Short Notes on Poverty and Terrorism
Poverty:
The head of the
World Bank James Wolfensohn said in Tokyo that solving
Asian’s grappling economic crisis required not just financial rescues packages
but wholesale social development. The president of the World Bank has rightly
maintained that the need in Asian is to pay particular attention to the social
development, whose profile is low particularly South Asia as a whole. The
observations of the President merit attention of governments in India and
Pakistan .
I am reminded of
late Dr. Mahboob ul Haq’s two classic reports on Human development in South Asia 1987, 1988. He
emphasized the need for promoting human resource development, though his realization
dawned on him when his trickle downs these justifying the creation of income
inequalities to achieve high growth rate, yielded frustration to him. The over
emphasis placed on growth led to a woeful neglect of the social sectors in Pakistan .
The sense of remorse itched him which is reflected in his later book “Poverty
Curtain”. He becomes a staunch advocate of social sectors including education.
The trend is reflected in both the reports and the ground dismal realities
attract the attention of reader. It is in the fitness of things that a resume
of the reports is presented to acquaint the general reader with the gruesome
realities.
Terrorism:
Some scattered
incidents of blood-letting sabotage, terrorism and chaos have accompanied the New
Year in Pakistan . Not at all in unfamiliar ways have people including children in
imam bargahs, mosque, trains, and on frequented roads been targeted. Mounting
deaths inevitably proliferate fear. The unprecedented January 3 attempt on the
prime Minister’s life has merely underscope both vulnerability and reach the
vulnerability of people at all levels and the reach of those engineering
sabotage and terrorism.
The distressing
murder of twenty citizens at a Muzaffargarh imam bargah and the Raiwind bomb
explosion merely reiterated the cyclic curse of terrorism that appears to have
found root in Pakistan . In 1998 over 700 were killed in Punjab and over 500 in Karachi . The question
therefore that Pakistani citizen must inevitably ask is whether they are now
fated to periodic terrorism? Whether the government is competently and
resolutely dealing with the problem of terrorism?
Along the way
weak minded and string armed military men remained on the loose perpetuating
the quick-fix brand of politics. True to general Zia-ul-Haq’s tradition, they
continued to deploy men and weapons to fix’ errant politicians. All together they
cooked a witch’s broth. Today deadly terrorism oozes from this broth.
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