HYDERABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader and a former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and former finance minister Miftah Ismail have categorically denied that they have been acting on someone’s agenda.

They were speaking at a seminar held at a banquet here on Monday as part of their series of seminars on ‘Reimagining Pakistan’.

The event was organised by Anwar Soomro, Ramesh Gupta, Akbar Soomro and other local PML-N leaders.

“It’s not an attempt to seek powers but we are only discussing issues,” said Abbasi in his keynote speech. He said he and Miftah were part of this system but had lately started feeling that it would be a great injustice if we remained part of it despite knowing that its failures and weaknesses would only increase.

He said he didn’t comment on budget 2023-24 because he knew that 55pc of allocations by the federation were used for payment of loans mark-up and those who were talking about taking things from federation must understand that federation had no money for them as its entire resources were utilised for the markup. “More loans are taken for defence expenditures and development portfolio,” he noted, and said that these expenditures would further increase next year. He said this system would have to be changed from scratch.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi says entire revenue being paid against loans’ mark-up; Miftah calls for new social contract

Abbasi said that federal government officers e.g. assistant commissioner, deputy commissioner or police officer were sitting in every district. He sarcastically said NAB law was drafted in six weeks and politicians were cherishing it even after 25 years now. “Has anyone asked what has NAB done so far?” he wondered, and said officers were not ready to take decisions for fear of NAB and in these conditions, the system could not perform. He maintained that federal government even ran short of money to pay mark-up on loans.

He regretted that the leadership did not look worried and he did not hear a word from the leadership on structural changes in the system.

Unless thinking was changed, situation would not change, he remarked, and said that he and Miftah were trying to build a bridge between thinking and realities. He challenged that today even able people were not available to form a 10-member cabinet on merit. He claimed that half of the Senate was elected on the basis of ‘money’, and wondered if people still wanted to present money bill to this kind of upper house.

Creation of more provinces

Khaqan Abbasi said that Hyderabad could not be run from Karachi and Rahim Yar Khan could not be managed from Lahore. He conceded that he had talked about creation of more provinces, and argued that Punjab had a population of 120m whilst 80pc countries had fewer a population than it. If Sindh has reservations over creation of more provinces, then powers should be devolved at divisional or district levels. Dams could not be built unless all provinces agreed to it, he said.

“Under the 18th Constitutional Amendment, we transferred powers to provinces but not responsibilities,” he said.

The former PM said parties had ruled over the country or were not part of powers but they all claimed that they would resolve problems. Angels would not descend to resolve problems. “System is so rotten that the entire country is at stake,” he observed. He said that Pakistan did have a comprehensive Constitution but the rules under it were framed only for the facilitation of governance.

He forewarned that the situation was so bad that the masses would set their own direction one day. He said what they wanted to see in leadership was not there.

Plight of 90pc people

Miftah Ismail smilingly clarified that they were not part of any conspiracy and nobody had planted them.

He said Pakistan comprised 1pc elites, 9pc middle class and the rest 90pc were mostly considered as ‘others’. He said that 40pc children were stunted and 18pc wasted.

On an average, 40 children die within the first four weeks of their birth due to malnutrition, according to him.

He said denial of education to children was the biggest crime. Only 3pc children were having ‘O’ and ‘A’ level education.

“Half of judges come from the Aitchison College alone so what the 486,000 other schools were doing?” he asked. “English-speaking elite controls this country, therefore, the elite feel that the system is performing,” he said, and remarked that difference of language barrier – English and non-English – was more pronounced than ethnicity in this country.

“We need a new social contract which ensures tolerant and inclusive society, and mainstreaming of the 90pc ‘others’ in this system to make it productive,” he said.

Miftah Ismail said circular debt continued to increase from where he had left at Rs1,100bn. It rose to Rs2,350bn and now it would shoot up to Rs2,700bn and Rs2,800bn when this dispensation would complete its term.

Anwar Soomro, Ramesh Gupta, Aftab Khanzada, Jami Chandio, Roshan Buriro, Amar Sindhu, Altaf Khaskheli and others also spoke.

They mostly discussed Sindh’s core issues and concerns relating to dams, distribution of water among province, creation of provinces etc.

Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2023