"Jihadi kitchens fattened the rich": A very insightful analysis

Daily Times, April 5, 2006
WASHINGTON DIARY: Jihadi kitchens fattened the rich — Dr Manzur Ejaz

The jihadi noise provided the best ideological shield to the ruling class. Demands for banning women from public places and shutting down music shops have been the best ideological cover for those becoming richer at the expense of the poorest in the society. This is how Pakistan’s income skewness and Islamisation and jihadi culture are linked

Besides being a leader in corruption and religious fundamentalism, Pakistan, is about to win another distinction at the international level. According to a World Bank source, Pakistan is emerging as the society with the greatest income skewedness — the difference between the rich and the poor is fast becoming the largest in the world. In this respect Pakistan has already outdone the infamous Brazil. The top 10 percent now own most of the national wealth while the rest survive on a pittance.

The accumulation of wealth by the rich has been uninterrupted by the jihadi distractions and the impending national bankruptcy during the 1990s. The dangling sword of Islamisation may have warded off foreign investors and allowed the local capitalists to monopolise the accumulation of riches. In other words, by keeping people distracted from issues like redistribution of wealth, jihad and Islamisation may have helped the ruling class rob the poor. How does this work?

When Islamisation was taking off, under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Pakistan had already started exporting its only surplus commodity — labour. By the time the Nizam-e-Mustafa movement started taking shape under the Pakistan Qaumi Ittehad, the expatriate labour was sending home billions of dollars. Over the last 35 years, several hundred billions dollars have been pumped into Pakistan’s economy.

Apparently, the repatriated money improved the living standards of working class families. Modern bungalows replaced mud houses, the price tag on weddings changed from thousands to hundreds of thousands of rupees, cars replaced bicycles and lean diets were abandoned for rich meals. The repatriated money expanded the consumer markets, creating a new class of conservative merchants, traders and all kinds of brokers. The demand for roti, kapara aur makan (bread, clothing and housing) started waning. The demand for Islamisation gained wider acceptance. Of course, this suited the rich — old as well as new.

Zia ul Haq became the principal protector of the rich and the Islamists. Not only did he return the nationalised industries to their former owners he also accelerated the process of Islamisation. Under US patronage, he underwrote several jihadi projects in Afghanistan, Kashmir and East Punjab. United States, Saudi Arabia and rich Gulf Sheikdoms pumped billions of dollars into these projects. The jihad was also supported by US-abetted drug mafias. This drug trade brought additional money into Pakistan’s economy — creating new millionaires and billionaires. The media stashed away the concerns for economic and social equity and focused on the so-called religious renaissance.

The jihad and the process of Islamisation also contributed towards thwarting governance. A “might is right” culture became prevalent, giving rise to “qabza groups” in every sector of the economy. Public and private assets were taken over with the state’s connivance. No one seemed to bother; the noise about establishing the khilafat-i-rashida was loud enough to drown out all other voices.

Under Ronald Reagan the US too was shifting to the far right. A pro-rich economic philosophy accompanied the rising Evangelical Christianity of the South. The tax system and other devices were used to benefit the rich. Successive White House occupants, including Bill Clinton, preached social conservatism. The US had its own alliance between the rich and Evangelical jihadis.

The neo-classical economic philosophy pursued by Ronald Regan and Margaret Thatcher was meant to favour the rich at the expense of the poor. The US Treasury Department directed the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to implement it all over the world. Because of its addiction to foreign aid Pakistan has always been vulnerable to international pressure. The World Bank and IMF policies thus created another huge opportunity for the rich and the powerful to accumulate wealth through “privatisation” of national assets.

The propertied class also used the liberalisation of the banking sector to enhance its wealth. The rich and the powerful appropriated trillions of rupees through fraudulent cooperatives and huge loan write-offs. Even the easy-loan regime benefited the propertied. In short, the banking sector was used in many ways to promote the rich classes.

The channels and processes mentioned here are only a partial description of the methods used by the rich and the powerful. The jihadi noise provided the best ideological shield to the ruling class. Demands for banning women from public places and shutting down music shops have been the best ideological cover for those becoming richer at the expense of the poorest in the society. This is how Pakistan’s income skewness and Islamisation and jihadi culture are linked.

Bulleh Shah says:

Kitay Ramdas kitay Fateh Mohammad, ehow qadeemi shoor

Nipat gia dohaN da jhagRa, wichooN nikal pia koi hoor ni

(It was considered a dispute between Ramdas and Fateh Mohammad. However, when the conflict was resolved, something else emerged as the main issue)

The writer can be reached at manzurejaz@yahoo.com