Developments and Achievements of Pakistan in Different Spheres - Coursework Example

Order 347800 Topic: Developments in Pakistan Pakistan owns one of the largest Muslim populations. From the geographical point of view, it is strategically placed. The country has been inundated with innumerable domestic and international problems right from the day it secured independence from the colonial power of United Kingdom on 14th August 1947, a day before its neighboring country India celebrated independence. Its problems with India, especially the one related to Kashmir continue till date. The history of Pakistan is both sterling and startling since then. Democratic elections were held, Prime Ministers were toppled, on of them was hanged and Military Generals had a field day, one died in an air-crash under mysterious circumstances. The rulers and administrators of Pakistan had a tough task in dealing with the internal squabbles and maintaining the law and order situation. Pakistan shot into international fame, not because of its achievements in the economic field, but for its terrorist leanings. Whether it supports the international terrorism or not, is a highly debatable question even today. Its leadership asserts that it does not, but India and America strongly believe that it does! The developments in Iraq, the 9/11 terrorist attacks that rattled America in the year 2001,and the subsequent rise in global terrorism, whose base is in Afghanistan and the border districts of Pakistan, has brought this country to the international scene. Due to Americas close alliance with Pakistan for strategic reasons, this country is always in the limelight for one reason for the other, during the last decade. It emerged out of isolation and is a newsworthy country in the international press. “ In October 1999, Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Gen. Pervez Musharraf replaced Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a bloodless coup. Following the military overthrow of an elected government, Islamabad faced considerable international opprobrium and was subjected to automatic coup-related U.S. sanctions. The September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States and Musharraf’s ensuing withdrawal of support for the Afghan Taliban regime, however,had the effect of greatly reducing Pakistan’s international isolation.”(PDF-Pakistans....) The relations between Pakistan and USA-the cat and mouse game: From the point of view of policy declarations, USA avers that Pakistan is a vital ally in the international anti-terrorism coalition. USA is fully aware of the shortcomings and limitations of functioning of the Pakistans political leadership, where religious fanaticism rules the roost. USA wishes to lend a helping hand in strengthening the civilian political institutions in Pakistan, that ultimately go to strengthen the roots of democracy. Pakistan is also the hub of illicit weapons proliferation. That it is an important nuclear power is dangerous from the point of view of world peace. The human rights is a subject that is not valued much in Pakistan. Currently, the political equations are, the pro-military alliance has won the plurality of seats and fundamental Islamist parties have come out with a strong showing. Both these forces are evenly matched. USA is supporting Pakistans efforts to revert to democratic rule and the President of USA has waived military coup-related sanction on Pakistan through FY2006. The massive terrorist attacks on USA in September 2001, took the situation to the advantage of Pakistan. Musharraf withdrew support for the Afghan Taliban regime, and this brought it even closer to USA and the country came to international limelight from isolation. USA is aware that Islam, as it is practiced in Pakistan, is linked to fundamentalism, extremism and terrorism. Through the top level political leadership of Pakistan boldly asserts itself for practicing enlightened moderation, the resistance of the extremists, coupled with its internal problems, checkmates its forward movement. So, the original problems of Pakistan remain the original problems, till today, whether the democratic government is in n power or the military generals take care of the nation! Human Rights and Pakistan: As for its record on the subject of human rights, Pakistan has always found itself on the wrong side of the fence. “In February 2005, the U.S. State Department released its annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, which found that the Pakistan government’s human rights record in 2004 “remained poor.” The discussion of Pakistan, authored by State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, does not contain the words “democracy” or “democratic,” and notes that the right of citizens to change their government “was restricted in practice.”(PDF Pakistans....) Notwithstanding its professed claims on democracy, the political parties of Pakistan lack democratic ideology, undemocratic institutions, especially educational institutions thrive, personalities rule, not the policies. The judiciary bows to political pressures; it is corrupt and inefficient and has failed to uphold the rule of law. The administration is unable to checkmate religiously-motivated violence. In addition to the official findings, many independent observers have identified grave errors committed by Pakistan in the human rights area. Freedom House, in the World 2005 report, rated Pakistan as not free for the sixth consecutive year and adversely commented its record on political rights and civil liberties. Military dominated repression continued unabated. To strengthen its hold on nondemocratic power, the military administration adopted all types of foul means with use of economic resources. The human rights groups in USA have constantly criticized the government for extending support to Pakistan. The government remained the silent spectator on honor killings of women, and failed to bring strong legislation to curb this menace. Women were stopped from participating in sports activities and brutal measures were applied by the extremist groups to humiliate the women participants in national level races. Pakistan-its never-ending problem with its own religion: Islam is a pious religion and the people of Pakistan are equally pious. The problem is about the wrong interpretation of the spiritual revelations of Islam by the mind-level Mullahs. Pakistans political developments indicate total “Islamization” and the periodical exercises by the religious leaders to whip up anti-American sentiments is order of the day. “A 2004 survey found nearly two-thirds of citizens saying “religion should play a paramount role in politics” and only 6% seeing no role for religion in politics.”(PDF. Pakistans...)Parallel Islamic legal bodies, that least care for human rights have taken control in some parts of Pakistan. The harsh Islamic laws on the lines practiced by Taliban in Afghanistan are encouraged by the extremist groups in Pakistan. They also take serious exception to Pakistani military operations in the Western Tribal Areas, oppose reformation in schools run on fundamentalist lines, that also teach militancy to young children, and are strongly opposed to the governments co-operation with the USA government. “Anti-American sentiment among Pakistani citizens is not limited to Islamic groups: A July 2005 Pew Center opinion poll found 51% of Pakistanis expressing confidence in Al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden to “do the right thing in world affairs.” An earlier Pew survey found only 6% of Pakistanis believing the United States was sincere in its efforts to combat terrorism; about half viewed the United States as seeking to “dominate the world.” (PDF. Pakistans...)The common Pakistani citizen believes that USA is out to destabilize Pakistan and some of the leaders go to the extent of dubbing Americans as criminals and Taliban as innocent. The anti-American rhetoric has reached the level of calling for “jihad” against the country. Pakistan and Nuclear Weapons “Pakistans nuclear weapons program was established in 1972 by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who founded the program while he was Minister for Fuel, Power and Natural Resources, and later became President and Prime Minister. Shortly after the loss of East Pakistan in the 1971 war with India, Bhutto initiated the program with a meeting of physicists and engineers at Multan in January 1972.”(Pakistan....) Indias testing of a nuclear “devise” initiated the mad race in the area of nuclear weapons in the region. Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, a German-trained metallurgist is the father of the nuclear programs in Pakistan. Most of the nuclear technology has been brought from Netherlands through clandestine operations. On May 28,1998 Pakistan successfully conducted five nuclear tests. The issue that has raised serious apprehension is USA, India, Israel etc. is the possibility of nuclear arsenal falling in to hands of the terrorist groups. After the 9/11 attack, the concerns became serious and the Pakistani military relocated the nuclear arsenal in six new secret locations. The intelligence chief was fired and some retired nuclear scientists were detained in an effort to cleanse the extremist elements. Pakistans providing assistance to North Korea in its nuclear program, in exchange for North Korean missile technologies has further aggravated the situation in the balance of military power in the continent and drawn criticism at the international level, especially from USA. Further, “According to a 2001 Department of Defense report, China has supplied Pakistan with nuclear materials and expertise and has provided critical assistance in the construction of Pakistans nuclear facilities.”(Pakistan ....) Pakistans nuclear doctrine is, the supposed threat from India that has the superior nuclear capabilities and conventional forces. But Pakistan Government is showing increasing awareness and is seriously concerned about the possibility of the diversion of dangerous materials into the hands of terrorist groups, extremist elements and/or rogue state leaders. The latest worry for Pakistans National Security Establishment: Any country that is actively linked to international politics continues to face recurring pressures and problems at the least suspected moment. Two such events have shaken the politicians and strategists in Pakistan. The first one is President Obamas latest Afghan strategy under which US will send an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan. At the same time, Obama declared the irreversible role of his countrys partnership with Pakistan to fight terrorism. With all the friendly overtures at the economic and political levels, USA is still convinced that the borders of Pakistan/Afghanistan are the safe heavens for extremist groups like Al-Qaida. President Obama has provided the necessary tools to his military generals and at the same time he has sent clear signals to the ones who are conducting the military operations at present in Afghanistan, that the planned withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan within the next 18 months, must be accomplished. He also gives clear signals to Pakistan that if his Afghan policy fails, Pakistan will be held responsible for it and will have to face consequences. The scenario is proving too complicated for Pakistan to handle. Americans are not liked in Afghanistan as they are considered as foreign occupiers. Taliban have donned the new mask of Pakhtun nationalism. USA means business to eliminate extremist forces. CIA is authorized to expand its operations in Pakistan, which means USA is not trusting Pakistan fully and would like to keep a close watch whether Pakistan will take strong steps to eliminate terrorism and nip in the bud the possibility of loose nuclear materials from falling into the hands of terrorists. “Top leadership of USA, including Secretary Hillary Clinton have asserted that what Pakistan is doing to curb terrorism is far from adequate. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has also warned Pakistan, the clandestine intentions of Al Qaida to provoke a war between India and Pakistan, with the ultimate objective of weakening Pakistan to eventually take over the reigns of power.”(Some....)Another worrying factor for Pakistan is the recent signing of Indo-Russian civil nuclear deal. In response to the recent terrorist attacks by the fundamentalist groups in Mumbai, New Delhi has not ruled out the possibility of waging a limited war with Pakistan. So Pakistan has three issues to contend at present. Continue negotiations with USA, rebuild relations with Russia, and face the challenge posed by India. Pakistan-its economic strength: The daunting task before Pakistan is to create a strong economic base, which it has failed to establish during the last six decades due to political instability and leadership that lacks foresight. It fought two wars with India at great cost and its policies of brinkmanship resulted in the creation of Bangladesh. “In the annual report “OUTLOOK 2009”, the ADB said on Tuesday that the Pakistan’s economic outlook in FY2010 will be shaped by both internal policies and global economic developments.... It said that the growth in industry is expected to turn marginally positive in FY2010 as the commissioning of new power plants reduces electricity outages, and as adjustments in power tariffs generate cash flow for power companies to expand their operations.” (Pakistans GDP....) Pakistan looks forward to Friends of Democratic Pakistan and the pledge they made in Tokyo in April 2009, to contain huge fiscal deficit target. The external resource requirement if Pakistans budget is large and it largely depends on foreign inflows. The proposal to meet fiscal deficit by pruning developmental expenditure is not feasible, because the country needs to spend on infrastructure and social sectors to maintain the tempo of growth and fight poverty. The country has tough choices before it. Reduce import and take effective measures to increase the export base. It also needs increased funds to meet the demands of unavoidable, essential imports like oil and machinery needed for the infrastructure growth. The impact of rising global oil prices need also be taken into account. The global recession, if prolonged, will adversely effect the economic recovery and stabilization of the economy of Pakistan. Labor in Pakistan: Even if a country boasts of a series of developmental plans, unless their implementation is carried out by responsible and honest individuals the exercises will not be fructifying. Pakistan does not lack great economic plans. It certainly lacks great individuals and men of integrity. For the prosperity of any country, people need to be basically sound and industrious and also basic conditions need to be created for the people to become basically sound and industrious. A country can prosper by grit and determination of the leadership to take the people on the correct path. But nothing encouraging is happening in the labor front in Pakistan. “ Post-colonial economic policies have influenced contemporary political fortunes. Pakistans developmental shortcomings—suggested by widespread illiteracy, unemployment, and social discontent-- are at the roots of its present political crisis.”(Candland, 2008,p.3) The labor of Pakistan continues to be poorly paid, has remained directionless and destination less. Overall the situation is grim in Pakistan.”In particular, political ineptitude, lack of national consensus on economic objectives, and a continued misreading of the depth of challenges faced by the economy-- in the face of a worsening security situation-- have compounded the crisis. Although, recently there has been some recognition of the underlying problems, the authorities are seemingly unable or unwilling to take the bull by the horns. Hence the deepening vicious circle—inaction and declining ability to act feeding on themselves- militating against corrective action.”(Pakistans current....) Corruption: Corruption has engulfed the entire fabric of the Pakistan society, and it is showing prominently in politics. “Pakistans interior minister today found himself in the unusual position of being asked to bar himself from leaving the country as the fallout from a supreme court verdict continued to rock President Asif Ali Zardaris government. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Pakistans top anti-corruption agency, said it was reopening hundreds of cases after the court quashed a legal amnesty introduced by the former president Pervez Musharraf two years ago. Ghazni Khan, the agencys spokesman, said it had asked the interior ministry to put 248 people on the exit control list, preventing them from leaving the country.”(Anti-corruption....) With this court order, Pakistans political system is in turmoil. The ramification of the court order can unleash a chaotic situation in the country. Conclusion: “The current situation in Pakistan can be described as a period of uncertain transition. Uncertain can be understood as a three-dimensional overlapping conflict including the following: Between authoritarianism and participatory demands,between moderation and religious extremism, and power struggle between different forces in view of the forthcoming elections.”(Seminar 241) The result as for issue of power struggle can be seen at present. Elections to restore democracy has not brought any mentionable political stability in Pakistan and the situation has turned out to be more confusing. Religious extremism and violence is on the rise and it has reached unprecedented heights since the creation of Pakistan. Radical Islamic groups are on the warpath. **************** Works Cited: Anti-corruption body bars 248 people from leaving Pakistan ‎ 17 December 2009. Retrieved on December 17, 2009 Candland, Christopher. Labor, democratization and development in India & Pakistan. Routledge, 2008 Pakistan Nuclear Weapons In the past, China played a major role in the development of Pakistans nuclear .... Retrieved on December 17, 2009 Pakistan GDP rate to remain 3%, ADB study SANA - ‎Dec 15, 2009‎ ISLAMABAD (SANA): The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has said that if the Pakistan government failed to obtain external resources for budget support than it ... Retrieved on December 17, 2009. PAKISTANS CURRENT ECONOMIC CRISIS—AN IMPERFECT STORM - Meeting ...Aug 28, 2009 ... Zubir Iqbal....Center for Pakistan Studies Online Forum establishes a community to discuss the ... PAKISTANS CURRENT ECONOMIC CRISIS—AN IMPERFECT STORM ... Retrieved on December 17, 2009 [PDF] Pakistans Domestic Political Developments File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Quick View by KA Kronstadt - Retrieved on December 17,2009 Seminar #241 , Dynamics of Politics in Pakistan - Current Developments-31 October 2007- Retrieved on December 17,2009. Some worrying developments DAWN.com - Tariq Fatemi – 17 Dec, 2009 –Reuters Photo/Jason Reed Two events in the past fortnight represent worrying developments for Pakistans national security establishment. ... Retrieved on December 17,2009 Read More