Remedies? Perhaps it’s wishful thinking, but imagine a Pakistan where strong and consistent political will to achieve positive change exists, with funds to match; where liberal thought and tolerance dominate. The first practical necessity would be to plan an overall strategy, whereby ‘development’ doesn’t occur in pockets, according to the whims of the politicians of the day, but rather in a planned manner that benefits the people on a sustained basis.

Among the first initiatives would be to achieve countrywide effective population planning; at present every birth means an extra mouth to feed, nurture and educate—and we do not have the resources to do so.

Another, so crucially important issue is to educate everyone, even introduce adult education for those who have not been able to avail it so far. School enrollment must be further encouraged, particularly for girls, and arrangements made to ensure their safety. Child labour too needs to be eliminated, to help children avail educational opportunities.

Other initiatives would include those regarding fundamental human rights and justice which the people are crying for: so intense is the Islamabad political maze that little attention is paid to the legal cases that have piled up in courts across the country.

With greater stress on human rights, real and meaningful gender equality would follow; here too what we have is certainly some effort towards such equality, but it’s drastically inadequate. Far more wide-reaching effort is required.

Women have suffered discrimination for generations; just when they were beginning to emerge from that cultural suffocation, laws and policies ensured they were back to square one, resulting in alarming regression for the entire nation. Their restriction has harmed the country, hampered development and added to Pakistan’s negative image in the international circles.

Health of course, is an essential human right, as are access to food, shelter, a decent water supply and an environment free from pollution. Yes, the health ministry probably has its hands full trying to cope with the surfeit of diseases that abound, but because there doesn’t seem to be an overall effective plan to evolve a healthy society, it’s unable to make sufficient headway.

The unavailability of clean water, for example, has promoted endemic gastro-intestinal diseases; mosquitoes and various germs have added to the high incidence of malaria, tuberculosis and hepatitis. Drug proliferation has worsened the picture with a further scary problem: the advent of HIV/AIDS. Even polio, virtually eliminated from the region, appears to be increasing in Pakistan.

Dreams? Perhaps. But if the reality is those statistics, can we afford to sink any lower? — H.S.