Pakistan and the world | Rasul Bakhsh Rais

Every time our prime minister visits an important country, like the United States
that comes to dominate the media and political conversation is: how much help
to get? I have never heard anyone raising any question about what Pakistan is
to this or that country. Pakistan has become a perpetual client, seeking loans, g

help in the form of cash from foreign sources, mainly because of poor policies o
mismanagement of the economy, corruption and the inability to take righ
decisions. The elite prefer foreign monies of every type because they send a go
foreign accounts through informal channels, barring very few exceptions. The
pact, most significantly symbolised by the National Reconciliation Ordinance (2
immunity to one another for the continuity of democracy.

An odd tale of US-Pakistani ties

While the world, most importantly our friends in China, the Muslim world and th
like to see us succeed by building on our strengths, developing resources and
honest, clean and rule-bound governance, the ruling groups show hardly
commitment to building the country. They have neither the discipline of
Communist Party nor the open competition that we see in industrial democraci
they can get away with their financial crimes against a poor and helpless countr

They have played a number of games to keep their power unchallenged. Chief a
their constant effort to cripple laws and institutions of accountability. Second, t
the people, the electorate, notably in Sindh and Balochistan the poorest of al
uneducated and mired in traditions that end up enslaving the populace. Fina
gradually converted public institutions, like the district administration, the po
departments into their private spheres.

The current dynamic of US-Pakistan relations

Those who know the ruling groups inside-out will tell you that they dont belon
They function like who rob, extract and siphon off public funds, and then escape
state in the world would allow robbers to rule. Interestingly, the elite groups t
continue to govern Pakistan, rule a large state possessing plenty of natural re
working people and nuclear weapons.

Three of the features of Pakistan its nuclear capability, large size of restive p
religious radicalism make the world concerned about the country. The world
Pakistan to remain weak, in constant conflict, unstable and underdeveloped. W
better that it is in our national interest and in the interest of our future ge
failures would generate multiple conflicts and would tear us apart. What hap
Egypt, Syria and Yemen, and of course to Afghanistan, can also happen here,
the decline of institutions is not stopped.

Pakistani leaders and their mouthpieces in the media continuously weave consp
centering on foreign enemies working to ensure the countrys failure. It is ob
adversaries will do everything to undermine us, but more than real or imagined
is the countrys leadership that has, and continues to fail Pakistan. The real, b
within.

An uncertain future

Sadly, the current crop of Pakistani leaders has no sense of history of progres
how other countries have done better. Our own history would inform them that
far better than other countries at certain points in time. The problem is system
at the scale that has been witnessed in the past three decades. It is the culture
the corrupt elite that continues to retard our progress, making us dependent on

Published in The Express Tribune, October 28th, 2015.

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