Pakistan
recently underwent significant political and structural
reforms, moving towards macro-economic
stability, debt management, revival of the democratic
process with increased women’s representation,
major institutional reforms with emphasis on devolution
and decentralization,
significant progress in information technology, reduction
in population growth, and food grain self-sufficiency,
which has been maintained for the past several years.
Efforts to combat corruption and improve law and order
have been firmly established.
The nation has demonstrated resilience in dealing
with the challenges posed by drought, the impact of
the Afghan crisis, influx of refugees and the 11
September aftermath. While the difficult regional
security situation has led to a diversion of scarce
development resources to defence, Pakistan has striven
to resolve issues according to the principles of the
United
Nations Charter, as indicated in the common country
assessment (CCA).
With
a human
development index of 0.498 in 1999, Pakistan ranked
127 out of a total of 162 countries, and with a gender-related
development index of 0.466 in 1999 it ranked 117 out
of a total of 146 countries, according to the Human
Development Report 2001. According to government estimates
in 2000, 34 per cent of the population lives below
the poverty
line, while the cost of environmental
degradation was estimated at 4.3 per cent of GDP
in 1998. Although there has been some improvement
in women’s status over the last several years,
the position of women in Pakistan
remains weak and gender disparities are reflected
in all social indicators. As a result of its debt
burden, low revenue base and recent low growth rates,
Pakistan has not been able to invest adequately in
human development. Public investments in the 1990s
focused mainly on infrastructure. Private education
and health services are common but expensive, whereas
public services are inadequate, particularly in rural
areas and for women and girls. Social regression,
land degradation and unemployment have further reduced.
resources available to the poor. It is recognized
that the answer to these problems lies in improving
the quality of governance,
making make it more inclusive and participatory; strengthening
systems of accountability
and transparency; promoting citizens’ involvement
in decisions that influence their lives; and strengthening
the role of the Government in facilitating development.
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Pakistan
is at a conjunctural moment in its history as
it confronts a multifaceted crisis of the human condition.
At the end of the decade of the 1990s the government
faced financial bankruptcy, the real economy was in
deep recession, poverty had reached alarming levels
and the institutions of governance had eroded to a
critical point.
The human cost of military confrontation between India
and Pakistan is becoming quite prohibitive. For instance,
Pakistan recently spent around $1 billion to acquire
three Agosta 90B submarines from France.
This sum could have financed a year of primary school
education for the 17 million children now out of school,
safe drinking water for all 67 million people lacking
this facility at present, and family planning services
to an additional nine million couples. India's contemplated
purchase of $4.5 billion worth of modern military
equipment could finance instead primary education
for the 45 million children denied such education,
safe drinking water for the 226 million people with
no access to such facility, and family planning services
for an additional 22 million couples.
