Poor Die of Empty Stomach

Half of Pakistanis are confronted with chronic food insecurity. Eighty out of 131
districts of Pakistan lack basic food while 45 (from 35 in 2003) are tremendously
deficient in food. There is great dearth of basic health, food and educational
facilities around the country. In Pakistan, 85 per cent of the population lives on
income less than two dollars a day in which food costs exceed 50 per cent of the
daily expenditure. Such rise in food prices has harmfully impacted the food
insecurity situation of the country, and has resulted in children dropping out of
school to earn some income, increase in militancy, briberies and street crimes.

The term food insecurity implies that everyone within a given town has not access
to enough amounts of reasonable and sufficiently nourishing food. The fact is that
approximately 10 million deaths annually are associated with hunger among which
half are children. Over 900 million people are estimated to linger hungry around the
world, in spite of the fact that this is the 21st century.

A remarkable fall in wheat consumption has taken place that clearly illustrates the
dilution of poverty and deprivations inside Pakistan. How can man overlook wheat—
a basic ingredient of daily food, but poverty makes it possible. The Swiss Agency for
Development and cooperation has submitted a heart-rending report over food
shortage in Pakistan that brings before us the darkest picture of life in Pakistan. The
report analyses the life of a man in settled parts of Pakistan and the situation with
people in terrorism afflicted areas, FATA and IDPs who have returned to their
hometowns with empty hands, is distressing and all the more deteriorated after
military operation against the militants. A man can live under a hanging sword but
how can he live in starvation. Many dark challenges importantly poverty, food and
water shortage, energy disaster, unemployment, environment of intolerance, and
ethnic, sectarian, and religious conflicts and rising terrorism lie in the path of
coming generations. These would not allow anyone to live in peace and tranquility,
especially when the population of Pakistan gets doubled the present number. With
present resources, oil, gas, electricity and energy, and depleting opportunities of
employment and career, it would be far difficult for the government of Pakistan to
control agitations and aggressive revolutionary sentiments of public to prevent
them from coming on roads and setting themselves on fire. An independent survey
report claims that 74% suicides take place due to poverty and unemployment.
Parents are killing their innocent children, youth are committing suicides and people
are begging for one time meal.

Most of the suicide bombers and terrorists belong to hunger stricken, illiterate and
poor areas. Hunger increases crimes, disobedience, robberies in society and creates
situation of angst, fretfulness and strain. Due to low salaries, government
employees are passing through situations of mental tensions and anxieties.
Government employees are protesting nearly since last one year and one can easily
understand the worries of its members if one joins its protest for just an hour. The
present day situation of FATA is only because of poverty and by reason of
unemployment and poverty people from these places fall easily in the hands of
terrorists. We find very few people from built-up areas of Pakistan caught up in
terrorism as most people in the cities remain busy with their jobs. Throughout the
tribal belt there is not a single industry because of which there is a dearth of skilled
and technical people. A technically sound person relies on his competences, and
sells his skills, but never his faith and will. The most important way out to get rid of
terrorism and extremism is to create employment opportunities for our up-coming
and present generations. Time is approaching when there might be enough food
without consumption, shopkeepers may await customers and a piece of bread waits
to be chewed but stomachs would remain empty.

None can push behind the significance of strength in defence of any country but
hunger must remain a priority. The reasons for food insecurity are many. Feudal
system, neglect of agriculture, continuous dictatorships, and illiteracy, war on
terror, corruption and nepotism has taken Pakistan to the edge where half of the
population is faced with chronic food crisis. Governments in poor developing
countries are struggling to boost agricultural yield and efficiency to compete under
crooked global agricultural policies, regardless of worsening land conditions, water
insufficiency, and increasingly alarming impact of climate change. But governments
there are not confronted with the evil of terrorism as the bog in which Pakistan is
sunk. A big part of cultivable land is being damaged as a result of water logging and
salinity in Pakistan. Due to increasing population, a greater number of people are
constructing homes on potentially cultivable land and there is no such law inside
Pakistan for salvaging worthy cultivable land.

The common man is already crushed under the burden of inflation while VAT and
other taxes are to be imposed on him with arrival of new budget. Poor is getting
poorer and rich is becoming richer in Pakistan from the very first day of its
existence as here cheerfulness and facilities come hand in hand with birth. Only
salaried and corporate class pay taxes in our country while politicians, public office
holders and greedy businessmen either hide their assets or keep their accounts in
foreign banks. Unequal distribution of wealth, property and deprivations of basic
health and food facilities has shaped Pakistani society into a lopsided society.
Feudal lords who at same time are industrialists and businessmen as well as
politicians feel no hesitation in stealing from the national treasure while stubbornly
refusing to pay taxes.

Undoubtedly, at the moment Pakistan is facing numerous socio-economic political

problems coupled with terrorism but increasingly, hunger, poverty and
unemployment can inflict severe political injuries in coming years if the problems
are not treated through adequate plans today.

Pakistan currently is ruled by PPP that claims to be a symbol of the federation,

binding force for all provinces, a representative of poor, workers and farmers with
the slogan “Roti, Kaprha, Makkan.” Let us see how PPP tackles and beats the many
socio-economic political and security problems and when its slogan will convert to
reality.

Written By: Riaz Ali Toori

Dated: 03-06-2010