| March 25, 2002 | Monday | Muharram 10, 1423 |
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Gloom is not yet over
WITH might reigning as right and naked power as the defining and decisive factor in the ‘civilized’ world, Karbala in the contemporary context has assumed added significance. Hazrat Imam Husain’s mission and martyrdom highlighted the overriding importance of devotion to a just cause irrespective of immediate and apparent consequences. He blazed a trail with his blood and set a unique precedent, which is an abiding source of inspiration. Resistance against evil even at the cost of life, which is the essence of Shahadat, has made the centuries-old epic encounter a beacon of light for those who choose the path of struggle and sacrifice against tyranny and oppression. In fact, it takes on more lustre with the passage of time — a resounding proof of its enduring character.
The path that the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) chose to pursue in the light of his Tradition is the true Islamic approach as enunciated in the Quran and exemplified in Sunnah. The Divine assurance that “whoso fighteth in the way of Allah be he slain or be victorious, on him we shall bestow a vast reward” and again its exhortation “let there be of you a community calling others to good and commending that which is reputable and prohibiting that which is disreputable,” motivated him to challenge the Yazidi order. To him silence in the face of distortions amounted to inexcusable acquiescence. His address to the people of Iraq bears witness to his sincerity of intent and strength of conviction. Quoting the Holy Prophet, he said “he who sees a ruler perpetrate acts of tyranny and transgress the boundaries prescribed by Allah and establish the rule of sin and oppression yet does nothing to thwart him, either by word or deed shall not be blessed by God ...” His choice was clear and conscious. He bowed before the will of the Almighty Allah rather than the diabolical designs of those who were openly violating the sanctity of religion.
The dilemma that the Imam faced and defied is haunting the Ummah today on two fronts — the clever foes of Islam and its ill-informed critics as well as a majority of misguided followers. In the West, this noble creed, illuminated and illustrated by the ‘Mercy into the Worlds’, is being presented as a militant system and a violent way of life. This is a blatant lie. This blinkered view has unfortunately become the patent whipping cry against Muslims in the hands of waiting enemies after some ugly incidents of terrorism. The distortion of Islamic ideals, values, principles and parameters in the powerful Zionist-dominated media knows no bounds. No serious and sustained effort is made to check or counter this rabid propaganda globally launched.
The Organization of Islamic Conference, which is the most appropriate forum to meet this menace, has sadly failed to fulfil its assigned role. Lone voices and isolated efforts can hardly make any impact against the floodgates of historical hostility and deep-rooted animus. But more tragic and painful is the perverted picture of Islam being portrayed by its own votaries. The humane, universal message and the enlightening image of Islam have been obscured by the narrow-minded sectarian attitude increasingly in evidence at home. Hatred preached and fratricide committed in the name of Islam are an unpardonable act and a sin. The month of Muharram, specially Ashura, should be utilized to create harmony. Dogmas that alienate brother from brother have no place in Islam. Scholars and speakers on the pulpit, platform and electronic media should bring into focus the substance and spirit of Shahadat that Hazrat Imam Husain symbolized.
DESPITE the highly favourable factors having emerged in the external sector in the second quarter of the current fiscal, the fundamentals of the economy still continue to remain weak and there are no clear signs of things improving in the second half of the year. Such an observation by the State Bank of Pakistan in its second quarterly report for October-December 2001 throws a damper on expectations that the economy will see a turnaround soon. Pakistan has been living on such expectations for the last 30 months. At the time of the military takeover, the turnaround period was promised as six months. It was later extended to 18 months. Now the SBP report, after more than 30 months of military rule, advises the government that the favourable developments in the external sector should not lull us into in a false sense of complacency and that many imponderables still remain.
The September 11 events in the US brought with them a number of factors which had positive and negative effects on our economy. While the negative effects were felt in the shape of cancelled export orders, disrupted trade relations and the imposition of war risk levies, the positive ones were far more beneficial. They brought debt relief, cash grants, large fresh loans, savings in foreign exchange spending on account of low oil prices, the diversion of expatriates’ remittances to official channels, etc. A combination of these factors resulted in unprecedented surpluses in the balance of trade and balance of payments despite a fall in exports, and a tremendous increase in foreign exchange reserves. Thus, while the external sector seems to have been flourishing, the internal sector, which matters most to the people, continues to languish.
The outlook for the GDP growth, investment, budgetary revenues and employment, says the report, does not show any perceptible sign of improvement. As far as the commodity sectors are concerned, the growth has been dismal. During the July-December period of the current fiscal year, manufacturing registered a growth of two per cent as against eight per cent in the previous year. The prospects for second half of the year are expected to improve slightly to 2.9 per cent. In the agricultural sector, preliminary estimates show that major crops are likely to grow by only 1.2 per cent, and the overall growth of the sector may be around 2.5 per cent. The shortage of water and the increase in the prices of the inputs — fertilizers, electricity, etc — as a result of increased taxation and the withdrawal of subsidies is likely to affect adversely the output of small farmers and raise the poverty level in the rural areas. Due to the lack of investment — both domestic and foreign — mainly on account of the bad law and order situation, political uncertainty, and the Indo-Pakistan tension, the economy has been unable to absorb the fresh entrants into the labour market.
Whatever little growth is being achieved seems to have been through the activization of the capacity which had always remained dormant in the economy. Unless the law and order situation improves, political uncertainty is removed and public spending on development is increased substantially as a percentage of the GDP, instead of being kept stagnant as at present, private sector investment and employment may not get a boost. And as a consequence, the achievement of the widely claimed objective of poverty alleviation may not be possible.