PROBLEMS FACED BY PAKISTAN

By Syed Navaid Ahmed, Ozair Qadir, Asif Ali Khan Narejo

Pakistan was established in 1947 and since its inception, it has been surrounded
by countless issues. Despite it being rich on raw resources thus far Pakistan is a
developing country with limited development in every era due to the problems it
faces. In the following text we will shed some light on some of the major
problems faced today by Pakistan as a country.

Poverty
According to an analysis
conducted by the government
of Pakistan the poverty has
increased roughly from 30%
to 40% during the past
decade. Consider that if
40%of a countrys population
is earning their life below the
poverty-line in which the
people are deprived of basic
necessities of life such as
clothing, shelter, food,
education and medication,
such families and their
children will be forced to
think of their survival only.
Low Literacy Rate
Literacy is defined as persons aged 15 or above who
can read and write. According to this definition,
Pakistanis officially reported to have 50% literacy
rate. Which means half of its population is illiterate.
With such family backgrounds, inflation, poverty and
child labor this rate is expected to increase in future.
Even for those who are termed as Literate are only
able to read and write, which in todays technology
oriented world is still considered as illiteracy. Majority
of the people forming the top controlling tier is almost
unaware of technologies and technical mindset. Thus,
causing the country to adopt the new technologies at a
snails speed.
Solution to Illiteracy
Implementation instead of
projecting policies, should be
focused on. Allocation of funds
should be made easy from
provinces to districts and then
to educational institutes.
Workshops must be arranged
for teachers. Technical
education must be given to all
the classes. Education is the
only cure of the instability in the
state and can bring revolution
through evolution, by eradicating
the social evils.
Corruption & Political
Instability
Pakistan is suffering from a fatal problem
known as Establishment. Every vital
department in Pakistan is controlled by the
so called Establishment. Establishment is a
network of key positions in almost all the
departments in the country. This network
provides support and safe backing to their
touts to ensure that they remain in control.
The roots of this establishment may very
well be deep inside underworld and secret
agencies of the dominating nations.
It is interesting to note that due to the
international interference and manipulation
the very same people that we label as
corrupt just sometime ago, blame and
rebuke, come back to govern us after a
couple of years again and people welcome
them with open arms. A common English
saying goes as fool me once, shame on you,
fool me twice, shame on me.
This is probably also the main reason why
the political process in Pakistan is not let to
prosper. Soon after its inception the sincere
and loyal politicians were removed from the
main stream and only dummy agents and
rubber stamps are put in place, while all the
decisions are made outside the country.
Corruption is one of the biggest problems faced by the country
Electricity crisis
For years, the matter of balancing Pakistan's supply against the
demand for electricity has remained a largely unresolved matter.
Pakistan faces a significant challenge in revamping its network
responsible for the supply of electricity.
While the government claims credit for overseeing a turnaround in
the economy through a comprehensive recovery, it has just failed to
oversee a similar improvement in the quality of the network for
electricity supply. Contrary to Pakistani government and expatriate
claims, Pakistan suffers from a massive electricity shortage.
Electricity generation in Pakistan has shrunk by 50% in recent years
due to an overreliance on hydroelectric power.

Electricity is often absent in most parts of the country
Power theft has become an infamously
prevalent practice in many parts of the
country, both rural and urban, and many
consumers in the country have been
reported as using electricity without
paying bills. Mr. Naveed Ismail, CEO of
Karachi Electric Supply Company
disclosed in a news briefing that at an
average, around 22 per cent of the total
electricity supplied by KESC is being
misappropriated, and a total of 3 million
megawatt hours had been stolen in
Karachi during a period of 9 months,
from September last to June this year,
which is not only causing outages for the
genuine consumers but is also rendering
financial loss to the Company. People in
KESC itself are responsible for power
theft. Distribution of power is a
problem.

Unemployment
Major Causes of Unemployment
in Pakistan:

The basic cause of unemployment in Pakistan is its higher growth
rate of population. Because of this reason government and other
institutions are failing to create sufficient job opportunities in
Pakistan
Law and order situation in the country is also a big issue. Karachi is
the business hub and the biggest city of Pakistan. However, due to
uncertainty and violence in the city investors are reluctant to invest.
Political instability is another major reason for low or lack of jobs in
Pakistan.
Our educational system is also guilty for mounting unemployment
rate among the educated youth because the approach of our youth
towards career choice is unrealistic and unproductive.
Lack of facilities and infrastructure in the energy sector also
prevents the industrialists from setting up new industries in the
country.
Policy makers have not handled things in appropriate manners, as a
result jobs in Pakistan are less but job seekers are more than that.

Terrorism
The whole world looks at Pakistan as a
land of terrorists. Main reason being an
exploitation through the religious
leaders and reaction of the military
operations both internally as well as
externally. China is getting 13 billion
dollars as foreign investment because
of its stable and investor-friendly
environment where as even tourists are
afraid to visit Pakistan due to the
security concerns.

Even smaller countries like Romania and
Philippines are getting a lot of foreign
investments.
There needs to be a big shift in the
mind set. Pakistani people should move
away from the clutches of the religious
fanatics and must realize what is best
for them and their country.