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NEW DIRECTION REFORMS IN PPP & PAKISTAN SOCIETY. |
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BY MIR MURTAZA BHUTTO
BY MIR MURTAZA BHUTTO
-Roti Karpra Aur Makan Key Hosool ke 5 Nukat
PREFACE Shaheed Bhutto's slogan was " Roti Kapra Aur Makan" but the slogan of the highly corrupt and disreputable coterie, who have hijacked the Party and are in full control of it, seems to be "loot, Plunder, Steal". This motley crew of blackmailers, smugglers, patharidars, thieves and self seekers, along with murderers of Shaheed Bhutto are not only tolerated by the Party leadership but invited into the Party for the sole purpose of attaining and retaining political power. Once this is achieved, they use political power not in the service of the people but rather to dispense favours to a selected few, to enjoy the grandeur of the corridors of power at the tax-payer's expense, to use the police as a private army against opponents who dare to raise a voice of dissent , and above all to cushion their nests. This is the most shameful and disgraceful moral Ideological and intellectual sellout of epic proportions. It amounts to a historical betrayal which we shall never accept. The time has come to set things right. The time has come to reclaim the Pakistan People's Party for the poor masses of Pakistan for whom it was formed and to whom it rightfully belongs. The legacy of Shaheed Bhutto has for too long been misused by the mafia, that is in control of the Party at present, for their own personal gain. The time has come to reclaim the legacy of Shaheed Bhutto from this evil mafia and return it to the mud huts in the villages where it was born. The legacy of Shaheed Bhutto belongs to the people of Pakistan, it was not inherited by any one person, but by the whole nation. It must be reclaimed from those who regard it as their own person " JAGIR". In reclaiming the legacy of Shaheed Bhutto. I intend to realign the course of the People's Party with the salient features of the ideology of Shaheed Bhutto, who had very definite ideas about the future of Pakistan. Much has changed since 1970 as well as 1977. The world that we live in today is different from the world of the seventies. Whereas the question of altering or diluting Shaheed Bhutto's ideology does not even arise, there is need to bring his views into conformity with contemporary values and standards. It is entirely possible to work within a certain framework of ideas, while allowing for changing times, but remaining sincere to the spirit of the original concept. This shall be my endeavor. I want to add that what follows is not a complete manifesto, which shall be forthcoming at the appropriate juncture. Instead this is my vision for the future of Pakistan and a declaration of my intent. MIR MURTAZA BHUTTO 1- CORRUPTION CONTROL Government officials and civil servants found guilty of corruption shall be dismissed from their offices and barred from public or government office for life, in addition to their other penalties. Public representatives found guilty of corruption shall be barred from elections for life in addition to other severe penalties. A separate anti corruption cell manned by members, of the judiciary should be setup to monitor , ministers, members of parliament and government functionaries. This cell must be given constitutional protection. All Party funds must be made public and open to accountability by a committee appointed by the judiciary or the election commission. 2. DISTRIBUTION OF POWER It is due to these reasons that the country split into two in 1971, and if the same problems persist, the threat of further disintegration can not be ignored. The inability of the system to deal with the pressures and tensions is further highlighted by the startling fact that since independence, we have had twenty- six years we have had eighteen civilian governments, with an average tenure of fourteen months. Winds of change are blowing all over the globe and great giants are bowing before national movements. The prime example is the former Soviet Union, which imploded under the weight of a plethora of national movements within her boundaries. We in Pakistan must also contend with our national realities before it is too late. A commission shall be set up, with equal representation from all four provinces, to carefully study this problem and recommend constitutional reforms of a pragmatic and realistic nature. Constitutional measures must be immediately taken to ensure maximum autonomy and an equitable distribution of resources for the provinces. There must be constitutional guarantees to ensure that the National Finance Corporation (NFC) and the Council of Common Interests (CCI) are convened once every month to ensure that the voice of provinces are heard and their grievances rectified. No inter provincial harmony can be
achieved without addressing two vital issues: 3. FOREIGN POLICY Our foreign policy must be scientific, calculated, precise and coherent rather than mere reactions to the gambits of others. Above all , we must base our foreign policy on the principles of bilaterism which shaheed Bhutto so correctly advocated. We must pursue a policy of friendship and non-interference particularly with reference to neighboring states. A very concentrated diplomatic campaign shall be launched to bring international pressure upon India to cease the atrocities in occupied Kashmir and to accept the United Nations resolution on Kashmir requiring a plebiscite. Since nuclear power is clear and viable alternative to thermal and hydel power , we shall develop this option. It shall be our endeavor to improve faltering relations with the United states of America on the principles of equality , equity and fair play. At the same time, we shall continue our good relation with the People Republic of China, our trusted and sincere ally. We shall also forge better working relations with all great nations of the world as well as the new and emerging states, from Germany to South Africa , from Japan to Russia , and shall seek to increase trade and socio-economic links with them. Also we shall endeavor to establish special relations with Muslim and Arab states. 4- AGRICULTURE All government departments related to agriculture such as irrigation, Revenue , food and & Agriculture etc., shall be revamped and made more efficient , to assist the small land owner in particular, in producing better crops. The prices of all input, such as fertilizers and pesticides, shall be strictly regulated so that everyone may avail themselves of these commodities and the price of grain remains in check. There are vast tracts of vacant government's land all over the country which shall be distributed among land less Haris and they shall be given all facilities, including loans, tractors and tube wells, to bring this land under cultivation. At the same time , farming will be mechanized and modern and innovative methods will be introduced to increase the yield from land already under cultivation. Bringing more land under cultivation , increasing the yield from land already under cultivation and by facilitating farming will make the agricultural sector thrive. We will introduce the system of " drip irrigation" in the water deprived areas to allow the desert and semi desert areas to bloom with vegetables, fruits and other food products. Small farmers shall be provided easy loans to obtain tractors, fertilizers and seeds. 5-INDUSTRY AND TRADE A balance has to be maintained between the public and private sectors? Both can Co-exist, supplementing and complementing each other. No sector of the economy shall be closed to private enterprise as such , but public investment shall be concentrated in some industries more than others. These include heavy industries such as iron, steel, heavy machinery, fertilizer and cement, shipping , defense production etc. Concurrently private entrepreneurs shall be
encouraged to invest in these industries also. 6- EDUCATION This rot must not only be stopped, it must be eliminated. Education is a basic right, which shall be provided free of charge and made mandatory for all children till Matric level . Education shall receive top priority in budgetary considerations. Modern schools shall be built all over the country with modern facilities which have modern methods of teaching. Adult education shall receive due attention to recreate the lost. Opportunities of the youth. Universities shall be made autonomous and have administrative and intellectual freedom. They shall be run by professional who shall make them true centers of learning. Students displaying high intellectual qualities shall be sent on government scholarship to the finest universities all over the world. Plagiarism and patronage shall be eliminated from our schools and universities so that those who graduate are the finest intellectuals in the lands. The finest and most qualified teachers shall be recruited to teach in our schools and they shall receive appropriate compensation, incentives bonuses and respect in our society . An educational curriculum which encourages initiative imagination and intellectual curiosity will replace the present primitive systems which lays stress on cramming. Teachers Academies will be established to teach our teachers and ensure that they possess academic qualities surpassed by no other country in the world. Indeed, our primary emphasis to rebuild this country and arrest its degeneration, will be in the fields of education and health. Historically, no nation has progressed without progress in these two fields. 7- HEALTH We have an impressive government health care program, but the government employed doctors, either open their own clinics and spend all their time there, or they sell the government supplied medicines to private clinics. Either way, the government doctors are not attending to ordinary patients and are happy making money. Any government employed doctor who does not attend the state clinic from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm (2 hours for lunch, tea and prayer excluded) and spends this time in his private clinic, shall have his private clinic confiscated by the state. He will also face a jail term not exceeding 5 years. Any government doctor who merely signs the attendance book on a government clinic then goes off to sell the government medicines to private clinics will face jail term and fine of a severe nature. A central feature of our health policy will be the introduction (in each district ) of several mobile clinics, mobiles surgeries as well as mobile eye camps. These mobile camps will present the provincial health ministry with a program every morning detailing their intended tours of duty in the villages or towns that day. In the evening they will submit a report on the medical services they provided in the day's tour. Random checks will be carried out and any one found lying or cheating in their report will face the full force of our government's iron fist. 8- WATER AND POWER The government shall give thorough consideration to regional scheme directed at augmenting the supply of electricity so that more and more towns and villages may be electrified and the curse of load-shedding may lessen and in due course, eliminated. The country's entire drainage system will have to be revamped and cleaned out. Any plots allotted over " NALAS" will be canceled and bulldozed. We will not be any more a country that either dies of thirst or is alternatively , drowned by floods. Desalination plants will be constructed along the entire coastal area of Pakistan to convert sea water into sweet water for drinking . This will then be delivered to the entire country through a system of a new non- rusting pipeline net work. 9-COMMUNICATION Private enterprise shall be encouraged to compete with public services in this sector. There shall be a telephone, telegraph and postal facilities in each village and these services shall be updated and made more efficient. Trains shall be made to run on time, their cleanliness and comfort improved. The rivers shall be used for communication to ease the traffic load on roads and trains. 10- INFORMATION MEDIA 11-LAW AND ORDER As an expression of its helplessness the government called in the army to control the rapidly deteriorating law and order situation in Sindh. It is not in the army's interest to be involved in policing activities for an extended period of time. At the same time it would be unreasonable to expect the police to rise to the task and take over where the army leaves off, due to the high level of corruption and inefficiency prevailing in the police force. A phased withdrawal of troops from Sindh shall be initiated along with radical reforms in policy regarding the recruitment, training and modus operandi of the police . In addition to this , a small force of 50-100 highly trained and equipped police commandos shall be stationed at each Tehsil headquarters, with the sole responsibility of following the trail of criminals into forests, remote areas, across rivers and into the inner cities , to encounter their quarry and return to base only after capturing or eliminating them. The criminals must understand that they can not get away merely by stepping into a forest or by crossing a river or crossing a road that separates two " Mohallas". Along with these preventive measures, the
government shall initiate positive aimed at providing political
freedom, employment, social welfare and increased business
opportunities, to provide viable alternatives to a life of
crime. In Sindh the armed force have trained about ten
thousand police personnel in anti- terror and anti-dacoitee
measures. A special task force comprising these people
should be formed along the lines of the 12 BILL OF RIGHTS 13- DEVELOPMENT Nothing shall have priority over rural and urban development. All the funds which the corrupt ruling clique, with big bellies have digested will be recovered and all non- productive and development expenditure in the budget will be trimmed to the bare essential. Given the opportunity , I shall show the skeptics how much development can be achieved , even within the budgetary constraints of a poor country like Pakistan. Our poor have lived for too long on dreams alone. It is time to turn those dreams into reality . It is not the will of Allah that all their life they should subsist on diet of watery daal and dry bread, that their children should grow up malnutritioned. We have a practical programme to ensure that even the poorest mud hut will occasionally be able to cook chicken , fish and meat. We have a programme whereby every child of a farmer and a laborer will be able to eat egg for breakfast. This programme is called the people's food programme. 14- PEOPLES FOOD PROGRAMME.
The necessary machinery will be imported duty free on a partnership basis between the private and public sector. Each district will have dozens of such food farm. The end result will be a substantial reduction in the cost of chicken, eggs mutton, beef, fish etc. and even the poorest citizen will be able to afford these. For the agricultural sector a massive programme to dig tube wells will be launched so that a tube well exists for every economical unit across the country. Water reservoir system shall also be launched across the length and breath of the country to conserve rain water. Contracts to build roads will be given to those who sign on the contract that the road will either last for 30 years or else the contractor will be put in prison for 10 years . Also such contractors will have to pay the state the entire cost of the road. They will be guaranteed, however, that they will not have to pay even one paisa as commission to any individual. This I ensure. 15- CONCLUSION For this purpose, the Pakistan People's Party needs to be put back on the rails. It must be purged and redirected to conform to the ideals and aspirations of Shaheed Bhutto. It is entirely possible to remain loyal to his ideals and ideology, while adapting to changing conditions and the march of time. I am confident that together, the genuine PPP men, women and true followers of Shaheed Bhutto can not only save and reconstruct the PPP, but also build a better Pakistan, a greater Pakistan, a more prosperous Pakistan. |