The Millenium Manifesto or ’Ikeesween Sadi Dastoor’

The article is the summary of a hoped manifesto for a fresh new political party in Pakistan. It is primarily addressed to the Pakistani intelligentsia, while also for the attention of the various Tehreeks, Tanzeems, Movements, Leagues and Jamaats.

Political

:


1) Maintenance and preservation of the 1973 constitution in it's original form sans all amendments. It is recognised that the 1973 constitution was created with unanimous consent of all the political parties and provinces, hence only the 1973 constitution can safeguard each one's rights.

2) Freedom of gathering, expression, and speech. Pakistan Television and Radio to be made fully autonomous bodies on the pattern of British Broadcasting Corporation. Ministries of Information at all level to be abolished.

3) A consensus to be reached on a two party system; Liberal and Conservative; to replace the 20 or so major political parties, in order to end the severe polarization that exists in the socio-political fabric.

4) Clarification of national identity and the two-nation theory in the light of 52 years of experience. It is felt that the two-nation theory interpreted purely on the basis of religion ceased to be valid after secession of East Pakistan. Interpretation of Two-Nation theory to be reverted to the original basis as envisaged by M.A Jinnah, i.e. economic considerations of the Muslim minority in undivided India. Text Book Board to revise educational text-books in the light of original interpretation of the national identity and meaning of the two-nation theory in the context of the Pakistani nation’s South Asian roots.

Provinces :


1)The Economic Coordination Council (ECC) to be abolished. All provinces to be made fully autonomous in their revenue and expenditure so any feeling of exploitation of smaller provinces is removed. State Bank to finance any gaps in any provinces'
Budgets from surpluses of other provinces or from domestic savings at market mark-up rates.

2) Two new provinces to be formed. Karachi and Saraiki. Karachi to include the Karachi city within it's administrative limits. Seraiki to include Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Shakar Garh, Dera Ismail khan and the Indus West Bank region. This is to complete the provincial structure along ethnic /linguistic lines which is currently incomplete, causing dissatisfaction to the Urdu and Seraiki speaking minorities.

3) NWFP to be renamed as Hazara Pakhtunkhwa in recognition of the ethnic identities resident there without undermining the cultural interests of either the Pakhtuns or the Hazara region.

4) Quota system in government jobs to be abolished. All appointments to be on merit alone.

Foreign Policy :


1)Regional Cooperation For Development (RCD) as initiated by Ayub Khan to be revived. The original membership of RCD consisting Pakistan, Iran and Turkey to be expanded to include India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The objective of RCD to promote regional understanding through cultural and media exchanges .

2) Irritants to be removed in relations with the USA and the European Union on issues like Terrorism and Drug Enforcement.

3) Complete Disengagement from Afghanistan. Sealing of borders with Afghanistan till the time a stable and representative government is formed in that country. Diplomatic ties to be maintained for advice and influence. It is recognised that active engagement in Afghanistan has done great and perhaps irreperable damage to Pakistan.

4) Status Quo to be maintained in relation with the Gulf States and Saudi Arabia.

Defence :


1) No-War-pact to be signed with India. Bilateral and simultaneous withdrawal from the Line of Control and the International Borders. A summit to be held in either Delhi or Lahore with the single-point agenda to honour the war-dead of both countries.

2) Line of Control to be made permanent into an International Border in return for India agreeing to withdraw from Siachen. Siachen to be declared as no-man's-land by mutual treaty.

3) Immediate cessation of active militant interference in Kashmir. A recognition and expression of the realities as follows:

a) Kashmir does not belong to Pakistan regardless of historical events during partition, and is not likely to belong to Pakistan even after a referendum or self-determination. If Kashmir thus is a secessionist movement it is an internal matter of India.

b) Human rights violations in Kashmir are wrong and the party will continue to raise it's voice on purely humanitarian grounds as called for in Chechneya or Kososvo or any other such spots in the world. The Party has faith that the United Nations and other bodies also will intervene to prevent human rights abuses in Kashmir.

c) Pakistan is not at conventional military parity with India nor equipped to to occupy Kashmir by force. Even if it was, it would be an aggressive and expansionist act, which is morally wrong and unacceptable to the world community. Therefore a complete disavowing of any military action for resolution of the Kashmir dispute.

d) A realization that although solution of the Kashmir Dispute is ingrained in our hearts by our environmental and political influences, policies of losing Pakistan in the pursuit of gaining Kashmir cannot be sustained.

e) Nuclear program to be maintained in line with the regional balance of power. CTBT to be signed unilaterally as well as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Nuclear program to be developed solely on computer simulated testing basis.

Economy:


1) A negotiated debt moratorium on IMF and World Bank loans for a period of two years. Commercial debt like swap loans to be serviced normally in order to keep the commercial debt ratings up. It is no longer possible to sustain the financing gap with increased borrowing because that will plunge the country into hyperinflation, massive poverty, and ultimately a unilateral default on all it’s debt including foreign as well as domestic debt will have to be declared. A negotiated moratorium on foreign debt now will preclude that eventuality while allowing the domestic debt to be serviced normally. Obviously, any default on domestic debt will be catastrophic.

2) Keynesian model of deficit financing by printing of currency notes to be followed. Production of additional goods and services to match the additionally printed money within three months to avoid inflation. Money thus printed to be spent on capital and manpower intensive projects e.g. housing, motorcycles, automobiles and infrastructural projects of roads and telecommunications in order to create jobs and demand to jumpstart the economy out of the current recession. IT Industry to be given special emphasis. Software Parks to be developed in cooperation with the Banglore industry of India.

3) A Resolution Trust Corporation to be formed to buy the defaulted loans of nationalized banks at a viable discounted price. The corporation's equity to be financed by junk bond flotation on the international market. The corporation to be staffed by the most energetic and experienced bankers to find ways to recover the bad debts through revival or sale of the sick industry or by legal action. Nationalized banks then to be privatized with clean balance sheets after transfer of their bad loans as above.

4) A common market on the lines of the European Union to be initiated by the States of Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Since the hard currency resources need to be preserved in the region, the trading unit between the region to be either Barter Trade through Escrow accounts or Special Drawing Rights (SDR) to reduce dependence on a dollar based settlement system.

5) Free trade between all the member countries of the region with a reciprocal tariff structure.

6) Construction of Kala Bagh Dam to be commenced without delay since the usable life of the Mangla and Tarbela Dams reservoirs is approaching an end due to the natural silting process. Without a new Dam on the river Indus, the country will be left without these vital power and irrigation resources.

7) WAPDA to be first split into two separate entities respectively for Power and Water supplies and then further split into manageable regional units as subsidiaries. Minority ownership of the units thus to be privatized. In it’s present form, Wapda is unmanageable due to its size and lack of professional corporate management.

8) Tax structure to be simplified and revenue base broadened by abolishing numerous taxes like wealth tax, property tax, excise duty and surcharges etc., and replacing them with an across the board tax on consumption.

9) Maximum allocations to be made in the federal budget towards development of Human Resource through education and social reforms.

10) Defense Budget to be reduced in proportion and reciprocally with India in view of a no-war-pact as well as the nuclear parity, by placing a moratorium on further recruitment and conventional military hardware purchases.