Losing her grip: Bhutto on the campaign trail that led to defeat. But the high-profile corruption of politicians masks the graft of the miltary and state bureaucracy the most vocat on social quesuous - the police harass and abuse common people, it is the youth wing of these parties which marches to the police station and demands an end to this misconduct. If the Left doesn't get its act together, unite tribunes of the people for ecocluding women's equality, land reform and so on the amiat will reap the benefits. Socialist Outlook: The western media lavished a great deal of attention on the former international cricketer and lately social activist Imran Khan. They were intrigued by this Oxford University prod uct, socialite and now son-inlaw ortne outonaire businessman Sir James Goldsmith.
Tehrik-iHowever Khan's Insaf (Movement for justice) polled very poorly.
Azad: By highlighting the issuc of corruntion which was the sole plank of his party's electoral campaign, Imran Khan really played into the hands of the estabtime to call for corruption charges to be slapped on the Bhuttos. In other words he was furthering the agenda of the military.
Hidden corruption The establishment sees corruption only in politicians because they are public figures. The corruption of the bureaucracy and the military is hidden. People are encouraged to loathe politicians. They are being persuaded to lose belief in the clectoral process. strengthen the argument for a po. forces. Imran Khan had nothing offer in his polisical prograner He campaigned on the basis of his personal charisma. He didn't have a team or a vision.
Whatever he may think he is not a man of the people. He is aloof and arrogant. The allegations made about his fathering a child which he has refused to accept as his own also damaged him.
He keeps company with the most corrupt individuals in Pakistan and invited many of them to his wedding but at his clection ral. lies he promised to hang the corrupt upstac down. he was aways going to be a marginal figure and which gave him prominence. Socialist Outlook : One of the measures of the caretaker government before the elecCouncil for Defence and National Security. This body provides for an institutional role for the President and the Armed Forces.
Azad: The Council will act to deflect any demands made by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund for the reduction of the military budget which consumes 40% of national income. All cconomic policy has to be vetted by this institution This means they can strike a bargain ww murd satchat icading institutions, to protect their privileges and pass the social costs of the structural adjustment program antoine boor another diacisson is that under the acgis of this proved his own standing vis-a-vis the office of the Prime Minister and has concentrated more power in his own hands. e setsiss berveen ite There are tensions between the Chief of the Army Staff, General Jabangir Karamat and the Presi. dent on this score, General Karamat may suspect the President is trying to undermine the role of the military through the Council. The ened its vice like grip over the country and the awaz suart Bov' ernment recognises this. Socialist Outlook: The care. taker covernment nomany headed by Meraj Khalid as Prime Minister appointed a senior Pakistani economist and serving vice-president at the World Bank, Shahid Javed Burki as Special Economic Advisor. This unelected technocrat also introduced an economic reform program which has been innerica by une new covern® ment. This is a disturbing development.
Azad: The World Bank and Pakistani governments have a long reladonsnup going back to te carly 1950s when economic policies were tramca by tac harvard School of Economics. the Harvard School of Economics"
Harvard university had a scholarship scheme through which it attracted the brightest Pakistani students and trained them.
Mohammad Shoaib, during Ayub Khan's regime, was Finance Minister and when he wasn't - he was working for the World Bank. Then came Mahbub-ul-Haq who likewise served military regimes and when not doing so, was attached to either the World Bank or later the United Nations DevelopHe was the architoct of the first Five Year Plan, Finance Minister, Chairman of the Planning Commission. The two most recent Caretaker governments in 1990 and between November 1996 and February 1997 have been effectively headed by current employees from senior levels of the World Bank.
Thishas paved the way for the introduction of anti-poor austerity measures which even nominally democratic governments could not afford to bring in. Shahed Javed Burki is also the author of a book on the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto government between 1971 and 1977 which was extremely critical of its economic record. In that book he also argued that if any democratically clected government tried to revert to the populist policies of that period it would be ruined.
Well he finally got his shot at handling the economic portfolio. Burki was shutding between Islamabad and Washington IX to plead with the World Bank to release more loans for Pakistan which they didn't do. However what they did give him was a blueprint for an incoming government.
A few days before the election, Nawaz Sharif was given a briefing by Burki and his team on this economic plan and left certain that he would be expected to stick to and implement it once in office. 'The foreign debt is around US$30 bil. 45 per cent of the budget. The Caretaker government remored state subsidies for staple foods and "The World Bank and Pakistani governments have a long relationship going back to the early 1950s when economic policies were framed by necessities.
The price of sugar increased from Rs. 10 per kilo to Rs. 31 per price of ghee [cooking oill has reached Rs. 80 per kilo. Similarly with wheat flour, milk-powder etc. and cement, electricity and gas. The cost of transport from bus fares to rail fares. You can see the effects of these policies on the faces of the poor. They are so hard pressed that they find it difficult to even breathe. Socialist Outlook: Privatisation will be accelerated by the new government. How are trade unions responding?
Azad: Since 1990 there has been larce-scaic privausagon. wawaz Sharifs political and business friends profited by this and likewise under Benazir Bhutto, her friends have been the major beneficiaries of these sell-offs. There hasn't been widespread opposition to privatisation. Many trade unionists see the floating of the Allied Bank of Pakistan as a model.
The bank workers and management bought a majority stake in this bank and its financial situation has improved. Trade unionists see this as a future strategy. A way to protcet joos waric matt caining profitability.
Trade unions were prominent in the 1960s with the expansion of the industrial working class and a left wing movement. If trade unions confine themselves to wage bargaining and do not understand the ceaseless clash berween Capital and Labour, then they cannot go forward as a political movement.
Trade unions and the left sup ported Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and propelled him into power. However their militancy was too threatening to him and he curbed them. However 1 am optimistic that they are beginning to revive There is a small core of independent trade unions and left wing activists who are trying to mobilise on anti-privatisation issues and they have formed a loose network which is a promising start.
Aside from this there was also an electoral coalition formed at gressive trade unionists and left wing groups including the Pakistani affiliate of the Committee for a workers internatonal. It S100d on a clearly workers agenda.
Historically the Pakistani Left has always been entangled with bourgeois parties and more recentiv in the Peoples Party. We are at an embryonic stage but this is a tions are being laid for the future.
General Zia-ul-Haq not only also de-politicised the youth. This politics and left wing ideologies. Instead they understand politics only along ethnic, clan and re gional and religious sectarian lines. Socialist Outlook: It has been fifty years since the end of the British Raj (empire) on the sub-continent. While the ruling class in India and Pakistan gear themselves up for the anniversary celebration, among other layers there seems to be some soul searching about the record of post-colonial rule and the antagonisms that exist between Inata and rakistan.
Azad: Partition has not imity.
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