Pakistan: How to Move Forward
By Zafar Ahmed
Since my young age, when I started to realize the surroundings and recognize the world around consciously, I have always been wondering how a country like Pakistan can be poor or needy or underdeveloped?! A country possessing rich and generous supply of all kinds of resources: human resources (with a population now around 190 million), natural resources (the Indus river and its tributaries, moderate and bearable temperature all year long, soil, minerals, and long sea shore), historical reserve, strategic location, hardworking people, … what else? The list goes long. Given that fact, the undeserved demoted situation in which our country exists is very questionable. The problem was definitely with the leadership and management system.
Leadership problems can derail any kind of organization, including a country, a large Organization. When the leadership is lacking vision of the future, careless behaviors, showy, and selfish that opened the doors for endless list of forms of corruption. The result is a stolen economy, lost and depressed people, and lack of control on the future. Our new coming governments must have on its agenda a number of brilliant projects that were dismissed deliberately during last 65 years, the “thieves’ era”. Such projects are promising to take the whole Country to new levels, and they should actually receive a fair deal of attention and Dedications. The following is a short description of some of these mega projects.
1) Basha Dam
This irrigation water storage and power project was supposed to be inaugurated back in 2007, but was unexpectedly delayed and is not possible. This project is said to be delayed for many years, and really needlessly. The economic returns from this project are putting it on top priorities, and it is surfacing back again on discussion tables to be taken ahead; what a much awaited step! Take the step and to be allowed by private sector on power returns. Kala Bagh Dam should be delayed further until agreement among provinces as water will be in short and more precious after 100 years. 2 ) Settlements along Coast
Proposed a geography reformation project in order to help spreading the condense population around the Indus valley. More than 80 % of Pakistan’s population are living along the tributaries of Indus river. Due to increasing population coastal belt to be developed for future settlements and to explore the coastal resources including fishing, oil, gas and bio – tech development. Just see the other side of coast in Sultanate of Oman, where our neighbor is is working for the 3rd parallel Dual carriageway along coast and their 80% population is living at.
Private Hydro power development
We have enormous sites for hydro power development along our rivers in Azad Kashmir, Northern areas and In KPK province and all efforts are required to develop these immediate projects at least 20,000 Mw, by not the foreign funds but by overseas Pakistanis as the return on these projects is not less than 20 %. The companies by overseas Pakistanis may be formed to enter in this field.
Human Power development
We are fortunate to have younger and hard working people in our country. As old population is increasing in the world whereas younger are going to decrease. We have the blessing of almighty Allah, that we have enormous resources but are being wasted due to lack of education to masses in rural areas and at the same time promoting illiteracy, future burden and raw source for terrorists. The technical schools and institution in every town to be developed for different categories of training and promoting industrialization in the country and export of man power. Development of Information, Bio and Rebotics Engineering & Technologies More high standard institutions are immediately required to be developed to promote these areas of science and technology. We are mostly wasting our high profile people in only medical entries and thousands high scoring students are failed every year to get admission in Medical. The trend required to be changed to above said fields as these are the future hot technologies in which all countries are promoting their younger brains. Development / Reorganization of Civil Service
Honest, knowledgeable and efficient civil service is the back bone of any country. We must change our old ways of selections and nomination and must be reorganized to reactivate. After 12 or 15 years of education and selection the cadets must be given 3-5 years of extensive special courses of their concerned subjects well rich with knowledge and developments at international levels full with modern technology and E-management/ techniques.
