Re: What Pakistan did right - Foreign Policy Magazine
I am always optimistic about Pakistan. I wrote a note to everyone on Facebook on August 29, 2010.
Why we will emerge stronger then before
Sunday, August 29, 2010 at 12:34am
A lot of people are questioning these days the very existence of Pakistan after the devastating floods which effected 1/4th of Pakistan and more then 20 million people. International Organizations calls it the earth biggest emergency & largest ever in recorded history 6000+ years.
Alhumdolillah, I have firm believe that current Pakistan can’t be broken on ethnic/religious lines but yes Natural Disaster on this scale does provide some gloomy insight into the future. But we do have some positives.
Some points…
Flood planning system which built during the British Raj and expanded under the state of Pakistan did work. Not even a single population center for example: Peshawar, Isb/Rwp, Gujrat, Lahore, Faisalabad, Bahawalpur, Sukkar, Hyderabad got effected except suburbs.
95% of the effected people were already living on 1$ a day, average worth of the person wasn’t more then a cattle + a year worth of wheat. Majority of the people don’t even own a “Pakka” home at all.
Infrastructure damage is overwhelming, specially in KP & Southern Punjab. 11/14 $bn approximatively.
Crops damage is overwhelming, our fruit basket (Malakand Division), Rice/Wheat (Faisalabad, Multan) Cotton (Bahawalpur) is gone.
Why we will survive, and become more stronger:
20 million effected people will be documented for first time by NADRA or other agencies.
Total damage is 15/20 $ bn as of now, Pakistan current Foreign Reserve’s stand’s at 16.5$ bn as of today. 650 billion RS are in government accounts for development year 2010. If you didn’t notice the stock market actually went up in last three weeks, their is a reason for that. $ is stable compare to RS, which is another good sign.
Our Financial sector is standing on very powerful foundation’s, just check out the last 2 weeks of bank quarter ending statements - all the banks made billions in profit. Banks can start providing loans on very low interest and even government can take more local debt if funds from foreign sources are not available.
Once in a life time opportunity to rebuild planned Pakistan from top to down.
Our food reserves are enough for more then a year, it’s sufficient time for new bumper crops.
Water level around the Pakistan is filled again to the top, whatever we use in 60 years its filled back to pre-partition levels.
We come out stronger from 2005 earth quake, we stopped the march of beard gay monkeys (aka Taliban). We will go through this one, and yes the world will cry “The world’s bravest nation”.
One man’s dream…
Achieved by another..
We came by all means we could..
Since then..Have we not travelled across fairylands..
Have we not been part of heaven on earth..
Together..
Have we not built..
Wonders..
Landmarks..
For the world to see..
Have we not guarded our borders…
Day and Night..
From the thousand of feet above..
In below freezing tempratures…
and across the oceans..
Have we not gone..
where the world though we could never go..
But then..
Our cities burned..
Hundreds killed..
We were engulfed in a war…
which wasn’t even our’s..
But we fought..
And we fought not for ourselves…
But for the millions who had suffered for..
we are heroic people..
Despite for all our efforts…
We are the ones who they discriminate..
We are the ones who they slaughter..
These are the people who are left homeless..
Our people..
Take a moment to identify the difference..
Between this…
and this…
Both weep..
one with her stuffed teddy bear..
the other with her mother’s blood..
Only he knows..
whose house was brought down by rockets..
The beauty of our people lies not in being suppressed..
But..
In being capable of enduring all that we may suffer..
In being able to stand up everytime we fall..
He showed the world..
The beard does not teach you to make bombs..
It certainly gives you all power to make world records…
You can bomb their schools..
They will study on mats..
You can bomb his madrassa..
But no power do you have to stop him from smiling..
You may try to disunite us..
But we all bow down before one lord..
You can destroy our homes..
But you cannot destroy our smiles…
Through these hard times..
as always..
One flag to unite us all..
One land to bring us all..
One name to die for..
Love Live Pakistan
