WHAT WILL THE NATIONAL ARMY DO?

Every body raises this question. There are many tasks before this nation that should have been initiated soon after getting independence in 1947 but we did not undertake them. Rather we tried to spoil many good things we inherited from the British. Let us first discuss the national institutions. National Army shall work for the development and progress of all big national institutions. For example Pakistan Railway. This is an important national institution. Looking from the national point of view this is the backbone of Pakistan. In the past many politicians and rich people wanted to buy this institution and in order to fulfil their desire they have considerably damaged this institution. Taking bribes from different transporters they suspended the train service on railway branch lines and even on main lines. Railway was a profitable institution but it has been reduced to a perpetual deficit organisation. The tendency of theft has been encouraged in it. The important railway workshops have been close down although these workshops are quite advanced workshops and could manufacture railway engines. The most modern machinery is present in them. Then why these workshops have been closed down?

Just because alongside the railway colonies, railway stations and workshops there is precious land worth million of rupees belonging to railway. These capitalists, industrialists, politicians were preparing to sell it to the private parties after declaring it a white elephant and a hot bed of corruption, bribery and an anti-people institution. The National Army can play a dominant role in developing railway and eliminating corruption, bribery and theft from it. The railway track between Karachi and Peshawar should be made a double track. The trains should be run on main lines and branch lines in large numbers and very regularly. The number of trains should be increased and its fares should be reduced. The number of ticket-less passengers should be reduced. The workshops are there to manufacture new bogeys and goods trains. We can ourselves manufacture railway engines and these could be imported as well if required.

Instead of doing downsizing the number of employees should be recruited according to the requirement. The National Army should guard and supervise the railway trains throughout Pakistan. Surely this organisation can boost up the dwindling economy of the country and make the poor and unemployed people happy. The salaries of railway employees should be raised. The ticketing system should be modernised. Small trolleys should be kept on railway platforms for the baggage of passengers. The porters should be provided respectable jobs and absorbed in the National Army and given proper emoluments. The lands lying useless near all railway stations should be freed from illegal possession of encroaching groups and vegetables, fruit and other edible stuff should be cultivated on them. The produce of these crops should be sold to railway employees on cheap prices or sold to common people. The concerned units of the National Army can devise their rules for this purpose depending upon the objective conditions. For railway employees on every railway station four, five and six storied flats should be constructed and rented out to them. There should be grain shops and grocery stores of railway where Nation Army workers could sell commodities on cheap prices. This would help reduce the price hike. On all big railway stations on the mainline from Peshawar to Karachi and other branch lines arrangements should be made to provide housing to railway employees. For example there are thousands of employees of Lahore railway station who have no arrangement for their housing. On the other hand for officers big houses and colonies are available. The influential people are in illegal possession of thousands of acres of railway land. Such lands should be taken back from them and they should be prosecuted and should be given exemplary punishment.. The land thus freed should be utilised for the betterment of the railway organisation.

Similarly WAPDA (Water and Power Development Authority)is in fact the soul of Pakistan. Its system should be attached with the welfare of Pakistan. The employees of Railway and WAPDA whether high or low should be members of the National Army. They should work under a single code of discipline and all their tasks should be governed by military regulations. All of them should work considering themselves as patriotic citizens of Pakistan. For the prosperity and development of Sind, Balochistan and Frontier Province the manpower of Punjab should be utilised. Every Pakistani must know that although the population of Punjab is in majority but it comprises Punjabis, Balochs, Pathans, Sindhis, Urdu and Seraiki speaking people. If Punjab had only Punjabis then its population should have been more than 30 to 40 million but in Punjab there are about six to 10 million Pashtu speaking people and there are about 20million of those who migrated from India in 1947 and settled here.Even in Balochistan there are not as many Balochs or in Frontier Province there are as many Pathans as many live in Punjab. Similarly in Sind there is majority of Seraiki speaking people and in Punjab more than half the population speaks Seraiki. Thus in Punjab there is an admixture of people of all languages and regions of Pakistan. Therefore when the people of other provinces abuse Punjabis then they in fact abuse their own nationalities living in Punjab also. So the National Army should work for whole of Pakistan rising above these petty provincial, regional and linguistic prejudices. There will be no quota system for it. Whosoever where ever he is will be recruited in the National Army and I assure the authorities that within three months of their recruitment this National Army will become self-sufficient in its own expenditure and would also contribute to the national exchequer. If the departments like WAPDA or Railway start working honestly and successfully and the thefts and pilferage in them are stopped then there will be no problem in paying the salaries of National Army.

The biggest advantage of National Army would be that the development and construction work in whole of the country will be carried out by this organisation. Where ever the roads are to be constructed then manpower of National Army will not only blast the mountains but also make the roads. The cost of blasting mountain will be passed on to the National Army. When there would be no contractor system then there will be no bribery or kick backs. In local bodies also National Army will be involved. All the development projects on that level shall be completed with the help of National Army. The making of all the drains and means of expelling water, roads and availability of drinking water, installation of tube wells will be done by the National Army instead of contractors. The development funds of all districts will spent on the development of respective districts. The cleaning of old canals, digging of new canals, straightening the edges of rivers and removal of sand from within these would improve the irrigation system. The work on making dams will be carried out on scientific lines. Instead of importing huge machinery the available man power will be utilised. Employing the means of transport we shall be able to complete the work requiring six to seven years in six to seven months.

God knows why every ruler of Pakistan after assuming the control considers the assets of the country as his personal or inherited fiefdom. The government lands and institutions are rich assets of the country. The banks and institutions and assets are all national property and we circulate currency through these organisations. By distributing these assets or privatising them we reduce the value of currency. Similarly the dream of one of our ex-prime ministers resulted in the Motorway. Firstly aimlessly huge expenditure was made on it in the name of foreign agencies. Our national organisations had offered that they could construct the Motorway of international standard at half the proposed price. Initially the project was of 15 to 16 billion rupees which the government agencies were prepared to construct at 8 to 10 billion rupees but the contract was awarded to Daewo and up to completion the cost escalated to 65 to 70 billion. At that time it was suggested to the then prime minister that instead of constructing motorway the old Karachi-Peshawar highway should be converted to motorway by widening it into six lanes . In this way the expenditure would be less and the hundreds of thousands acre of land being utilised for new motorway would remain in use for cultivation purpose. Similarly the years old G.T.Road should also be widened to six lanes and the colonies being set up along this road would continue expanding. This would fulfil his dream and the communication would improve and at the same time the nation would not go under debt. Those who supported this Motorway should tell us today as to how much is the income from Motorway and what is the expenditure? How much more fare is charged from those who travel between Lahore and Rawalpindi? How many flights of PIA between Lahore and Islamabad have been cancelled and what is the magnitude of losses to PIA on this account?

We are not bothered that who were the recipients of commission in this contract. This is between those who received it but we can assess its effect on the communication and what losses are being borne by the nation.. Anyway the proposed National Army will not only double the railway track between Karachi and Peshawar but would also convert the national highway into motorway between Karachi and Peshawar and between Karachi and Gawadar along the cost. At present the development work is required to be undertaken in Balochistan. To meet the shortage of water tube wells can be installed . Underground water resources can be explored and in some places those crops can be grown which can be irrigated artificially for sometimes besides the rains. There is substantial amount of barren land there on which cultivation has not been carried out for centuries. These are otherwise fertile lands. Here tree plantation can be done in a big way and tube wells can be installed. Big industries can also be installed here. The industrialists should set up industries on these vast plains instead of establishing them in populated areas or agricultural lands.

Sind is an important province of Pakistan. Here the distinction between Sindhis and Muhajirs has been created because new Sindhis do not get any employment or scarcely get employment. When every jobless person will be employed then this distinction will also automatically disappear. Every educated or uneducated citizen of the country should be recruited in the National Army and work should be taken from him according to his capacity and emoluments should be accordingly paid. There is need for utilising the vast resources of Pakistan. The mineral resources of our mountains are presently concealed from us. The gushing stream of oil under the earth has not been so far explored. If for five years we continue the development work through the National Army we shall come to understand the meaning of self-sufficiency and dependency on indigenous resources. Moreover all the debts that we have secured from foreign agencies can be paid in one go.

In Punjab vast tracts of land are available in Cholistan, Multan and Pothohar plains. To reclaim this land there is need for hard work and sustained labour. World Bank and IMF would like that we should stop cultivating wheat and other edible commodities in Pakistan and should only eat Kentucky chicken or American Burgers. The whole lot of poor should perish in this country and only few rich families should survive and live in Larkana or Raiwind palaces and should fill their bellies by air lifting Macdonald Burgers and Kentucky Chickens on helicopters but we shall not allow American agencies to fulfil their nefarious designs. We have to make Pakistan an independent and respectable country and the concept of National Army can be a motivational force in this direction.