Pakistan: A rapidly failing
state. What will it take to stop and reverse the disaster?
Abstract
This is a brief review of the current all-round crisis in Pakistan, the worst in
the country’s history. It is the compounded form of all the previous accumulated
politico-economic problems, issues, and crises, since its independence in 1947
that were, and are, both the result of the objective structure of the
feudal-capitalist-dependent politico-economic system, as well as of the wrong,
incompetent, and corrupt leaderships, policies, and actions.
All the diverse symptoms of the current crisis indicate that Pakistan is rapidly
becoming a failed state and a failed nation.
The focus of this paper is on the conceptual analysis of the politico-economic
and sociological processes, which can be substantiated by empirical,
statistical, and other data. However, these data have not been included here, as
it will result in a much longer article.
The conclusion of this analysis shows that only an Islamic-socialist revolution
can now stop and reverse the process of failure and disaster. Such a revolution
can happen in two forms:
1. Mass-based. 2. Military coup d’etat by Islamic-socialist officers and
soldiers.
Introduction
Pakistan has been in continuous and overlapping crises through much of its
history, culminating in the current all-round politico-economic, socio-cultural,
religious, and civilian-military crisis, the worst so far. Unprecedented levels
of corruption, unemployment, poverty, and misery; a huge national debt;
terrorism and state terrorism; explosion of crime; emergence of resilient
separatist movements, like the one in Balochistan; loss of sovereignty;
subservience to the US and Western imperialism etc., are all the most dangerous
symptoms and manifestations of the complex and deeply rooted causes of this
crisis.
The nature and causes of this crisis are very complex and involve the problems
of under-development; over-population; brain drain; extreme class and other
inequalities and injustices; corruption; huge expenditures on the military,
intelligence, and police establishments; aggravation of internal conflicts, some
of which have now developed into a civil war, due to suicidal policies, dictated
by the US and other Western powers; corruption, insincerity, dishonesty, and
incompetence of almost all the political and economic leaders and political
parties, among others.
In this article, the main focus is on the identification of the main internal
and external political forces involved in the crisis, and on outlining the main
components of a program that would put the country on the road to moving out of
the crisis and towards the path of real national liberation and much greater
independent development.
The main internal political forces responsible for the crisis
I. Civilian:
1. Incompetent and corrupt political parties and leaders.
2. Incompetent and corrupt judicial system.
3. Widespread corruption and incompetence in the police and law enforcement
establishment.
4. Educational institutions, which have failed to provide the students with
essential knowledge, information, and critical scientific and logical thinking,
with which they can accurately identify and analyze the developing problems and
their solutions.
5. Incompetence, corruption, subjectivism, and opportunism of the intellectual
elites, overwhelming majority of whom cannot go beyond their narrow personal and
class interests, which sets definite limitations and boundaries to their
writings and analyses.
6. Widespread corruption, ignorance, opportunism, and subjectivism in the
society as a whole, which not only allows the corrupt and incompetent political
parties and leaders to ruin the country and its economy and sovereignty, but
only elects them to govern the central and provincial governments.
II. Military and intelligence establishments:
From the beginning, Pakistani military has modeled itself in the image of
British and other Western militaries. Most of its officers take pride in
speaking in English, imagining and acting as if it sets them apart from the
common Pakistanis and soldiers, and gives them higher social status. It
appropriates a very large part of the national budget for itself and also owns
and controls a large part of the civilian economy, which is very rare and unique
among various militaries of the world. Its top generals have accumulated huge
amounts of wealth and property in a poor country like Pakistan. How did they
acquire such wealth? Certainly not from their salaries, which, in spite of being
generous, rule out any possibility of the accumulation of such wealth.
The top and higher level leaders of the military act more like the Westerners
than like Pakistanis, have close relationships with Western and especially
American militaries, and, historically, have carried out and implemented their
geopolitical and politico-economic regional agendas and goals. The current
subservience to and collaboration with the invasion and occupation of
Afghanistan and drone and other attacks on the Pakhtoon tribal and other areas
by the NATO and US imperialist forces, is the most recent example of that, in
which it went so far as to destroy the lives, livelihoods, and properties of
millions of its own citizens, in their service. It is self-evident that this has
caused enormous damages to the economy as well as to the unity and nationhood of
the country, and is a major part of the current crisis.
Similarly, in spite of all the pretensions and false propaganda to the contrary,
the Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI) became a virtual arm
of the American CIA during the war against the Soviet and Afghan forces in the
1980s. It is very likely that it is now heavily infiltrated by the agents of CIA
and other Western intelligence services.
To their credit, overwhelming majority of Pakistanis have now turned against the
subservience of their government, military, and intelligence services to US and
NATO countries. Therefore, some minor and superficial differences between them
are being exaggerated to the maximum to restore and maintain some credibility of
the former among the Pakistani population. Both the US and NATO, on the one
hand, and Pakistani government, military, and ISI, on the other, are
collaborating in such efforts.
The main foreign forces involved in the crisis
US, UK, and other Western powers-including their international organs, like the
IMF and World Bank-have been heavily involved in determining the domestic and
foreign policies of Pakistan, throughout much of its history, even before the
support and installation of their agent, the self-styled Field Marshall Ayub
Khan into power in 1958. He was later revealed to have been on the payroll of
CIA. Pakistan has always been an important asset in the geopolitical strategy of
American and British governments. American spy plane U-2, shot down over USSR on
May 1, 1960, had started its flight from an American base near Peshawar, in the
Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan. Pakistan was also a member of the
imperialist organizations SEATO and CENTO, which were formed to counter the
rising tides of national liberation movements and democratic aspirations of
peoples of various countries.
The key point that needs to be made about the main internal and external forces,
involved in the continuous and overlapping crises of Pakistan, is that these are
closely and inextricably intertwined. Therefore, any objective, logical, and
honest discussion of these crises must deal with these in their interacting
unities. Of course, within these unities, the internal forces carry much more
responsibility, as these could have made different choices of policies and
actions, instead of subordinating them so completely to the interests and
dictates of external powers.
Outline of the proposed program for resolving the crisis and preventing its
recurrence
1. Freedom from US and Western imperialist domination.
2. Moves towards development of an independent foreign policy.
3. Moves towards economic and political independence.
4. Moves towards the development of unity with other anti-imperialist nations,
like Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, and Bolivia.
5. Expansion of economic, political, and scientific relationships with the
Peoples Republic of China, Russia, the former Soviet republics of Central Asia,
and Iran.
6. Development and nationalization of major industries and services.
7. Redistribution of wealth, income, and property with the goal of satisfying
the basic needs of people.
8. Agrarian reforms for redistribution of land for the landless and other
peasants.
9. Moves towards the non-capitalist and socialist roads of development. As Islam
is a powerful force in the lives of most Pakistanis, the non-capitalist and
socialist reorganization of society and its resources must be coordinated with
the Islamic teachings of justice and equality.
10. Dialogue with the Tehrik-e-Taliban of Pakistan TTP for a peace treaty and
establishment of a system of Islamic socialist political economy.
11. Creation of effective population control and reduction measures.
12. Stopping and reversing the brain drain.
13. Abolition of all the existing political parties and disqualification of most
of their leaders from holding any political or public office.
14. Longer term goals: Provision of free education, free medical treatment,
adequate food, full employment, and affordable housing for all the Pakistanis.
This will only become possible when higher levels of the development of
productive forces, production, and economic development are reached. However,
their partial realization may become possible earlier. Such goals were achieved
in almost all the socialist countries, including Cuba, a Third World country
with much less human and natural resources than Pakistan.
15. Creation of a new constitution that would incorporate the above program.
16. Creation of a new masses-based political party, committed to implementing
the various components of the program, listed above.
It is obvious that such radical changes would be impossible through the normal
and standard political processes. These will only come about as a result of the
social revolution or a military coup d’etat by the patriotic, nationalist, and
justice loving officers and soldiers. There is nothing inherently wrong with
such military officers replacing the corrupt and incompetent civilian
governments, as there is nothing inherently right with the corrupt civilian
governments replacing each other or the military governments. It all depends on
the politico-economic programs, goals, and qualities of such governments.
Justice loving, anti-imperialist, and nationalist military officers, like Gamal
Abdel Nasser, Abdel Karim Kassem, and Muammar Gadhafi had overthrown the corrupt
Western-puppet governments in Egypt, Iraq, and Libya, which resulted in great
progress in all areas of life of those societies. Unfortunately in Pakistan, all
military takeovers of the government have so far led in the opposite direction,
in greater injustices, repressions, brutalities, inequalities, damages to the
economy and sovereignty of the country, subservience to imperialism etc.,
because their leaders have been Western puppets and servants of the imperialist
and national bourgeoisie, and could not care less for the welfare, needs, and
dignity of overwhelming majority of Pakistanis, who suffer all types of
deprivations and toil very hard to try to satisfy their most elementary needs of
life. The current civilian government has far surpassed all the previous
military and civilian governments in this regard
On Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI)
As many Pakistanis are pinning their hopes on the PTI and its leader, Imran
Khan, it would be useful to briefly examine its potentials, in relation to the
above program.
PTI is relatively far better than all the other major political parties, on
various issues. However, the crucial question is whether it has any concrete
program, specific goals, or potentials to turn things around, resolve the
current devastating crisis, and create effective solutions to the complex
problems that constitute this crisis. The answer to this question has to be in
the negative. No, it does not have such a concrete program, specific goals, or
potentials. If it comes to power, only some cosmetic changes and reforms should
be expected.
Imran Khan himself seems to be an honest and courageous person. However, he is
surrounded by opportunist, corrupt, bureaucratic, and incompetent people, many
of whom he has placed in key positions. In any case, important politico-economic
and social changes do not result from personalities or cults of personalities.
These result from concrete and well thought out objective programs and
sincerity, integrity, and resolute struggle to implement them. Pakistani culture
is still bogged down in the subjectivist cults of personalities, with which all
kinds of crooks, including most politicians, mesmerize and fool the people
constantly and repeatedly. This is a huge problem in the politico-economic,
religious, and other affairs of the nation.
If anyone imagines, believes, or claims that he can solve the colossal problems
of corruption; poverty; unemployment; inequality; injustice; crime; foreign
debt; terrorism and state terrorism; dependence, loss of sovereignty, and
subservience to imperialism; and deep and violent religious, regional, and class
divisions, without radical changes in the politico-economic system and
institutions in Pakistan, he is either a hypocrite or ignoramus or drowned in
delusions.
All-round structural crisis of capitalism in the advanced capitalist countries
Capitalist democracies are now rapidly failing within the advanced capitalist
countries themselves. And yet, almost all the Pakistani politicians are
faithfully trumpeting these constantly into the tired ears of Pakistanis. It is
beyond the scope of this article to go into the complex nature and causes of the
profound structural crises of capitalism in the Western capitalist democracies.
However, as in Pakistan, these cannot be resolved within their current
politico-economic systems.
Islam came to this world at a time when feudal and slave-owning socio-economic
formations were dominant. It introduced great progressive economic, social, and
other changes that were possible at that stage of the historical development, on
the basis of the principles of justice, equality, and other higher spiritual and
ethical values. Since then, there have been drastic changes in the nature of the
socio-economic formations. Currently, capitalism dominates almost all the world.
In some countries, including Pakistan, tribal and feudal systems exist side by
side with the dominant system of capitalism, which is a class-divided system of
extreme injustices and inequalities that progressively increase with the
development of capitalism and greater and greater concentration of wealth and
power into fewer and fewer hands. That is precisely what has happened in the
advanced capitalist “democracies” of the West, leading to the current Occupy and
other protests and demonstrations by millions of victims of such “democracies”.
Almost all the Muslim religious leaders and scholars, as well as other
intellectual and academic “elites”, have shied away from examining the problems
and contradictions between capitalism and the Islamic principles and teachings
of justice, equality, and ownership of the Earth and its resources, either due
to ignorance and fear or their own property, money, and class interests.
Clearly, in the light of these principles, capitalism is not only incompatible
with Islam, but is its opposite. On the other hand, Islam has much in common
with the practical programs and goals of social justice and equality of
socialism.
Conclusion
Islamic socialism would be the only politico-economic system that is capable of
effectively addressing and resolving all the immense problems, mentioned above,
under which Pakistan is drowning fast. It will also unleash the development of
enormous creative potentials of countless millions of Pakistanis, which are
being thwarted and wasted under the current feudal-capitalist-dependent system.
The solutions will undoubtedly take time, but there can be no doubt about their
happening if the country puts itself on the right tracks of Islamic socialism.
It is highly likely that such an objective analysis of the current Pakistani
crisis-and the proposed concrete program for its resolution-will either be
ignored or strongly opposed by the leaders of all the political parties, as well
as by the top military leadership, in Pakistan, as these would be damaging to
their class, property, and money interests. It all boils down to the insatiable
and demonically selfish greed of the “elites” for property, money, and
inequality, for whom these are paramount and override everything else, including
the preservation of nationhood, overcoming of the current debilitating crisis,
satisfaction of the elementary needs of Pakistanis, etc. Many of these people
have foreign bank accounts and property, and will flee to other countries,
leaving behind the great mess they have created. But, where will the 187 million
Pakistanis go? They will be stuck in that mess, until they get organized and
united, choose right kind of politico-economic leadership, and clean up that
mess. Anyone who talks about insaf, democracy, and Islam, but ignores or opposes
the concrete program of Islamic socialism, outlined above, must be an absolute
hypocrite.
Fazal Rahman, Ph.D. Completed on February 14, 2012
First posted on www.imperialismandthethirdworld.wordpress.com