The general elections being held on the 25th of this month have aggravated many debates among the analysts. The topmost being the agitation that the PMLN has been carrying out against Pakistan’s most prestigious institutions. The latest slogan of “Vote Ko Izzat Do” that translates to “Respect the votes” (cast by the Pakistani people in general elections 2013). This being said, we have seen a polarity being built among the top media cells, the political gurus and the people of Pakistan. The supporters of PMLN tend to keep an opinion of being targeted by the institutions and the rest of the people criticise their performance during their rule. In this article, we will try and analyze what PMLN did wrong during their tenure that aggravated such hatred and tension.
PMLN built roads, Metro stations, Orange Trains, did they also build DAMs?
Pakistan will run out of water by 2025 if the government fails to take legit actions to overcome the water scarcity in Pakistan. Source ‘Pakistan Council of Research in WaterResources (PCRWR)’
The warning was delivered during the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz’s tenure. Several international forums had some similar predictions and analysis reports that were published in the past few years. I will not totally ignore some of the minor projects that the government completed. Let’s see how many dams PMLN worked on during their rule.
1- Neelum Jhelum in Muzaffarabad District: This dam was completed in the year 2017 which was basically an extension of the previously built structure. The capacity of this dam is 8,000,000 m3 (6,486 acre⋅ft) and is built on River Jhelum.
2- Darawat Dam in Jamshoro District: This dam was built on the Nari Baran river and was completed in the year 2014. It has a capacity of 150,000,000 m3 (121,607 acre⋅ft).
3- Jalozai Barani Dam: It was built in the year 2015 having a small capacity of 1,277 m3 (1 acre⋅ft).
4- Haji Shah Dam: This dam was built in the year 2013-2014 and has a capacity of 1,800,000 m3 (1,459 acre⋅ft).
Now, comparing these figures to the required limit, we can bluntly say that the issue has been ignored by the government. This could easily be listed among the most criticized mistakes the previous government made. The opposition parties excluding the PTI were also equally ignorant of the important matter and were involved in saving the so-called democracy rather than working on improving it. The thousands of millions that the government spent on infrastructure projects thus seem to be a scam rather than a development. An international magazine and news agency referred to these projects as the “Country’s Infrastructure Madness”.
Police Reforms, Education and Health Sector
It is a common notion among the PMLN supporters that their party works for the common people. In my opinion, a common man has to deal with the institutions more than they have to worry about the size and the comfort of roads. The scandals revealed by “Abid Boxer” have opened another pandora box. We saw what happened in Model Town Lahore and how people were killed by their own protectors. Merely changing the police uniform did no good to the police. We saw no major development in the health and the education sector either. They did not build a single hospital where Kulsoom Nawaz, The Brothers, Ishaq Dar and the rest of the politicians could be treated like the common people of Pakistan. They did not build a single university where the elites could study like the rest of the people. The question arises, what is more important? The roads? or the institutions? Most part of the capital city of Punjab suffers when it rains, most part is facing sewerage problems and is deprived of clean and healthy drinking water. What would be happening in the rest of the Punjab and the rest of the country?
Foreign Policy
This is one sector where PMLN has not completely failed. They have established better relations with the eastern powers like with Russia and China instead of completely relying on the US. That being said, I feel that we have completely failed to compete India in the United Nations on some of the most important issues including that of Kashmir’s. We have also failed to prompt UN or the WB to take action against the violation of the Indus Water Treaty by the Indian government. We have also failed to establish the dignity of Pakistani Passport in the US and the UK. I suggest that the situation might have been much better if we had a dedicated office of the foreign minister instead of the same being managed by the ex-PM Nawaz himself.
Institutional Reforms and the Industry
Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz has also failed to introduce institutional reforms as they indicated in their Election Campaign in 2013. They did not bring down the corrupt politicians as they promised. They failed to introduce reforms in the Pakistan Civil Services. A country that does not have strong institutions fails to facilitate the investors. This is a major reason why we could not get the estimated Foreign Direct Investment. The government also failed to develop the industrial sector of Pakistan. Most people who voted for PMLN had the view that Nawaz being a businessman himself will work on the industrial sector. It is unfortunate that we had to sell shares of PIA rather than acquiring the latest technology. They failed to introduce innovation to the current industries and did next to nothing to encourage the investors. CPEC was a lucrative chance for the government to encourage the global industries to come and open franchises and manufacturing plants in Pakistan, however, the government had other priorities.
What More?
It is not my aim to criticize or to devalue a political party. It is, however, to raise my voice against the injustice that affected the common people of Pakistan. It is also a moral obligation of each and every individual, whether a political worker or not, to deeply analyze the performance of their representatives before re-electing them in the coming general elections 2018. We could list hundreds of other failures of the PMLN in this article, however, we think that we have conveyed the message loud and clear. We have pointed out the biggest reasons that suggest what PMLN did wrong during their tenure.
If we don’t work for a better future, there is not future at all.
About the Author:
The author is an analyst on political affairs and the CEO of an IT consultancy firm Techuire and can be reached at atiq@techuire.com
