Pakistan had the first transfer of power in almost 7 decades! It was hailed around the world and showcased for how the democratic roots have taken a strong hold in the country. But is that really the case?
It is true the massive turnout in the election is a tribute to the resilience of the people and the strong commitment of the population to the democratic values. The turnout was higher than that in many western countries but that's not the only reason to celebrate. When put this in perspective that the brutal Taliban have openly issued threats of attacking the civilians to disrupt elections, the turnout is amazingly brave. Old and young, men and women, rich and poor, boys and girls of all ages came to cast their vote. And they spoke loud and clear. They wanted a new government. But more importantly they wanted to vote!
Armed with this massive arsenal of public support, you would expect that the incoming governing party of PML-N, would be confident about the what the people really want. But think again
With literacy rates going down the drain, public health (ie hospitals and other publicly medical clinics in far flung areas), power cuts, blackouts and rationing causing protests almost on a daily basis, and terrorism which is causing havoc in the lives of every single Pakistani it would be a hard choice to pick which they would decide to tackle first. But all these problems can wait. The biggest problem in the eyes of the Pakistani government is not all these internal threats and problems but India! Yup, you read it correctly. It is India that PM Nawaz Sharif and his government is most concerned about. At least that's the impression you would get when you look at the recently introduced budget.
Despite all the back breaking social, economic and security problems that the country is facing, Nawaz Sharif's government decided to allocate more funds for country's defense. Not to Education, not for Health, not for social infrastructure, but for the national defense! And the increase is not a single digit increase, the army is need of such repairs that the increase is a whopping 10%!
Now we all know that any budget, including the household ones, all comes down to priorities. Putting more coins in one bucket means that you have to take it from another bucket as the pie is fixed. So what this means is that the government is taking medicines and school books away and instead investing in the army!
Dont be mistaken that this is a surplus budget. The national exchequer will be borrowing heavily to manage the huge deficits.
There are those that think that this is not the government setting its priorities but the army setting its own priorities. It is not a secret that the army has been a, nay the, major force in Pakistan,. However given the heavy duty vote of confidence, you would think that the government would have pushed back on the army. But either they didnt have the backbone, or consciously decided that Army is underfunded and is a bigger priority than anything else. Regardless of the reason, the hungry, illiterate and sick masses have taken the back seat to the army brass
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