Dawn: Murtaza Haider: Pakistanis are fast becoming a wasted nation. The alarmingly high level of malnutrition observed in Pakistan in the past few years is far worse than what has been observed in the sub-Saharan Africa. Millions of Pakistani children have been identified as stunted, under-weight, and wasting because of hunger, disease, and poverty.
While the future of millions of children is threatened by hunger, the civil and military elites in Pakistan continue to pour undisclosed billions into conventional and nuclear weapons. The oft morbidly obese leaders of the right-wing religious and political parties are also in step with the military establishment as they continue to mobilise the starving masses to support developing Pakistan’s nuclear weapons.
In 2006, the United Nations estimated that no fewer than 35 million Pakistanis were malnourished. However, those who put the nation on the path to pursue nuclear weapons never suffered poverty, disease or hunger. For instance, Dr. Qadeer Khan’s daughters did not have to starve even when their father was pursuing prohibitively expensive Uranium enrichment for the weapons program. And whereas Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto promised to eat grass if he had to for pursuing nuclear weapons, he or his kin never did. Between their villas in Europe and hotels in Mali, those who pushed Pakistan into pursuing nuclear weapons did quite well for their personal fortunes.
The same could not be said for millions of starving Pakistanis whose welfare, experts believe, is worse than those in the war-torn Africa. Last week, Pakistan Humanitarian Forum, a consortium of 41 large international NGOs, revealed that 2.5 million people in the flood-stricken areas were still without food, water, shelter, sanitation, and healthcare. David Wright, country director of the NGO Save the Children, was explicit in his warnings about the dire conditions threatening the very survival of the flood-affected families in Sindh. “The floods have exposed and deepened a food crisis in Sindh that has resulted in malnutrition rates far worse than those in sub-Saharan Africa,” he warned.
Editor’s Comments: Pakistan politicians solved the 90 year old Qadiani problem and cleansed the nation of the infidels. This is what now remains of this nation. Poor, hungry, illiterate, wretched people ravaged by floods and killed and exploited by savage mullahs and politicians. With 50 percent malnutrition and half of children out of school, there is now no hope for this nation as they have already lost a future generation, even if they start doing the right things today. This is Allah’s wrath. May Allah have mercy upon this nation and give them wisdom to reverse the injustices they have done.
Categories: Asia, Economics, Health, Human Rights, Human values, Pakistan, War
Lost generation? Malnutrition comparable to Africa? This is sad, when will there be progressive leaders in the Middle East? They are spending billions on nuclear programs. Did they ever stop to think what they were going to do when they created a nuclear bomb, half of the nation’s population would be dead by then. Pakistans own nuclear program is killing its own people.