I got a petition in the mail today: A demand that the government address a looming food crisis, a global phenomenon that has Pakistan in second place as countries that may be the worst affected.
Ironically, a news channel flashed a report just yesterday that our fearless new ‘elected’ leaders have just re-opened the export of 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan. Wow. We reap what we sow.
The governor of the State Bank made an interesting statement in a press conference on the 23rd of May: the government, just a few months in, cannot control their spending. A 40% cut in the budget of the PM House is a drop in the bucket compared to what needs to be done; the panicked reaction to this statement was evident in the 800+ point drop on the Karachi Stock Exchange the next day. And the foreign reserves keep slipping everyday. $13 billion is just too good for the newly-elected ‘angels’ to pass up. They need to keep up appearances until the reserves run out, at least.
On the one hand, the world looks on as over 20% of our population is facing starvation. On the other, Nawaz and Asif take random flights to Dubai and England to ‘continue coalition talks’, something that couldn’t have been done here (how’s that???). The wheat crisis has been going on for over a year now, but the new government’s first order of business was inviting the UN in to the country to investigate BB’s death (the ramifications of which are immense, if any of you watched Lucman’s final days at Business Plus).
Even after that, the thousands of rupees spent on wooing each other were wasted on a debate on the restoration of judges; the very judges both our political parties denounced in their ‘historic’ Charter of ‘Democracy’ (more like ‘hypocrisy’).
In the midst of the food crisis are the continuing suicide bombings terrorizing the nation at regular intervals, and none of our fearless media (surely they are the ‘voice of Pakistan’? Surely they have the pulse of the nation, and can steer the government towards issues that actually concern the citizens of Pakistan?) object to the exchange of terrorists for Pak-government personnel as part of the peace deal signed with Baitullah Mehsud recently. Two separate investigations point to Mehsud being behind the assassination of BB, yet not only does our government shake his hand, they release 55 of Mehsud’s minions to ensure the death of many more innocent Pakistanis. And we have now sent out a clear message to our enemies: this country DOES negotiate with terrorists.
For those who aren’t aware, the distribution of wealth in Pakistan is more than a little unequal: it’s a planet-sized chasm, and the rulers are the ones with all the wealth (some of it is legacy, most is carefully filched from a starving populace). The reason our government is so cavalier with the food crisis is that all of our leaders are aware the crisis will never touch them. They stand above it all, not unlike the royalty of 16th century France. And these are the rulers that we insisted we wanted; that we insisted were the answer to all our problems. Or maybe we’re waiting for the triumvirate to be completed? Don’t worry, once the deposed CJ is restored, all these problems will definitely go away!
I dreamed I saw St. Augustine,
Alive as you or me,
Tearing through these quarters
In the utmost misery,
With a blanket underneath his arm
And a coat of solid gold,
Searching for the very souls
Whom already have been sold.“Arise, arise,” he cried so loud,
In a voice without restraint,
“Come out, ye gifted kings and queens
And hear my sad complaint.
No martyr is among ye now
Whom you can call your own,
So go on your way accordingly
But know you’re not alone.”I dreamed I saw St. Augustine,
Alive with fiery breath,
And I dreamed I was amongst the ones
That put him out to death.
Oh, I awoke in anger,
So alone and terrified,
I put my fingers against the glass
And bowed my head and cried.Bob Dylan, 1967 (album: John Wesley Harding)