ISLAMABAD, Aug 21: The sharp divide between the haves and the have-nots during the 59 years of country’s independence have resulted in the collapse of institutions and further weakened Pakistan in the defence, economy, social and political spheres.

Analysts voiced these concerns at a seminar on “59 Years of Independence: Where Do We Stand” organised by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) here on Monday.

Intellectual Ashfaq Saleem Mirza said despite almost six decades of independence the common citizens of the country were predominantly living under uncertainty.

The constant economic and social deprivation of the majority of the population never allowed any genuine political and democratic process to take place in the country.

Instead, religious extremism, repeated military dictatorships and unilateral approaches on the part of ruling elite had made the entire political and social process hostage to their personal whims.

“The layman is unhappy and dissatisfied with the long distressing political and social conditions,” Mr Mirza said while stressing the need for the development and supremacy of institutions instead of individuals.

It was unfortunate, he added, that a resource-rich country like Pakistan was forced to survive in the conditions where poverty, drugs, unemployment, inflation, illiteracy were prevailing norms.

He said globalisation, World Trade Organisation, new liberal agenda and Millennium Development Goals of UN were some of the other potential opportunities for the Pakistan’s military- bureaucracy to victimise the poor people.

Dr Ahmed Nawaz Hakro of the economics department of Quaid-i- Azam University, Islamabad, briefly analysed Pakistan’s complicated economic history and said that all of the country’s policies were aimed at protecting only the ruling elite.

People had become subject to the commercial and financial interests of the ruling elite particularly the military, he added.

He maintained that it were only external factors which always came to the rescue of Pakistan’s economy.

Though the economy had been facing a number of challenges such as droughts, climate change over the years but aids, grants, loans, structural adjustment programmes, international development investment, foreign donor agencies were the key factors that always helped Pakistan’s economy to survive.

Dr Hakro said Pakistan was the third largest aid receiver country in the world after Israel and Egypt. After 9/11, the insecurity of the Western countries resulted in donors contributions as well as easing their loan conditionalities and loan rescheduling for next 35 years.

Chief factors of the country’s economic growth could be attributed to the country’s unconditional support to the war on terror.

Whereas, speculative statues, increased leasing activity, massive unemployment and to top it all, criminally neglected social sector were some of the problems of that external growth which the nation had to deal with.

However, he said political will, land reforms, human development, and people’s participation in the decision-making process could help the nation to recover from the damage.

Ayesha Siddiqa, an Islamabad-based defence analyst, said the ruling elite had made the life miserable for the layman. The ruling elite, particularly the military, had ruined all the institutions of the country and had disallowed civic and political forces to grow and sustain.

The lack of competing visions, increasing predatory role of state, dependency on the US, ruling elite oriented policies, Pakistan’s inability to redefine its internal, regional and international policies and an environment of military hegemony in all fields such as social, political, philosophical and intellectual were responsible for the present mayhem.

She urged that it was high time that Pakistan’s policy makers should redefine relationship between the Centre and provinces and that with India for the betterment of the region and people.