Fully and entirely agree. On CPEC, I think opaque deals with the Chinese are not really the bigger issue here, this is just how the Chinese operat
The Chinese do operate like that but why are we operating like that? i know we cant say no to China on many fronts but such hidden actions dont help because scrutiny helps see what is short term interest and what is long term impact especially when we see how there is very serious talk about countries in debt trap or corruption ruining very promising projects. In Pakistan where there is so much corruption, legal incompetence and financial incompetence, it is very important that these documents, atleast a good portion of them be made open for public view so that nothing remains hidden and if there is propaganda done against CPEC then it can be answered openly. You hide the documents then people will either be left in doubt or they will raise questions.
The real problem is the changes made to the CPEC authority, during PML tenure the army was fighting to take control of CPEC themselves, this is what we’re seeing now
Thats a very serious problem and i have no idea where a military man whose achievements were in public relations, is going to do in an authority which is entirely economical and has sociological impact. They were fighting since day one and under the guise of, it must be protected from foreign elements and political stagnation, be handed to the army. Firstly this thinking itself is so flawed that rather than try to improve the system and form a more united front, after all one of the major problems with CPEC is its transparency, we immediately say throw it to the army. Secondly with his the project will slowly become part of the military enterprise and will increase their economical hold on the country. We often talk about how shutting down army businesses is no longer a realistic option since such a blow will cripple the economy for decades to come and here, understanding this, we are giving them a project that is meant to develop the economic and industrial and power base of all the regions of Pakistan and its most important ports. Post this, the military economic hold will become tenfold making them the sole economic driver in the country.
Normally the talk is that since they have the biggest gun, they have the greatest influence in a country where rule of law struggles, but post this they wont just have the biggest gun but the biggest bank as well.
Legal immunity, draconian powers for the authority, no accountability whatsoever, and army generals heading it.
It has become a fashion of sorts of both military and government to support legislation which curtail legal powers to take action against them. Recent legislation have always favored such and this can be seen as a corruption of the legislative as well since many legislation that concern the legislative, are themselves placed under legal immunity. Although i say this in jest but i fear it may one day come true, when the CPEC authority will be empowered to create CPEC trial courts where offences against CPEC will be punished summarily similar to how the AACP functioned. The most ironic thing was that when Panama papers were relased, N started a campaign that Panama was an international conspiracy against CPEC and the accountability was being done to slow down the process and end it. I saw banners and i saw analysts. With Bajwa's wealth revelation, the same is being stated that it is an international conspiracy to harm CPEC. Word to word, i have seen analysts say the same thing and all i await are the banners that will hold the same. All in all it makes for a grim reading.
And people still pull back when I claim that this country isn’t a functioning democracy, it’s still heavily undermined by the usual suspects.
It isnt a functioning democracy and that is a fact. It is a democracy but it struggles to function properly and i would add to the usual suspects along with the actions of the political parties in securing their holds and powers have allowed for system to be formed which struggles to function in a proper manner. Forget the people, many have no clue how things have become. They speak of Land reforms to break the feudal back without knowing that Land Reforms are unislamic in Pakistan and have been declared so. They speak of Referendums when they fail to realize that the power is not with the Supreme Court but with the Prime Minister and the Parliament to demand as such and they speak of changing systems when they fail to realize the the most sacred of documents in the country have enshrined the current system as such.
In the end the people are themselves the mirror of the rulers. All institutions are from the people and here we witness how the people are. If anybody has an iota of reference or power, they are not afraid to its extreme, Nobody wants to be held accountable for their actions and they give excuses which they believe justify their actions. Nobody wants to be scrutinized and all blame the other and when the other is not found then it is created as we see with international conspiracies. An opportunity to be corrupt is not ignored. In such an environment the leaders and the military all are products from this populace. The most enlightening example would be that people criticize class differences yet pounce on the opportunity to jump classes and when they reach that class, their actions and words cannot be recognized anymore.
