100 days – Still in search of

First 100 days are all about vision, direction, plans and hope. So far the first 100 days of the present government are all about continuation, repetition and hopelessness. No miracles can be achieved in 100 days, and none were expected. However the budget document is a road map for the year and the budget presented by PML(N) was exactly a replica of previous many years. Taxing the already taxed and filling up the deficit with more debt. This itself indicates the direction of the tested tried and failed formula of printing money, heavy internal and external borrowing, with complete disregard for the crushing burden on the ordinary man. Electricity prices shot up from Rs 5 per unit to Rs 13 per unit in just 3 months, roti is now available at Rs 8 rather than 5, and rupee is now on 107 Vs dollar and 165 Vs Pound Sterling compared to Rs 98 and Rs 150 three months ago.

Getting Terrorism operation on board in Karachi was a good step but unfortunately it now looks like another compromising deal with MQM, as the Governor has been wooed back, and arrested people released.

There is no minister of foreign affairs and none of defence. There is no cabinet of Baluchistan and no road map for that province. There are no heads of all important institutions like PTA, PTV, NAB, ECP, PIA and so on. While this goes on, following Zardari’s footstep, the PM and the CM are more happy overseas than in Pakistan. First was China, then of course Saudi Arabia, these days Turkey and next week America.

KPK also started late. DIK jail break though terrible in its impact, did speed up the provincial machinery. The direction that was missing in the beginning has made some headway. KP Local body bill has been termed as the best of all provinces, and Right to information bill has been declared in top three globally. Energy, education and health seem to be kicking off at last. Education campaign of Parho Zindagi Badlo in 5 days enrolled 676500 children with 46% females. Free medicines and test in public hospitals and proper hygiene drives have been initiated. However unless terrorism is addressed and dealt with, KPK will remain a push/ start affair. KPK really needs to deal with the negative media propaganda more proactively and start a marketing campaign to highlight the many good initiatives it has taken.

For the federal government, old habits die hard. They only believe in showing some road, bridges and highway performance near the election time. They must realize that with an overactive electronic media and an instant news social media, they may have to show much more, much earlier to outlast the previous 2 year stints in the center.

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Children of a Lesser State

As I looked into the beautiful eyes of 5 year Sumbul lying on the hospital bed, I felt rush of emotions- love, anger, shame, anxiety and a feeling of indignity. She looked scared but serene, oblivious of the extent of the uproar this incident had created. But beneath that almost deceptive stillness, one could sense her discomfort. The doctors told me she was out of danger and will start feeling much more comfortable with passage of time. I told him that she was in severe danger and would start feeling uncomfortable with passage of time.

Such incidents happen around us all the time and most of them are neither reported nor noticed. Rape is the most psychologically violent attack on a human being. When the doctor told me that fortunately she was 5 years old and would not remember much as she grows old, I was aghast. I told him that these are the most important formative years of a child’s life and these scars will probably ruin her chances of ever leading a normal life until some special counseling and therapy are given to her throughout. He looked bemused.

Why we see such barbaric and violent eruptions in our society have roots in many areas. Poverty, illiteracy, deprivation are all causes of creating disbalanced societies. Sumbal was one of the siblings of a family of ten brothers and sisters. Most poor people have an average family size of ten to fifteen including grandparents etc living in one or two rooms. What sort of privacy or learning do you expect in this environment. Inter family rapes, incest or molestation are common. Most rapists or molesters become so as they are diagnosed as having been molested or raped themselves.

As poverty and illiteracy increases, so does terrorism and violence. Women are the easiest targets. The fact that Islam started with the movement of woman rights, as females were buried alive before the advent of Islam, is not really worth mentioning in our Islamic khutbas. Enlightened religious scholars on media need to portray this repeatedly.

At Government level, that is why it is important that instead of spending 12 $ billion on building up New Islamabad city and wasting money on steel and bricks, spend on education, spend on building human potential, spend on making people’s lives livable.

On social and individual level teach people around us to raise voices against injustice, create awareness on family issues and relearn and repeat the importance of human values of respect, of dignity, of integrity. No child is a child of a lesser God and we need to ensure equality, equity and opportunity to them to give them a chance of being that “human” God created them to be.

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PIA –Turnaround or Turnforme?

To most people these days P I A stands for (Perhaps It will Arrive). An airline that used to be in the top 10 airlines and has helped develop 35 international airlines including Emirates and Singapore airline has become a symbol of what all ails this country.

That it needs to be dealt with is obvious; that it needs massive surgery is indisputable; that there has to be a crisis management plan is inevitable; But to simply cut it into 2 parts and dump the rubbish in one and sell off the other is a plan doomed for expediting its nosedive.

Whenever you sell off an asset you must make it marketable by improving its productivity. What ails PIA is corrupt and incompetent leadership. What will happen by selling it off at this stage is that it is an asset that will only get you a highly discounted market value. If it is sold off to let us assume another airline, what will they do? They will give it visionary and competent leadership who will change its operations and make it viable. Why is not possible to do it before sell off?

The reason is the same as was during PPP tenure. Appointments are still not on merit. PML N appointed Shujaat Azeem brother of Tariq Azeem as advisor to PIA. This gave rise to a scandal of having his own company Royal Air Services being a beneficiary; Which provoked a Suo Moto from Chief Justice to remove him. Nargis Sethi’s appointment as Aviation Secretary has again been challenged by the court as totally without merit. Rashidullah brother of Mushahidullah has been appointed North American head to replace Yaseen friend of President Zardari.

The most alarming factor is that Prime minister Nawaz Sharif has said the privatization will be modeled on PTCL sell off to Eitesalat, which till date, has been termed as controversial. According to some sources PTCL was sold off at a discounted rate of 80% to its real value robbing off the exchequer of billions. Even the payment promised by Eitesalat was delayed consistently with constant compromise on terms totally favouring them.

The best turnaround plan would be to carry out an operation clean up at the top first. Bring professionals at the helm from other airlines, outsource certain skills not available, develop a culture of merit and performance leading to first cutting off losses and then going profitable before selling it off. The biggest example of this is Pakistan Steel turnaround that earned profits of 8 billion in 2008 under a competent leadership and as cronies were appointed it became a bankrupt organization. Without this PIA will be unfortunately known as Pathetic In the Air.

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