Challenges in Pakistan and their solution

KEY POINTS

• Issues of existing System
• Corruption
• Lack of technology
• Education
• Awareness
• Injustice
• Poverty

ISSUES OF EXISTING SYSTEM

                While talking about the challenges in Pakistan, we shall have to take a bird’s eye view of history. World history is a witness that whenever a new country is born it has to deal with many challenges regarding implementation of a new system, financial issues and settlement of framework etc. In August 1947, the British rule came to an end in the subcontinent dividing it into two independent states on religious bases: Muslim majority Pakistan and Hindu majority India.

Maladministration, absence of constitution

Since its birth, Pakistan has been facing challenges such as maladministration, absence of constitution and development of health facilities etc. Figures and facts elaborate that over 12.5 million Muslims had migrated to Pakistan after independence. It was the biggest migration ever seen in human history. The arrangement of food, shelter and rehabilitation of refugees were uphill tasks for a newly born state.

                The implementation of a new system is still a challenge. In the beginning, the Government of India Act, 1935 was enforced with certain amendments for the smooth functioning of the state. The constitution of 1956 and 1962 failed to provide stability in the state owing to several causes including refurbishment of refugees, lack of leadership and ineffective role of political parties.

Thus, a new constitution was made in 1973 that is still being used with more than twenty amendments. Unfortunately, many articles have not been implemented up till now. For example, in the constitution, usury and usury based business is prohibited, however, the National Bank of Pakistan gives interest (usury) based loans. Moreover, in our country, Sharia Court has become an ornament as its authority is as high as of the flashlight in front of the sun. These are challenges in Pakistan to deal with urgent basis.

Bribery, corruption, nepotism- Challenges in Pakistan

Current system of Pakistan is based on bribery, corruption, commendation and nepotism.  Political influence has a huge impact on it. This is completely unfair that a political personality who has not done even graduation gives order to a CSP officer who is considered the most qualified person. Opportunities to take significant decisions are not being given to competent and eligible people that are increasing challenges in Pakistan.

Sensible and intelligent staff is present in our institutions; however, their authority is insubstantial and limited. If a District Commissioner goes against or does something that is not in the favor of political mafia, he is transferred night and day to different regions far away from his home and family. He hardly stays in a district for a week then is transferred to the next place. In this way, he is compelled to obey their illegal and illegitimate orders.

Now-a-days, another challenge in Pakistan is that palm-greasing and corruption have become a part of our system as well as society. Even an average person cannot do any legitimate work without bribery. Actually, bribery is now a facility for getting even a legal work done quickly and easily. Some people get a job by palm-greasing. Subsequently, they in their turn take bribe in order to recover the money they have paid for that job.

Generally, corruption is associated with money but I see it in another perspective. If student is not sincere with his studies, he is also doing corruption with the obligation to the state. Similarly, illicit use of authority and not paying taxes are also a form of corruption. It cannot be eliminated easily; however, it can be minimized to a considerable extent with strong intention at individual and national level.

Solution of these challenges in Pakistan

The government can play its role in uprooting this evil by the implementation of dreadful punishments, laws and establishment of anti-corruption institutions as Singapore has done. The bigger the crime is, the worse the retribution should be.

For handling corruption cases, the current court system should not interfere. A qazi should be appointed and demands for justice should be fulfilled on the spot without any delay. The criminal should get his punishment in few hours. The nation should make their mind to end this evil.

The Government can make a public portal where corruption cases with proof can be reported anonymously. Government can also announce that anyone who will report corruption will be given thirty or forty percent of that money. In this way, corrupt political persons and officials can be highlighted and challenges in Pakistan can be minimized.

Lack of technology

                It is an era of technology and the countries with better technology are making progress more quickly. Pakistan is considered to be a developing country. In order to make any progress and keep a momentum with the world, the use of latest technology is very necessary. Agriculture is the backbone of Pakistan and nearly twenty-four percent of Pakistan’s GDP is based on agriculture and employs approximately forty percent labor force as well. This ratio is expected to be reduced in next years because fields are catching diseases and the climate change is another threat.

Another major problem of Pakistan is that developed countries have switched to 3rd generation seed technology whilst 1st generation seeds are being utilized in Pakistan. It is essential for the government to take necessary measures and uplift agriculture sector. Any advancement in agriculture will directly improve the economy. The government can encourage farmers by making favorable policies, giving subsidy, providing free and high quality seeds and adequate profit.

To some extent, the government is doing this job but the policies made are not in the favor of poor farmers. The officials, who make policies, are usually multiple farm holders or they have some share in the profit of landlords. A common and ordinary farmer is not encouraged and is not given even a reasonable profit.

                Computer science is going to be the god of future world. Scientists are working on making Artificial Intelligence (AI) that will make various processes easier, faster, more accurate and efficient. As a developing country, Pakistan will have to move heaven and earth for keeping a pace with the world. Pakistan is included in the top five freelancing countries earning almost 500 million dollars.

Many people work online and provide their services to the clients of other countries. Many English writers including me (Ajmal Dass Jaipal) are also contributing and earning name and fame as well along with monetary benefits.

A country’s economy makes progress when she increases her exports. In the light of modern view, actually freelancers export their services and import money. But transaction of money is a major problem for freelancers. They don’t have any reliable source to withdraw their money. In order to do that, they have to use some intermediate source such as Payoneer. There are no banks or any service that makes it easy for them.

                If we dig a little more, we shall come to know that Cyber Security of Pakistan is not as good as it should be. Our country is deemed to be vulnerable in the cyber world. Now the world and times have changed. We are not living in Stone Age. In future, wars will be based on technology and that future has started from now.

Solution to these challenges in Pakistan

In order to make us ready for that there must be Cyber Army so that adverse situations can be tackled out. For that talented people should be encouraged and given the opportunities to uplift Pakistan in difficult circumstances and minimize challenges in Pakistan.

                In short, power generation, health sector, agriculture, mining, manufacturing etc. all need latest technology for working with the velocity of the world. It is obligatory to have modern tech for the elevation of the country.

Education- a big challenge in Pakistan

                These days, education is a burning question as our education system has become fruitless. Having many drawbacks, it has been leading us towards the verge of chaos. In developed countries, any person who can read, write and understand simple statements is considered to be a literate while in Pakistan any person who can read or write his name only is a literate person. In spite of it, literacy rate in Pakistan is 60%.

The students who have done graduation are unable to even write or solve any problem according to the knowledge they have gained. As a matter of fact, there are very few people who know the application of the knowledge they have studied.

In developed countries, every subject is taught in mother language so that the students can understand the technicalities of the topics. Whilst in our country, all science subjects are being taught in English and majority of the students cannot understand the subjects because of English.

They just do cramming and there is no concept of critical thinking. Subsequently, students have degrees that are no more than pieces of paper. Education in our universities is concerned with the degrees but not actual skills. Many universities are doing business; they distribute these pieces of paper in return of the students’ investment.

                The government might be sleeping because it has nothing to do with our education system. It has been more than 30 years when the last time syllabus was updated. Did the world not make any progress? Do we not need any modern knowledge? Certainly, we do. New inventions and discoveries are needed to be studied.

Solution of this challenge in Pakistan

Syllabus must be short but based upon practical work and critical thinking that boosts and elevates the hidden abilities of the students. It is the time to turn over a new leaf and introduce modern syllabus according to international standard.

                Besides the syllabus, another problem is with the teaching staff. Usually teaching is considered to be easy in our country. But it should be made difficult for anyone to become a teacher. The merit for teaching should be the highest and teachers should be paid highest wages possible. Moreover, the teachers should use new teaching techniques. They should know the tricks to build the interest of their students.

Many teachers make great efforts for teaching their pupils; however, the syllabus length ties their hands that make it difficult for them to tell every possible aspect of the topic. Consequently, students just know one side of the topic. Any to and fro lead them to failure. Long and short, cramming is the base of our education system. Necessary steps must be taken to get rid of it.

                In the upcoming year, the government has decided to change educational policy after thirty-four years. The change in policies might be a white elephant as the system is ineffective. Changing the driver of a decaying bus will make no difference; the whole bus has to be replaced. So, overall educational system must be replaced with latest one to tackle that challenge in Pakistan.

Awareness-one of the big challenges in Pakistan

                Awareness can be defined as the sense of responsibility. It develops with education and our education system is no more than syllabus. At present, the main intention of our education is to get a job. Since childhood, one is taught to get education so that he can have a high rank job. Alas! He is never taught to welfare the society. Thus, our education system would rather give rise to slaves, not leaders.

Being citizens of Pakistan, we should be aware of the ideology of Pakistan and the vision of the Quaid. Now in modern days, we shall have to develop awareness about the change and no change brings up with comfort. The government has to make up the mind of nation that the change is about to come and the nation will have to participate by steadfastness and keeping faith.

She is our homeland and we are her sons. In order to bring any change, first of all we are to change ourselves. Each and every person should do his best regardless of challenges. We had been slaves of the British for two hundred years. Apparently, in 1947, Pakistanis became an independent nation; however, we are still mentally slaves. This slavery is controlling our thoughts, vision and morale.

                Social media, TV channels, radio, newspapers and magazines especially educational institutes can play a significant role in molding the nation’s psychology. Short stories and speeches can be displayed on social media and TV channels. Newspapers and magazines can print essays about patriotism and the goals of the country. In educational institutes, moral and patriotic activities can be promoted as a definite part of education. On individual level, one can make his mind and then one’s family and friends.

Injustice- the base of challenges in Pakistan

                All this credit goes to the British and then to those who became the cat’s paw. When their rule started in the subcontinent, they changed almost everything according to their need. So they changed the court system. Before them, Qazi was appointed and all the matters were handled in few hours or days. A person who committed any crime had to give explanation himself. As every man is not an expert of telling lies; in the past, he failed to save himself and the matter was solved.

Everyone knows that you can expect the truth from the enemy but not from lawyer. Actually, they study how to deceive the laws or tell lies. As a matter of fact, in our country, one life is not enough to get justice these days.

Our society is full of such examples. One person lived more than thirty years in prison even he did nothing. After that long time, he was proved to be innocent and was free to live. Suppose he was accused of theft at the age of twenty-six and spent thirty years in prison. At the age fifty-six, he is a free old man and can do whatever he wants.

Average life in Pakistan is sixty-six years.

What will he do in the few remaining years of his life?

In my view, he has two choices; one is to live in jail and achieve his goal of life; and his goal shall be to survive. Another gigantic problem is that there is no enquiry to the policemen and the court officials who studied that case. Logically, they should be punished physically, suspended or fined.

                To be honest, laws and regulation for criminals are pieces of cake and hard pills to swallow for gentlemen now. Being a suspect, one faces more hardships than a perpetrator.

Here is another real life example. An innocent person was sent to jail for six weeks as a suspect. He appealed in court that he was innocent and should not be in jail. His appeal was approved after seven years and during all that time he was bound in the jail. After seven years, he proved to be innocent and released. There are a number of similar stories.

                When people don’t get justice in a lawful way, they adopt to be criminals. It ignites terrorism in the society; exactly the same is being happened in our country.

Solution of these challenges in Pakistan

The only solution is the replacement of court system. British made that system for us and they made a far better system for themselves. They wanted to rule subcontinent and did it by spreading denominationalism between Hindus and Muslims. This process was called “Divide and rule”. The nations of the subcontinent had been coexisting since the eighth century and no conflicts were seen until the eighteenth century.

The history enlightens the fact that in the mid of 18th century, the British rule started over the subcontinent. They entangled our forefathers in disputes so that no one would interrupt them in looting the treasures of the subcontinent. Those who raised their voices against them were controlled by that system. The system was devised for making slaves and blind followers but not for providing justice.

Poverty- the worst challenge in Pakistan

                The history of appetite is older than Adam and Eve and started with the life on the earth. It has been the root of violence since the beginning and even now. Man was blessed with intelligence so he began to accumulate the necessities of life for later use. By and by, it turned into greed and lead to social difference between the rich and the poor.

Poverty is the most common problem in developing countries. It has been observed that the proportion between poverty and population is related directly. But, it cannot be the cause of poverty as one is born with two hands and single stomach. Destitution happens because of mismanagement of the available resources and imbalanced division of wealth in society.

The worse side of poverty is that it gives rise to many problems and evils in a country. Every person tries to survive as long as possible by making choices between the life and death. It is the stomach that is responsible for brutal and aggressiveness in a community. Hunger satisfaction develops the sense of responsibility, awareness and intellect; which step forward for sharping wild masses into a civilized and educated nation.

In this modern era, war is not fought with cavalry rather enemy is weakened using psychological techniques and cyber warfare by destroying and stealing useful information. Moreover, by creating artificial chaos such as shortage of food and introducing infectious diseases in outlying areas that spread all over the country bit by bit.

Poverty is also the main target of an enemy as it leads to terrorism and makes easy for him to harm the ideology, peace and equality in the country. Pakistan has become a prey to poverty that has resulted in corruption and deprivation of the rights.

In our country, political disputes are the causes of penury as political parties have main priorities to safeguard their dominance and personal interests. They befool the nation in the name of democracy that is now a form of modern dictatorship. Additionally, lack of reserves and limited capacity of the government also result in poverty.

Solution to eradicate poverty

                Poverty can be decreased by making certain decisions. A system can be devised for upgrading the situation of the poor. The religion has given us a nifty system of Zakat or donation to overcome economical imbalance in the society. Money collected of a district should be used for the welfare of the people of that district. With the collected amount of donation, the government can make factories and unemployed people can be hired. After a year, those people who deserved Zakat will become zakat givers. By adapting this method, poverty can be lowered and economy can be boosted as well.

In a nutshell

Main challenges in Pakistan have been discussed in detail and their different solutions have also been discussed. I hope, the government and high ups will consider it as an important piece of research and will try to improve the system of our beloved country.