Marketing terror
—Andleeb Abbas
Our leaders have cashed in on each terror incident to prove their merit for more aid. Every single visit abroad and every single forum having American and European representatives are given all sorts of presentations to horrify them at the regularity of the occurrence of manmade and natural disasters in the country
The most marketable item for the
government of Pakistan these days is terror. From the foreign minister to the minister of interior, the war on terror is the unique selling point to garner loan and aid from the US and other "friends of Pakistan". The Pakistan Development Forum (PDF) that met last week to present challenges facing Pakistan and which according to our finance minister is not an aid seeking forum, seemed to have no agenda but to market Pakistan's misery aggravated by the floods and a request for $ 7 billion from the international lenders. The interior minister, carried away by the benevolent gathering of all donors under one roof, has asked for a waiver of our $ 55 billion debt, which he said can be used for fighting terrorism. As the donors become fatigued by providing continuous support to Pakistan for an economy running on massive overdrafts, the government is hanging on to each disaster — be it bomb blasts or natural disasters — to somehow convince the sceptical donors that they still merit their aid dole outs; such is the state of abject begging and shameless pleading.
Beggary is an addiction and a social crime. People with self-esteem and pride go to all limits not to reveal their helpless state and do whatever is needed to live within meagre means in order to let the world see a more honourable side so that they can hold their head high and command respect from others. Such people inspire and invite genuine help when needed. This is also true for nations. Nations with self-respect never try to market their weaknesses to win sympathy from others; rather they spurn advances from other countries and quietly go about building their strengths to combat threats. We have many such examples in our neighbourhood, the prime ones being China and Iran. These nations have defied dependence on the west despite the wrath of the superpower in the form of sanctions and embargoes along with military threats. Despite the doomsday prognoses of the west on this defiance, they have progressed economically and politically. The leadership of these and many other nations has realised that sustainable progress can only come through investment in developing indigenous industries that can gradually compete at the international level. Chinese exports have made inroads into world markets and given it surpluses that are incomparable. The US is now borrowing more from China than any other nation in the world and thus cannot afford to displease it regardless of all its accusations of human rights violations. These nations have a huge array of marketable products and services that are revenue earners generating enough money not only to take care of their expenses but also fill up reserves needed for lending to other nations or to their own government for any emergency need that may arise due to any unforeseen event. In contrast since 9/11, the only marketing strategy for Pakistan has been to position itself as a gateway to terrorist training grounds across the Pak-Afghan border. They have successfully made a case of being a willing accomplice in a war that has been so futile that it has branded Pakistan as the terrorist capital of the world.
The normal reaction of any nation would be to defuse this image by playing down this negative perception and make positive statements and policies to show the world how safe and strong its territory is. Countries like Ireland and more recently Thailand have persistently trivialised the violence persisting in their countries. In Pakistan our leaders have cashed in on each terror incident to prove their merit for more aid. Every single visit abroad and every single forum having American and European representatives are given all sorts of presentations to horrify them at the regularity of the occurrence of manmade and natural disasters in the country. When leaders are busy trying to grab whatever they can wherever they can, their focus is not on enabling an economy with a diversity of industries, or build up a depth of marketing offerings or determining ways of lowering expenditures and increasing revenues. Rather their indifference coupled with ignorance make a lethal weapon of economic destruction. The greed of men in high places is so great that ever since Musharraf and Shaukat Aziz, every single leader is busy packing all available items of public property as personal gifts to be stowed away as takeaways on accompanied baggage.
Shaukat Aziz changed the law of charging 50 percent of the market price of state gifts to 15 percent to buy them for personal possession and his exit luggage was overflowing with super expensive gifts at dirt cheap prices from the national coffers. The president so far has kept up this tradition by taking gifts worth Rs 62 million in personal possession. A standing committee recently proposed to increase the payment required from 15 percent to 50 percent, which of course, has been turned down by the prime minister. Thus the loot sale continues.
This is perhaps a pittance compared to the reckless government shopping spree from the State Bank of Pakistan. It borrowed Rs 220 billion from the State Bank compared to Rs 126 billion in the last quarter. Obviously as the State Bank money printing machine breaks down due to overtime misuse, the only way to keep on running the ever increasing money appetite of the government is by making a dramatic case of its plight in front of the donors. The finance ministry has said that post-9/11, the war on terror has cost Pakistan $ 43 billion, 25,000 security personnel lives and around 10,000 civilian lives. Thus, as compensation if the US doles out a billion and a half every now and then for Pakistan, it is well deserved. Such a marketing appeal surely makes donors feel that it is a great win-lose deal in their favour.
Unfortunately theses dole-outs are not 'feel guilty make amends grants'. These donors are always going to get their pound of flesh by withdrawing subsidies, raising tariffs and imposing all types of taxes whether reformed or unreformed. With a culture of grabbing and robbing all around, it is very difficult to distinguish between law enforcers and lawbreakers, between genuine leaders and fake followers and between nation developers and nation destroyers. At the moment the feeling in the country is that sincerity and integrity are already extinct species. Not really. They may be endangered species but there are still some pockets of pure and unadulterated human species surviving. It is our responsibility to do our maximum to ensure that those few who are still in this rare category are supported and nourished to grow to a level where their presence instils hope and resurgence in a nation desperate for inspiration and change.
The writer is a consultant and can be reached at
[email protected]