A HOLLOW foundation makes for an unstable edifice. That is the small print behind some of the big, upbeat numbers unveiled in the latest Economic Survey. If one is to believe the finance minister, Pakistan is powering ahead to a spot among the top 20 economies by 2030. However, its people, to whom the state has moral, ethical and constitutional obligations, is on a very different trajectory. The survey reveals that health and education, the cornerstones of a dynamic human resource, remain grossly neglected. The government spent well under 1pc of GDP — 0.46pc to be precise — on health during this fiscal year. Appallingly, even war-torn Afghanistan that has not had a stable government for decades, spends more per capita on health. Education presents another bleak picture: in the 70th year after independence, Pakistan’s literacy rate stands at only 58pc, stagnant since the last fiscal year. In fact, it has seen a drop of 2pc since 2014-2015 when it had climbed to 60pc.

These are damning figures. Progress measured by world-class highways, power plants or metro projects alone is stunted, incomplete and unjust. True progress is a multidimensional concept that takes people’s fundamental rights and legitimate aspirations into account. It does not leave them mired in ignorance, superstition and disease. The PML-N government has a penchant for glitzy infrastructure projects that can be showcased during election campaigns, but as the survey indicates, it has done little to improve social indicators in the country — in what is only the latest manifestation of callous indifference by the political elite. The education budget, despite an increase last year, has not been able to keep pace with the rate of population growth. Lack of planning means that a significant portion of the meagre allocation lapses because the funds are not utilised within the prescribed period. Then there is quality of education in public schools, with an emphasis on rote learning rather than the development of cognitive skills so essential for children to become productive adults. Meanwhile, chronic shortage of health infrastructure in the hinterland compels patients and their families to travel long distances to comparatively better-resourced urban areas. Even here though, overcrowding, poor sanitation, lack of awareness, contaminated drinking water, etc trigger outbreaks of preventable diseases that unnecessarily claim lives. Only if the ruling elite prioritises the intangible markers of progress can Pakistan take its place among the developed nations of the world.

Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2017