Importing gram daal

Dr A Q Khan
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
From Print Edition

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16

Part - I
Random thoughts
The news that Pakistan was going to import 50,000 tons of daal channa drew my attention. We, an
agricultural country with vast tracts of uncultivated land and an abundance of water, importing daal?
But first the cowardly terrorist attack on the PAF Colony at Badaber, Peshawar. This barbarous attack
has once again shown that terrorists can hardly be called human, let alone Muslims. Human life means
nothing to them. Thanks to the bravery of air force and army personnel, an even bigger tragedy was
averted. Still, 29 innocent people lost their lives, mostly in the mosque during prayers. May Allah
Almighty shower His blessing on the departed souls Ameen.
The armed forces and the public should join hands in hunting down all terrorists once and for all.
Imran Khan and Pervez Khattak should put their house in order instead of wasting all their time and
energy on politics.
Now back to daal. Pakistan is an agricultural country and it accounts for about 25 percent of our GDP.
About half of our labour force is engaged in this important sector. Due to irregular rainfall, most
agriculture is dependent on water supplied through almost 40,000 miles of irrigation canals the
longest in the world. Wheat is the main crop, followed by rice, millet, maize, pulses, barley, fruits,
vegetables, Basmati rice and cotton.
The agricultural sector plays an important part in the economy, not only by providing food for the
people, but also by earning almost 75 percent of the foreign exchange earned from exports. About
half the working population is employed in agriculture, thus providing livelihoods for the rural
population and raw materials for many industries. How ironic is it then that we need to import channa
daal. We have large tracts of so-called non-fertile, sandy land, ideally suited for peanut and gram
cultivation. The government should encourage farmers and help them to utilise this unused land with
the available manpower. This can be done if the problem is tackled seriously.
Lebanons late famous philosopher/poet, Gibran Khalil Gibran, the third-most best selling poet of all
times (behind Shakespeare and Laozi), portrayed people like us with these words:
Pity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion./Pity the nation that wears cloth it does not
weave,/eats bread it does not harvest,/drinks wine that flows not from its own wine press.
Pity the nation that acclaims the bully as hero/that deems the glittering conqueror bountiful./Pity the
nation that raises not its voice save when it wakes in a funeral,/boasts not except among its ruins/and
will rebel not save when its neck is laid between the sword and the block.
If we read curse instead of pity, dictator for bully and medals and badges for glittering
conqueror, we have a true picture of our country.
The PM recently announced an attractive package for farmers. If honestly implemented, it can go a
long way to help them. However, some critics are calling it a gimmick to cheat farmers in connection

with the forthcoming local bodies elections.

Almost 80 percent of the world population is engaged in agriculture. The developed countries have a
very well-planned infrastructure for the preparation and cultivation of crops, storage, use of proper
fertilizers to minimise dangerous side effects, etc. Even though fewer people depend on agriculture in
those countries, their expenditure on it is relatively high. This is done to ensure good and clean food
and water. We badly lack initiative and infrastructure in this field. Our nation faces two serious
problems a fast-growing population and the use of fertile land for housing schemes, thus destroying
millions of acres of arable land. We must tackle these problems on a war footing or face dire
consequences.
Being well aware of the corrupt and inefficient system in vogue in the country, I had suggested that
the army chief utilise his efficient and organised manpower for the development of the country and the
welfare of its people. In this connection I would like to mention the large tracts of land between
Islamabad and Lahore that consist of unused, soft land which has been rendered useless due to heavy
rains and erosion.
If the government provided some heavy duty machinery to the army and levelled the land in question
without any cost to the owners, it would immediately become ready for cultivation beneficial both to
farmers and the government. We must be proactive, not reactive only. Foresight is the need of the day
foresight to see what can be done rather than sitting by helplessly. Didnt Almighty Allah tell us that
we get only what we strive for?
After the Indian nuclear explosion there was no doubt in my mind that our very existence and
sovereignty was in jeopardy. I did not hesitate to offer my services and, by the end of 1975 we moved
to Pakistan without asking for any special favours.
There were many intrigues, but we stuck it out for the sake of the country. It took six months before I
received my first salary Rs3,000. Then, after giving it our all for 25 years and after my patriotic
colleagues and I had made this country into a formidable nuclear and missile power, I retired with a
monthly pension of Rs446. I did not ask for, or accept, a single yard of land or any other favour. The
technology I gave to Pakistan free-of-cost was worth billions of dollars. Money was not the motivation,
patriotism was.
What I would like to emphasise here is that it is time to act, not sit and daydream. Dreams alone
achieve nothing. One needs foresight and hard work to achieve goals. Dying for ones country is the
supreme sacrifice but making ones country strong so one can live honestly and peacefully is a real
service. Bragging and boasting about bravery is of no use without practical and immediate action.
To be continued
Email: dr.a.quadeer.khan@gmail.com