When a Hari is turned out of the lands he tills by the wadera, the hari does not die of hunger, he finds other avenues to meet his requirements and feed his family. When a laborer is thrown out of the factory by the Industrialist, he also does not suffers the pang of hunger on account of the high handedness of his master. God provides him another avenue. In some cases the dismissed employee turns into a little entrepreneur and therefrom he develops into a mill owner and an Industrialist, it is enjoined in Islam also that if one door of livelihood is closed, God opens seventy other doors. HE is the Provider.

By the same token of thinking we are the haris and workers of the donors with the difference that we forget about Allah the merciful, who opens seventy doors of livelihood if one door is closed. But at the same time it is necessary that we have to stand on our own two feet's and act in a measure of self reliance with the rich resources available to us in our beloved country. It is also written in our book the Holy Quran that “ God would not change the fate of those who do not want to change it themselves. “

Although not believing in the tenets of Islam, the West have taken a lot of clue from the Holy Quran as God says in the Holy Book that I have made nights and days to follow each other, this was actually witnessed by the American astronauts travelling to the moon and they have imbibed in themselves a lot of knowledge from the Holy Quran which I am sorry to say has only been wasted on the Musalmans.

Sardar Farooq Ahmed Laghari has said in a speech in swabi, that in the last 20 years 50 Billion dollars have been siphoned off to the safe heavens abroad and there was a rat race between Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif in making money by hook or by crook. After all what was the role of Sardar Laghari in this whole episode, he himself has been a very responsible and prominent member of Peoples Party, Minister in the government a number of times and also the President of Pakistan, was he only a mute spectator in that high office, I hope he knows that opposite of love is not hate but indifference. He owes an explanation to the nation as to why did he remain indifferent during his own days of authority; the worse crime that could be perpetrated against a country is under the garb of political expediency. Sardar Farooq Ahmed Laghari is guilty of this crime.

It has been said earlier by the columnists that this is the last chance for Pakistan, let us nip the evil of corruption, expediency, favoritism, nepotism and provincialism in the bud for ever, let us get rid of the conditionalities dictated by the International organizations like WTO, IMF and World Bank, their only game is that of beggars thy neighbor and heads they win and tails we lose. Their game is that shy lock the Jew who is interested in his pound of flesh and so are our money lenders, who stand fully exposed before the people of third world but it is an irony of fate that our rulers are keeping their eyes closed on their heinous designs against the developing countries, they want us to reduce tariffs, so that our markets could be flooded with the goods of the sponsors of IMF and World Bank, which will only lead to the closure of indigenous factories, they want us to do away with the subsidies, duty drawbacks and protectionism in order to fail in promotion of our own goods in the International markets, thus the third world would be reduced to the position of a perpetual borrower of a Hindu Baniya. It is this philosophy which has led Islam to declare interest as illegal ( Haram.)

Third world is waking up against the harsh conditionalities of IMF and World Bank and whatever has happened to the IMF President Michel Camdessus on Sunday before his valedictory address at Bangkok should serve as an eye opener not only to the borrowers but also to the donors.

Government measures to rehabilitate the economy of Pakistan are welcome but at the same time they are not at a war footing which is expected of a four star General, more so, when the information being leaked out to the nation is not adequate, this leads to confusion and despondency. The days of trial and error method are up, not only the tax net but every net has to be broadened, zamindars, wederas, sardars and shaikhs must also be brought under the tax culture. The fallacy of this particular item being a provincial subject must be done away with and if necessary the federal government should take up themselves to tackle these fat menace to the society who enjoy the fruits of the tax payers without participating in it.

Report of the State Bank of Pakistan is that “ GDP target may not be achieved.” Time and again we import technocrats with foreign stamp on them and they keep on giving reports only without suggesting any practical useful measure to build the economy and foreign trade, exactly this is what the predecessor of the present Governor State Bank of Pakistan did during his last 8 years stay in office and left the Banking sector into a deeper mess then what it was when he had come, we have been appointing the so-called foreign experienced bank executives to head our nationalized commercial banks and DFI's without any feasible results, the glaring example is of the head of United Bank Ltd., Mr. Zubyr Soomro reported to be retiring from the bank and returning to his parent employer for posting as citi bank chief in Pakistan. He has reported to have also shown an income of Rs. One Billion or so in his last year of stay in UBL. Human memory is not that short to forget that Rs. 21 Billion was pumped in UBL three years ago by the government. Did Mr. Soomro account for this? While he is retiring back to his parent organization. The interest on Rs.21 Billion for three years would have amounted to Rs 10 Billion; did Mr. Soomro repay this money to the government? He would have had to account for this financial portfolio in Citi Bank howsoever.

As a revolution has been brought in the administrative set up in only an hour or so, the same revolution is required in every walk of life, industry, health, education and agriculture. Pakistan has a lot of dedicated manpower which is only used to cast votes for the privileged few, this manpower has to be channelised into a useful direction for the benefit of the nation and the country. Corruption has to be rooted out lock stock and barrel, irrespective of status, rank and position, a few heads rolled into dust would serve as an eye opener to the future corrupt Mafia. Let this amiable and welcome change not only be felt but also seen by the people, then and only then, we will be sure that now we have a direction to move and soon progress and prosperity will fall under the foot prints of every Pakistani national. Let us strengthen his hands and kick-start our march for the empowerment of Pakistan with the benevolent despot irrespective of form and norm of government.

Karachi 13th February 2000