Pakistan First
By Shariq Zaidi
Irvine, CA
I have spent fifty years of my life in Karachi and have also visited different countries including India , Saudi Arabia , Dubai , Bangladesh , Thailand , Singapore , United Kingdom . For the last six years Los Angeles has been my home.
During my stay in the USA , I have come to the conclusion that prosperity is sustained in places where democratic institutions are allowed to function at the grassroots levels (local bodies).
I commute across 5-6 cities in my twenty-minute daily drive. Each city has its own civic center where local issues are debated and resolved without undue loss of time. Our Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) had given this idea. He had asked the ummah not to expand existing cities but to create new ones at short distances with local governnace because a local resident is fully aware of an area’s basic problems that need attention and can be easily resolved. Each and every city I drive by has its own schools, police, lower courts, local tax system and, above all, checks and balances to run various institutions.
Another requirement of good governance is that no one is to be treated above the law: if any individual is involved in any type of corruption, he or she should not be spared. This realization and the accompanying governance system – wholesome and workable - chave come with time. People learn from their mistakes and political parties begin to respect the mandate of the people. Today the city and national institutions are strong and in the process of gaining strength in all developed countries.
In Japan , the government has to resign on charges of corruption but the institutions continue to be strong. These changes do not hamper the economic march of the country. This is also true for other democratic countries of the world.
An exception to this global trend is the system in China where the leadership had another workable vision of progress as early as 1989: within 20 years, China has become a global economic giant thanks to the measures taken by the Chinese leadership. Their main drive has been to control the population. In China you cannot have more than one child. If you have more than one child, the State withdraws all facilities and benefits.
Pakistan was created in 1947 by the vote of the people. There was no major industry at the time of independence; the government did not have the means to even pay the salaries to its staff but by the grace of God and with the zest and hard work of the people we have successfully made our mark in all fields - medicine, engineering, labor, accountancy, teaching, science, and information technology. We have also earned the singular distinction of being a nuclear power. And a responsible one at that. The credit for such all-round progress goes to all leaders, particularly Mr. Bhutto, who laid the foundation of the nuclear program and strove to provide roti, kapra and makaan to the common man. He nationalized industries, banks, colleges, hospitals. Mr. Bhutto also played a key role in promoting US-China relations.
The unfortunate fact remains that the local bodies system was not adopted by any democratic government but introduced and strengthened by all military regimes to resolve the basic problems of the common man at the grassroots level. I fail to understand why the representative of the people and members of the parliament, whether MNAs or MPAs, do not delegate power to the local representatives of the people. It was time they realize the due importance of the system.
In 1946, a British journalist posed an all-important question to the Quaid, “Mr. Jinnah, you are the only leader of the Subcontinent Freedom Movement who has never been behind bars?” The Quaid responded, “Look, I am a bar at law, if a bar at law will go behind bars, he either is not a bar at law or he wants cheap popularity. I will challenge the British government of India that what I will say, I will totally abide by the law of the land at all levels.”
It is the duty of all politicians to stick to the dictates of democracy and respect the mandate of the voter. The local bodies system and democratic institutions at the national and provincial levels need to be strengthened. So should the respect for law. For us Pakistan should come first. Shariq_Zaidi786@hotmail.com
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