen and they will challenge the results in the ECP. They smell a rat in some 15 constituencies and call for a forensic audit there. Nazeer Ahmed of the banned TLP and Mustafa Kamal of the PSP both insist that they have won the election according to Forms 45 available with them. PTI’s Ali Zaidi has slammed “the crooked PPP and the Provincial Election Commission” alleging that they were “hand in gloves in this mess”. MQM’s Faisal Sabzwari has termed the PPP’s victory tainted.
Irrespective of whether any kind of rigging played a part in Mandokhel’s victory, the fact that the complete results could only be available 11 hours after the polling time – despite a historically low turnout of voters – does raise questions on the transparency of the vote count. Provincial election authorities have attributed the delay to Iftar break, Covid-19 SOPs, staff shortage, and arrival of 10 presiding officers to the Office of the Deputy Returning Officer with unsigned results which led to their being sent back to take signatures of the relevant election staff. But these justifications have fallen short of satisfying the various candidates who demand a probe – and rightly so.
No amount of probe, however, could lift the PTI to the top position to retain this National Assembly seat. Time for serious introspection for the ruling party.
