Governance is key difference between successful and struggling countries: Dr Maliha Lodhi

Pakistan’s former Ambassador to the United States, Dr Maliha Lodhi  stated that Pakistan’s main problem was of governance, and the lack of leadership for the foreseeable future. She said this while on last night’s Express 24/7 talk show, Witness with Quatrina.

Hosain hosted three guests in the studio, all of whom were involved in the creation of a recently launched book “Pakistan: Beyond 'The Crisis State'” -- Dr Maliha Lodhi, a former Pakistani Ambassador to the US and the editor of the book; Zahid Hussain, a senior editor at Newsline Magazine and a contributor to the book and Dr Riffat Hussain, Professor for Security Studies at the Quaid-e-Azam University.

Dr Lodhi said that the book not only looks at the problems facing Pakistan, current and historic, but also at ways to solve the problems with a Pakistani lens. She was of the opinion that the the problems of Pakistan were all interconnected and needed a wholistic solution which lay with the people, who must be empowered to take charge.

Zahid Hussain, who already has a whole book to his name – “A Scorpion’s Tale”, said that there were a lot of outside factors that have influenced Pakistan, however, problems in internal policy have affected the country more.

Riffat Hussain provided his input, saying that the best part of the book was that it was a Pakistani analysis on the problems and proposed solutions. He pointed out that Pakistan’s history points out that majority of the problems are internal and leadership was the critical element for their solution.

Dr Lodhi added that the major difference between successful states and struggling states was governance. The book proposes bold reforms that would address the systemic and fundamental problems of Pakistan, she said. People must forfeit the wait for a messiah and take a more proactive role in making government policy reflect public wishes.

Zahid Hussain continued with Dr Lodhi’s train of thought saying that the patronage politics that dominates the mainstream does not follow the social, economic and cultural changes. “Change can only come through a political process” he commented on the pathways to change, “If the people are aware of the problem, if they are conscious of the problem, then change has already started.”

Dr Lodhi said that there was an urgent need to lift ourselves out of the problems. With government busy in the day to day management of things, the educated class needs to step up to the plate and make the government listen the problems of the people. She urged the people to utilise the numerous platforms for public discourse to project their voices.

Towards the end, Dr Riffat Hussain said that the outlook of the book was one of hope. That all the problems of Pakistan were not hopeless.