Pakistan or Loanistan

The ability to internalize tragedies and become calmer is a uniquely human trait, one that is perhaps unshared by any other living creature. Isn’t it odd, then, that cities and towns behave in the same way? Witnessing upheavals and enduring griefs only to emerge quieter than before.

Take the case of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, twins separated by the Faizabad bridge. On one side are the fast paced streets of Rawalpindi, thronging with hurrying humans. On the other are the quiet avenues of Islamabad, sparsely occupied. Loud and boisterous people on this side of the concrete umbilical cord, while stoic and calm ones on the other.

So why is our capital so different to other cities in the country? Perhaps Islamabad is burdened by its history, the repeated military takeovers, the conniving and cunning of power corridors, the scheming and wheeling dealing of the avenues of power. Or maybe it is under the spell of its own beauty, crowned by Margalla Hills, adorned by Rawal Dam, decorated with charming woods. Whatever the reason may be, Islamabad has always remained quiet and will do so again when the F-9 Park, or Fatima Jinnah Park, is mortgaged off for loans.

Spread over 750 acres, the F-9 park is an entire sector with walking tracks, wild bush, small woodlands, a children’s funland, a thalassemia center, a monument to the ideology that created Pakistan and a solar power generating center established with the help of our Chinese friends.

The park’s four gates open up to four different sectors. Inside its wrought iron fence are sculptures made by different artists, a citizen’s club, a cricket ground and in a somewhat crass display of commercialism, a drive-in cinema.

I must confess, I felt a jolt of surprise when I heard of the plan. This is the first time a public park is to be mortgaged for Sukook bonds. But this is not the first asset that will be used for loans. In the previous government’s tenure, assets were used as loans, albeit in a much smoother manner.

First to be mortgaged were the motorways. When those were unavialble, the self-professed perfect finance minister, Ishaq Dar, used Karachi’s airport as collateral. When even that proved not enough to fill the stomach of an empty economy, one by one all of Radio Pakistan’s buildings and Pakistan Television’s Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad and Quetta centers were used for loans. With so many assets now used as mortgage, why is the proposed usage of a public park raising the alarm bells?

First, because the proposed plan to raise money off the F-9 park raises the question of whether no other assets were left to be used for that purpose. A park must surely be at the very end of the list. Which means we have hit rock bottom. Second, the proposal brings home just how close is the Pakistan economy to completely drowning under loans? Though every successive government has steadily added to loans, the one in power now is breaking records.

What happens if we cannot pay off these loans? Do we lose ownership of airports named for our founding fathers? Of assets that produce energy? Of a park that provides an entertainment venue for the people? And what happens when we run out of assets to mortgage? Do we start loaning the citizens of the country themselves? Will ‘friendly’ countries give us loans in return for accepting Israel?

Our government is blissfully unaware of these problems. It has raised an army of advisors and a battalion of ministers. All are lost in their own worlds. Bureaucracy continues to hollow out the very fabric of the country. They do not care, secure in their false conviction that they will remain the elite forever.

By Asghar Hayat