Category Archives: Economy

The false face of reality

Economy, Information, Social Issues

By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn

AT a time when image building is the buzzword in Pakistan it would be interesting to note how others are faring in this exercise. In this age when capitalism, the brand name and consumerism have emerged as the salient features of a market economy and the so-called free society, image is the key factor that determines the worth of an item and also of a person or an institution.

If a brand has a good image in public perception, it will sell, even though it may not actually have the qualities it is supposed to have. Sometimes the image makes a product/institution/personality a status symbol which one must be seen with.

Similarly, a person who manages to project a certain image of himself will find himself to be acceptable irrespective of his true values. Conversely, if a country or a product or a personality has a negative image, it loses out on the advantages its forte should offer. But doesn’t all this presume that one can fool everyone all the time? This, we know, is not possible even if the government in Islamabad tries to sweep all the dismal aspects of our national life under the carpet. Be it Mukhtaran Mai, the low literacy rate or the prevailing poverty, each of these is bound to surface at one time or another and bring a bad name to Pakistan.
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Reviving Circular Railway

Economy

By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn

THERE are three elements that are essential for any development project to be executed smoothly and with the minimum of public dislocation and discontent. They are planning, transparency in the planning and execution process and public consultation at every stage on issues that have a direct bearing on the lives of the people.

When the government, because it has the power to do so, fails to keep these minimum requirements in view, it can lead to a sense of uncertainty and unrest in the public — and much speculation, especially in the media.

A perfect example of how development projects essential for public welfare may lead to a negative reaction from the people is the plan to revive the circular railway in Karachi.

For decades, Karachiites have suffered because of the absence of an efficient and feasible mass transit system in this megapolis which has expanded horizontally over the years.
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How corruption hurts social sectors

Economy, Social Issues

By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn

THE budget season is here. Reports are being leaked to the press — obviously from official sources to improve the government’s image — about the heavy investment the policymakers plan to make in the development of the country. According to one report, the funding for education, health and other social sector projects in the Public Sector Development Programme will go up by 152 per cent from Rs31.3 billion in 2004-05 to Rs78.9 billion in 2005-06.

It is a positive sign that for once the government seems to be mindful of the development of human resources of the country. The federal minister of state for finance has also let it be known that the budget will be a pro-poor budget and will focus on the quality of life of the people.
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Will they return home?

Economy, Foreign Policy of Pakistan, Social Issues

By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn

WAY back in 1983, on a visit to Quetta, I had visited an Afghan refugee camp on the outskirts of the city. At that time the war against the Soviet troops in Afghanistan was at its height. The Geneva talks were nowhere on the horizon, and no one in his wildest dreams believed that the Russians would withdraw from Afghanistan.

The refugee camps were rich recruiting ground for the Mujahideen, although Pakistan persistently denied that its soil was in any way being used for training fighters for the Afghan resistance. It claimed that its only role was that of hosting the three million plus refugees who had sought sanctuary on Pakistani territory.
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Consumerism, our status symbol

Economy, Social Issues

By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn

WITH shopping plazas mushrooming all over, new restaurants springing up, car showrooms proliferating and the advertising industry enjoying a boom, how can one say that consumerism in Pakistan is not on the rise.

With people equating personal happiness with the possession of goods and services, the cosumerist culture has been actively promoted as an intrinsic part of the government’s economic policy in the post-9/11 period.

In the last three years or so, the country has been awash with cash — some from the remittances by the Pakistani expatriates, and some from the aid given by the West to reward Islamabad for its cooperation in the war on terror.
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