OUTLINE
1. Introduction
Sorry state of affairs despite abundance of resources.
ii. A host of political, social and economic factor are responsible for this state of affam
2. Defining National Progress:
i. Economic development
ii. Social development
iii. Social justice
iv. Political and legal development
V. Global share of influence
3. Impediments to National Progress:
i. Policy Impediments:
a. Absence of an integrated national development plan
b. Wrong priorities
C. Neglect of education and health
d. Lopsided development
ii. Economic Impediments:
a. Mismanagement
b. Corruption, nepotism and favouritism
C. Dysfunctional tax structure
d. Informal economy
e. Accumulation of debts
f. Foreign dependency
iii. Social Impediments:
a. Culture of consumption
b. Population problem
c. Tragedy of the commons
d. Lack of social consciousness
ESSAY
With the kind of potential that Pakistan possesses, it is hard to reconcile with the som state of affairs that prevails in the laud of the pure. Nature has bestowed Pakistan with some of the most fertile regions of the world as well as with a vast base of mineral resources. Pakista was once spoken of, and rightly so, as the rising tiger of Asia and was role model for the Fa Eastern countries. The future looked promising and prosperity appeared to be the destiny of the people. However, what has transpired is in sharp contrast with this. Present is bleak and future looks gloomy. One wonders what has gone wrong with the country. Why progress has evaded the country?
An attempt to find answers to abovementioned questions reveals that many of the factor that block the path to the progress are still at work. National progress is impeded by a web of factors ranging from political to social to economic in nature. Every sphere of life is infested with problems. These problems are eating into the very fabric of the country and are a stumbling-block in the way of progress. Therefore, it is imperative to identify these problems so that they may be done away with.
Before we start to discuss the problems that are checking national progress, it is worthwhile to understand what constitutes national progress. To begin with, progress and development are generally used as interchangeable terms in socio-economic parlance. Though, usually it s common to associate the idea of development and progress with economic development, the scope of these terms is much wider. No doubt, economic development is an integral part of national progress: for all other form of developments within a country are dependent on Countries with stronger economies can better provide for the needs of their citizens, but we have seen that some countries that happen to possess large national incomes are listed very low in the United Nations Development Program’s Human Development Report. The reason is the absence of other components of progress.
Apart from economic development, social development is another component of national progress. Social development includes the general welfare of the masses. It is assessed from the factors such as state’s capacity to provide for facilities like education and health, from the position of women in the country; and from infant and maternal mortality rate. In short, social development represents state’s treatment of its subjects.
Moreover, social justice is a very vital component of national progress Social progress of a society depends heavily on social justice. Social justice is the measure of how income a opportunities are distributed in a country. In the Western societies, social justice evolved.
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allel with the evolution of democracy. A system that most closely matches the idea of social tice is meritocracy. Countries that are on higher stages of national progress are incritocracies. On the other hand, in the developing world income and opportunities are distributed on the basis of nepotism and favoritism.
Furthermore, political and legal developments are also integral parts of national progress National progress requires the freedom of political activity in the country. Likewise, a strong judicial system is a sine qua non for national progress. State must provide instant and cheap justice to its subjects. Judicial organ of the state must be strong enough to protect the rights of citizens against the despotic tendencies of the ruling elite.
Last but not the least: national progress in today’s globalized world also depends on the global share of influence of the nation. This influence can be in the sphere of trade and commerce or in the domain of military affairs and international diplomacy. These are in brief different aspects of national progress.
Pakistan, measuring from the criteria just discussed, is doing very poorly. Economy has been in stagnation for almost a decade now. Health and education are among the worst managed sectors Pakistan is home to second largest number of out of school children Women have to suffer every type of brutality in the country. Honor-killings rapes and acid-throwing incidents are rampant. Politically. Pakistan is home to most opportunistic politicians. Parliament is mere a rubber stamp to give semblance of legitimacy to the decisions made on the whims of party leaders: Political parties are run like family-owned businesses. Social justice is conspicuous by its absence. Judiciary is dysfunctional for the most part. Such abysmal state of affairs has been brought about by the following factors as discussed in following paragraphs.
The first set of impediments to national progress pertains with policy issues. National progress is impossible without a comprehensive and consolidated development policy. Unfortunately, no such policy exists and whosoever happens to occupy the power corridors of the country tries to implement an agenda that best suits their interests and the interests of their cronies. Power sector, to take one example, has suffered a lot from this absence of a plan. O government begins projects and other comes, rolls back these projects and start working on other projects to enrich itself. This affects ultimately economy of the country. Likewise, there is not a single coherent plan for the economy that can be implemented regardless of the fact that which party rules the country. This absence of policy planning is a major hurdle in national progress
As discussed, the primary aim of politicians is to enrich themselves, such projects are mitated that yield benefit in the short-term. Instead of improving the education sector, political immicks are used to attract voters. The establishment of few Danish schools and the distribution of laptops are some such examples of misplaced priorities. Similarly, instead of focusing on. 120
building of bydel power plants that could solve energy crists once for all the previous gove med to solve the cries by using rental power plants. The stories of corruption in this schem con knowledge and crisis all persists
The relation between antional progress and human resource development is w established. It was none other than Pakistini economist Dr. Mehbob-ul-Haq who developed thesis that countries who wish to achieve tapid economic development should invest in th human capital According to hon by investing in the education and health of its citizen can transform its raw humin resource into human capital. This human capital is the backbon the economy. Furthermore, higher education contributes towards the technology developmen the country Technology specialist like engineers and scientists coupled with skilled labor fo can steer the economy towards prosperity. Against all this wisdom, education and health has be the most neglected sectors of the country. Pakistan spends almost 2% of its GDP on educatio this is among the lowest in the world. Half of its population is illiterate. This illiteracy bree many ills that negatively affect national progress