How does the common man fare in Pakistan?

The government is naturally at pains to inform us, the public, that the situation has been steadily improving since the time it took over power two years ago. I would not refer to the Pakistani public as Q Public, as they do in the US as that might anger the right wing elements in this country, or indeed use the T letter as that may well provide Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FoDP) with a potent weapon in its argument that this implies tacit acknowledgement of our latent Taliban tendencies and provide them with a rationale for continuing to withhold pledges made in April 2009. Perhaps, referring to the Pakistani public with a small letter of p would reflect the actual picture much more cogently than anything else might.Mohammad Ahmed (MA), our version of John Doe - and one is surely unwilling to further antagonise the Jiyalas by proposing the Pakistani equivalent of a Jane Doe as Sakina Bibi as the PPP as well as their slain leader had, time and again, expressed serious reservations over referring to Ms Bhutto as BB as, according to them, it connotes a level of education and class that she did not belong to. Anyway, MA would, perhaps, challenge the government s contention that the economy has improved, not because he is victimising the PPP or its leadership, but simply because he recently lost his job as his employer was unable to keep his business going due to heavy and unannounced loadshedding and high cost of borrowing.The only way he can get a job is if he is a Jiyala, the present government still proudly handing out jobs to a handful of its loyalists, a policy that is compromising the financial viability of many a state-operated organisation as over-staffing, and that too not based on merit, seems to have swept our institutions yet again. Over-staffing also increases current expenditure that translates into higher taxes for the already taxed and lower outlay on development, which again negatively impacts on our hapless MA.

If MA is lucky enough to have a job he is no doubt, under severe pressure to make ends meet given the dramatic rise in his monthly utility and transport bills due to a steady decline in subsidies, as per the IMF dictates, as well as a rise in food inflation attributed to smuggling as well as profiteering by a handful of influentials.

And what does he think of sleepless nights attributed to loadshedding and of the constant exortation by WAPDA on television as well as by a well coiffed Raja Parvez Ashraf, who appears cool even in the sweltering midday heat raising the distinct possibility of him either being better equipped physically to deal with no electricity in 40 plus degree heat or indeed mayhap not undergoing the same rigorous loadshedding? One is not quite sure, but the PPP wins in recent by-elections have brought it home to those who rule us and, hopefully to those who are sitting on the sidelines, that our electorate continues to vote on the basis of tribal loyalty and that the President, much maligned and constantly held in poor light in comparison to his illustrious wife, is winning seats throughout the country - be they in Gilgit-Baltistan or in Punjab.

And that high inflationary pressures, or stuffing financially weak state operated organisations with Jiyalas, daily scams implicating notable Jiyalas or indeed admitting to presenting fake degrees in the past are not factors that have yet begun to influence the voting pattern of our people. One is forced to conclude, therefore, that there is no linkage between our voting patterns and what is the general perception regarding the government s performance.

Does electoral victory in the by-elections explain some of the recent decisions taken by the PPP, decisions that would have been tantamount to committing Hara Kari in any other country of the world? These include challenging the integrity of the Supreme Court and High Court judges on television, checkmating the court decisions by invoking Article 48 of the constitution and pardoning those loyalists who were directed to be arrested by the courts, refusing to send a letter to the Swiss authorities in spite of the SC verdict on the NRO and last but not least going on the floor of the house and throwing the gauntlet in the face of the judiciary by citing passages from the constitution?

These actions may well have lost the PPP support from the liberals in the country - liberals that are typically better educated and include the media, the civil society and indeed most professionals such as lawyers and doctors. However, grassroots voting patterns have certainly not changed. Need one remind oneself that the number of people of our middle class is not sufficiently large for any particular party to consider wooing them a priority. True, Z A Bhutto was supported by the liberals which, perhaps, gave rise to the military-mullah nexus, yet the PPP led by President Zardari is not focused on this small group of people.

The situation in India, with one of the largest middle classes in the world is, of course, distinct. The major difference in this regard between the two nuclear rivals is evident: higher education levels in India backed by higher annual outlay on education.

The general Pakistani public is quite willing to come out on the streets in protest against specific issues for example against loadshedding or against the failure of law-enforcement agencies to check crime by taking the law in their own hands, but it is not yet ready to come out on the streets demanding a change in government.

Thus one identifiable issue can generate public anger, like the recent public anger against Gilani, Rehman Malik, Wattoo and Kaira by the affectees of the Hunza lake disaster. However, this anger, if stoked by members of the opposition can lead to change, an example being the capitulation of the Zardari government after Nawaz Sharif headed the long march for the restoration of the judiciary. This reflects the fact that the government had misread the writing on the wall, but once it realised that the issue was serious it quickly capitulated.

However, an anomaly in our democratic system continues to exist and is recognised by the country s political leadership: the power of the armed forces to upset the applecart. The SC cannot enforce its decisions implementation with the executive refusing to do so and challenging its person-specific decision (focusing on corruption cases against President Zardari when murder cases against the NRO beneficiaries remain pending) until and unless the armed forces come in aid of the judiciary. That, such is the reading by the PPP loyalists, namely that interference by the army on its non-compliance with the judicial decisions is not on the cards, be it because of their engagement in ongoing operations or be it because of the lack of ambition of General Kayani in this regard, the fact remains that the army has so far remained quiet on the issue of non-implementation of the SC verdicts.

Whether this reading is accurate or not time will tell, but analysts are referring to the external elements, which allegedly, propped up a Zardari government and are extending financial assistance to the army as the real decision-makers. While one may well be tempted to agree with this, yet the fact remains that Musharraf was ousted from power by the same external power brokers because he had lost public support and there was an organised movement, supported by political parties across ideological divides, to get rid of him.

To conclude, be it democracy or a teetering dictatorship power resides with the people. The government would be well advised to turn its attention to certain basics: slash its expenditure, raise taxes on the rich and the influential, break collusion by those engaged in producing commodities like sugar and last but not least enhance development expenditure to deal with the twin evils that beset our country: lack of energy and lack of education. The former would fuel the wheels of productivity, while the latter would, perhaps, be instrumental in the general public linking their votes to the government s performance, an objective that no doubt has never been high on any government s agenda.