Monday, Apr. 07, 1958
Demoralized Fledgling
Orators and newspapers sang of Moslem brotherhood and the glory of the nation as Pakistan celebrated its second birthday as a republic. Thousands lined Karachi's streets last week to cheer as President Iskander Mirza, surrounded by his bodyguard of Lancers in uniforms of scarlet, green and gold, drove by in his state coach to preside at a parade of Pakistan's military might, backed by contingents from fellow Baghdad Pact Members Iran, Iraq and Turkey. But beneath the brave fagade, Pakistan was a sick and sad nation.
Already plagued by poverty, corruption, and its endless feud with India over Kashmir, the nation seemed overwhelmed by an irritable sense of frustration over its whole relationship with the West. For the Pakistanis it was bad enough that Britain's Prime Minister Harold Macmillan and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Henry Cabot Lodge had toured India and returned to their countries saying kind words about India's problems. But when the U.S. announced last month that it would lend India a whopping $225 million for its second five-year development program, Pakistan's Prime Minister Malik Firoz Khan Noon erupted.
"Brown Colonial." To a wildly cheering Parliament, Noon denounced India as a "brown colonial country of the worst type," chided Britain and the U.S. for bowing to Indian pressure, broadly hinted that if Pakistan became more seriously threatened by India, it would "break all pacts in the world and go and shake hands with the people whom we have made enemies for the sake of others." Noon's outburst gave popular expression to what seems to most Pakistanis the major fact of international life: India's neutralism has been rewarded by the big U.S., while their own loyalty has brought them continued poverty and no support on Kashmir. The fact that, on a per capita basis, Pakistan has received more than three times as much as India is seldom remembered, never mentioned. All that the Pakistani sees is that he has become completely dependent on the West--and there is nothing whatever he can do about it. "Who in America or Britain or elsewhere," asked the influential Dawn, "will take Mr. Noon seriously and really believe that the present rulers of Pakistan would be capable of turning their backs on the Western powers who have reduced us to political and economic vassalage?"
Until Pakistan solves her burgeoning internal problems, the sense of vassalage will probably remain. Since the constant fear of India forces Pakistan--in spite of U.S. military aid--to channel 70% of its budget into defense, little is left for development programs. Floods heavily cut the supply of wheat and rice in the past two years. Cotton is one of Pakistan's major exports, but because of the world glut, sales are down 40%. For lack of foreign exchange to buy raw materials and spare parts, the nation's mills now operate at only 50% capacity.
How to Be Popular. The fledgling nation seems demoralized. The government is unable to force land reforms on the country's powerful landlords, and there is an almost universal feeling that it has not been able to cope with anything much at all. The general belief, warned former Prime Minister Chaudhri Mohammed Ali, is "that we are inefficient and corrupt. If ever a dictator rises over us, he will jail us all--or shoot us. That will be his first step to gain popularity, and gain popularity he will."
Admitted President Mirza in his Republic Day speech: "The problems with which we started our career as a republic have not come any closer to a solution. The economic strain on the common man has steadily increased. Law and order have deteriorated, general administration has weakened, corruption has not been halted. All that matters is the craze to make money or gain power."
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